2021 Houston Open leaderboard: Four-way tie on top with big names pushing after play suspended for darkness

Some of the best ball-strikers showed up after an extended weather delay on Thursday morning

Two of the best ball-strikers in the field are at the top of the leaderboard after part of Round 1 of the 2021 Houston Open. Russell Henley, Talor Gooch, Marc Leishman and Luke List all share the 5-under lead after play was suspended because of darkness following a rain delay early in the round, but there are currently 73 other golfers within five of that lead and a lot still left to finish their rounds.

Henley and Gooch have been on an absolute tear from tee to green of late and both ranked in the top 10 in this field in strokes gained on approach over their last 20 rounds. Gooch has four top 11s in four starts this season, and he has gained strokes on approach in all three that were measured. Henley has gained at least 1.5 strokes per round on approach shots in three of his last four events. These numbers might not mean a lot to you, but the translation is pretty obvious: Both guys are scorching and stayed there on Thursday in Houston.

We'll take a closer look at their rounds as well as the other leaders and who all is chasing going into the finish of the first round on Friday and the start of the second. There are currently a few dozen players still have to finish their first 18 holes, including List.