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 and Parker McLachlin fired rounds of 66 at the TPC Sugarloaf before the rain made conditions tougher for the later players.

Compatriot Kenny Perry joined the quartet at the top after completing 17 holes in heavy rain.

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.

Villegas had an inconsistent round - he eagled the 13th but made three bogeys including one on the par-five 18th.

"I just rolled some good putts in," said Villegas. "The greens are rolling nice and smooth, and you just got to have a good attitude toward every golf course you play.

The afternoon players had to cope with steady rain and poor visibility with the bogey-free Perry the only player matching the morning performers.

It was a nightmare day for Franklin Langham.

The Georgia resident started in the rain on the 10th hole and took four penalty strokes off the tee after his first four tee shots went wide left. He needed 11 shots to hit the green and finished with a 13 on the par-five.

He also shot seven on the par-four third and double-bogeyed the sixth, 12th and 18th and recorded bogeys at 13, 14 and the par-three eighth, his penultimate hole before the weather ended his day with one to play.

(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami, editing by Greg Stutchbury