Five tied at six under in Atlanta first round

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Five players were tied on six under par after a rain-affected, first round at the Atlanta Classic on Thursday.

Americans Jonathan Kaye, Ryan Palmer, Jonathan Byrd, Kenny Perry and Parker McLachlin fired rounds of 66 at the TPC Sugarloaf before the rain made conditions tougher for the later players.

Perry, who began in the afternoon, completed his round in heavy rain.

"I chipped nice, and I putted nice, and I made it on the birdie holes where, you know, it (the rain) slacked off enough to where I could feel like I could get aggressive," said Perry.

"I hit some good shots and made some nice saves coming in here the last couple holes. The last few holes were brutal."

More than an hour's play was lost as the cloudy conditions turned thundery with McLachlin forced to wait to complete his final hole - the course's ninth.

"I actually got cold out there. You get your heart rate going then you sit for 45 minutes or an hour and you get cold," said McLachlin.

"I just tried to stay loose and not think about the shot until it was actually time to tee my ball up and then start thinking about it. Because it's not one you want to sit there thinking about for an hour. It's a tough tee shot."

With few non-Americans in the tournament, the best of the foreign players were Colombian Camilo Villegas who was two off the lead with a four under 68.