Weekley, de Jonge set pace in New Orleans

[April 24, 2015]  (Reuters) - American Boo Weekley, seeking his first PGA Tour victory in two years, took advantage of rain-softened conditions to grab a share of the lead in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans opening round on Thursday.

With a few family members spurring him on, the 41-year-old birdied four of his last eight holes to card an eight-under-par 64 at the TPC Louisiana, setting the early pace before being caught late in the day by burly Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge.

Canada's David Hearn and American Sean O'Hair fired 65s to finish a stroke in front of Englishmen Brian Davis and Greg Owen and Americans Daniel Berger, Mark Hubbard and Erik Compton while Australian Jason Day was among a group bunched on 67.

Play was suspended for just over an hour during the afternoon because of heavy rain and 12 players will have to complete the opening round on Friday.

Weekley, a three-times winner on the PGA Tour who lives in Florida, had an eagle, seven birdies and a lone bogey at a venue softened by more than nine inches of rainfall last week.

"I just like the way the layout is," Weekley told Golf Channel. "We're back on Bermuda grass and it's close to home. And the temperature man, I love the heat. It's a great place to come and play.

"The fans are awesome and they get behind you. With it being close to the house like this, I've got a lot of family members that come over and that kind of helps you out a little bit, gives you a little bit of a confidence boost."

Weekley also benefited from a new set of irons that worked well for him in Wednesday's pro-am competition.

"I played good in the pro-am, the first time in a while that I actually felt like I could hit my shots, hit my numbers and control the trajectory of the ball," he said. "It felt good to be able to come out today and play, and make some putts."

Australian world number six Day relished playing in the company of seventh-ranked Dustin Johnson and his fellow American Ben Crane, who also carded 67s.

"I made a great start, birdieing the first hole, and everyone kind of followed suit after that," said Day. "The course is very receptive, it's very gettable. It was good to be a part of a group with DJ and Ben Crane. We had a lot of fun out there."

South Korea's Noh Seung-yul, who won last year's title by two shots, launched his title defense with a 73.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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