England's Tommy Fleetwood co-leads the Players Championship after a weather-hit opening day at TPC Sawgrass ©Getty Images

England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge of the United States co-lead after a weather-impacted opening day of golf’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.

Fleetwood and Hoge both shot rounds of 66 to share the lead at six strokes under par, on a day that was heavily affected by bad weather.

Heavy rain led to the start of play at the PGA Tour's flagship event, often referred to as the "fifth major" on the men's circuit, being delayed by an hour.

Three hours after the action had got underway, play was suspended due to heavy rain and the threat of electrical storms.

When the weather cleared, play resumed in the afternoon and continued until just after 6.30pm local time, when fading light led to the siren sounding.

In this scenario, players have the option of completing the hole they are on, which led to unusual scenes of golfers near the ends of their rounds sprinting around the course, and playing their final shots in near darkness.

Although some players did manage to complete the course others had not even started their rounds, with action scheduled to resume at 7.15am tomorrow, weather permitting.

Forecasts suggest further disruption due to rain and lightening is likely, meaning the tournament will struggle to catch-up and finish all four rounds as scheduled on Sunday (March 13).

On the course Fleetwood started strongly with two birdies and made seven in total on route to his 66, dropping just one shot.

Fleetwood is level with Hoge, who eagled the second hole and made five birdies in his round, before dropping a shot on the 17th.

Four players are in a tie for second place a shot behind - Americans Keith Mitchell and Kramer Hickok, Anirban Lahiri of India and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann.

A shot further back at four under par are Americans Sam Burns and Brian Harman, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Taylor Pendrith of Canada, who still has two holes of his first round to play.

World number one Jon Rahm of Spain is in a group in a tie for 11th after completing a three-under round.

Defending champion Justin Thomas of the US is level par after playing only two holes before play ended for the day, while compatriot Xander Schauffele, the Olympic champion, sits at one over par through three holes.