Heineken Classic

England's Paul Casey birdied his final hole to grab the outright lead with a seven-under-par 65 after a rain-affected first round.

Casey was among the later starters who profited from sunny conditions after torrential rain had halted play at Royal Melbourne.

Spaniard Santiago Luna also overtook the early clubhouse leaders with five birdies in his first six holes to finish a shot further back.

English duo Gary Evans and Warren Bennett, and Australian pair Peter Fowler and Peter Lonard, all came in with 67s, five under par.

Leaderboard

65 Paul Casey 66 S Luna (Spa) 67 W Bennett, G Evans, P Fowler (Aus), P Lonard (Aus) 68 S Webster, J Bickerton, I Garbutt, G Turner (NZ), R Gonzalez (Arg), L Parsons, N Fasth (Swe), S Allan

Tournament favourite Ernie Els, who opened with a bogey, struggled for long periods before eventually carding a two-under 70.

A late-morning storm dumped nearly an inch of rain on the drought-hit course, forcing a 90-minute suspension.

"I saw all of Melbourne's lovely weather today," said Casey, who considered himself fortunate to play only two holes before the players were called off.

"To be honest, the amount of rain we got softened up the greens nicely," he added. "I got off pretty lightly."

Former world number one Greg Norman could only manage a one-over 73, but six-time Major winner Nick Faldo returned a promising 69.

Faldo almost wrecked his round by dropping three shots in two holes, but birdied his final hole to finish on three under.

Bob Hope Classic

American Bob Tway and Stephen Ames of Canada both shot sparkling nine-under-par 63s to share the lead after the first round.

Tway, the 1986 USPGA champion, recorded seven birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round while Ames reeled off nine birdies for his best opening round on the PGA Tour.

Leaderboard

63 Bob Tway (US) Stephen Ames (Tri) 64 John Cook (US), Chris DiMarco (US) 65 Robert Gamez (US), Dave Stockton Jr (US), Frank Lickliter II (US), Shaun Micheel (US), Jonathan Kaye (US), Rod Pampling (Aus), David Duval (US), Matt Gogel (US)

John Cook and Chris DiMarco were tied for third place on 64, one stroke ahead of Robert Gamez, Dave Stockton Jr, Frank Lickliter II, Shaun Micheel, Jonathan Kaye, David Duval, Matt Gogel and Rod Pampling of Australia.

Tway rolled in a five-foot putt for eagle at the par-five 11th and then made the first of two 25-foot birdie putts at the par-three 12th.

He added another birdie at the par-five 18th for an outward 32.

The 43-year-old, seeking his first tour win since 1995, added five more birdies on his back nine to complete his lowest first round in five years.

Ames, 38, hit only six of 14 fairways but was accurate with his approach shots and putting.

His best finish on the tour came when he was second at last year's Tour Championship.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is six shots off the pace after firing an opening round 69.