DULUTH, Georgia (AFP) - Five players shared the lead when darkness stopped play in the weather-disrupted first round of the 5.5 million-dollar AT and T Classic.

Of the five atop the leaderboard on six-under 66, only veteran Kenny Perry teed off in the afternoon, when heavy rain wreaked havoc on the course.

By then, Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Byrd and Parker McLachlin were in the clubhouse, having enjoyed more welcoming conditions in the morning.

"It's always nice to catch a good end of the draw because it doesn't always happen that way," McLachlin said. "I've caught the bad end plenty of times when you have played in the morning and you are expecting it to be calm (but) it's really windy. And then right when you finish, the wind just dies down.

"You're like, 'That's not fair.'"

The later starters toiled through continuous rain, which stopped play once for half an hour.

The slow pace saw waits of up to half an hour on some tees, and play was eventually halted by darkness with 35 players still on the course. The round was to resume Friday morning.

Perry shrugged off the miserable conditions to rebound from his fourth-round 81 at the Players Championship on Sunday.

He and John Mallinger (68) were the only afternoon starters to complete rounds without a bogey.

Kaye, who was once ranked as high a No.14 in the world before injuries stalled his career, finished with two birdies to join the leading group.

Charles Howell and David Toms were among a group of four players who were one shot off the pace on five-under 67.

Defending champion Zach Johnson was two under through eight holes before the rain delay and eventually finished tie for 20th after a 69.

Last year, Johnson beat Japan's Ryuji Imada on the first hole of a playoff for his second win of the season in Georgia.

He had won the Masters earlier in the season for his first major title.

Johnson also won this event in 2004 and tied for second in 2006.