Martin Laird bounces back with an opening 66 in storm-hit Boston

Hurricane Earl caused a one-hour delay in play at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston yesterday with Scotland's Martin Laird close to the lead along with Rory McIlroy and Brian Davis.

Tee-off times in the opening round of the second event of the FedEx Cup play-off series were brought forward and precautions were being taken to avoid damage if the hurricane hit. The edge of the storm, which was making its way up the east coast of the United States, brought lightning with it, forcing the 65-minute suspension.

However, with lift, clean and place in effect due to the wet conditions, there were numerous low scores.

Zach Johnson, one of the favourites for a US Ryder Cup wild-card place, was the clubhouse leader on eight-under alongside Jason Day after the duo shot opening-round 63s. McIlroy, meanwhile, was one of seven players in the clubhouse following a 64, featuring five birdies and an eagle.

A 25-foot putt later and McIlroy had an eagle and was in with a bogey-free 7-under 64.

"My swing feels a lot better than it did last week," said McIlroy. "I've got my coach out with me and we did a lot of hard work over the last couple days. It seemed to pay off today." Davis was level with McIlroy after closing with an eagle-3, added to five birdies, while Laird shot a five-under-par 66.

The Scot, who three-putted the 72nd hole to lose The Barclays in New Jersey last Sunday, got off to a nightmare start as he ran up a double-bogey 7 at the second.

However, he bounced back with two straight birdies and then added five more, including two in the last three holes.