Broussard, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Rhein Gibson fired a 9-under 62 on Thursday to grab a 2-stroke lead with the opening round of the Chitimacha Louisiana Open suspended due to darkness.
Gibson, who has missed the cut in two of his last three starts, is looking for his first Web.com Tour win.
The first round had a lengthy delay due to lightning. The round restarted once for nine minutes, then was stopped again. After play resumed the second time, Gibson birdied the 18th to close out his 62.
Play was called for the night due to darkness at 8:05 p.m. ET. The first round will resume Friday morning at 8:45 a.m. ET at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club.
Glen Day and Cameron Wilson share second place at minus-7. Wes Roach carded a 6-under 65. He was joined in fourth place by Bronson Burgoon and Whee Kim.
Harold Varner III, who was the runner-up in Panama, headlines a group of six players at minus-5.
Gibson holed a 15-foot eagle effort on the first to get off to a quick start. However, he followed with four pars in a row. Gibson flew up the leaderboard starting with a birdie at the sixth.
The Australia native made his second eagle of the day on the par-5 seventh. He followed with a birdie on the par-3 eighth. Gibson stumbled to the lone bogey of his round at the ninth and made the turn at 5-under.
Gibson bounced right back with a birdie on the 10th. He moved to minus-7 thanks to a birdie at the 12th. Gibson followed with four straight pars from the 13th.
At No. 17, Gibson converted a birdie chance. After the first weather delay, he teed off at the last. Before he could hit his approach, the horn blew again.
Once play resumed, Gibson dropped his approach 16 feet from the hole and drained that putt for a closing birdie.
"It was pretty easy conditions this morning. I think we got the better side of the draw. I'm stoked with 9-under, but if you'd said I could have had 3- or 4- under this morning, I would have taken it," Gibson said.
Day played the back nine first and opened with a birdie on the 10th. After six pars in a row, he birdied the 17th en route to making the turn at minus-2.
The former PGA Tour winner picked up birdies at the second and fourth. Day jumped to 6-under with an eagle at the seventh. He came right back with a birdie on No. 8. Day closed with a par at the last.
Wilson also started on the back nine. He notched back-to-back birdies four different times in his round. The first of those came at 11 and 12. Wilson stumbled to a bogey at the 14th.
The 22-year-old atoned for that mistake with a birdie on No. 16. Wilson made it two in a row as he also birdied the 17th. Around the turn, Wilson birdied the first and second to climb to minus-5. His final back-to-back birdies came at six and seven.
NOTES: The second round is expected to start at 9:45 a.m. ET on Friday ... Four of the first six events this season on the Web.com Tour have had weather delays ... Cameron Percy and Brett Drewitt withdrew before teeing off.
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