by Robert Macintyre and Tommy Fleetwood were three shots from the head while Russell Henley gave the early pace to the Tour championship in Atlanta.
Henley carded a new flawless 61 under normal at East Lake to lead by two of the world number one Scottie Scheffler.
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Macintyre and Fleetwood in Scotland England were a shot further alongside the potential choices of the American Ryder Cup Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas.
Rory McILroy was five strokes of the advance, in a group that also included Ludvig Aberg in Sweden, after finishing a 64 with an unusual Birdie in the final group.
His third shot from a bunker on the closure of the by five returned from a platform to the Green where he fled at 18 feet, a few seconds before the siren resounded so that the route is evacuated because of the approach of the storms.
The rain throughout the day has sufficiently softened the route to allow the 30 people’s field to clean and place its balls on fairways.
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Henley took full advantage of a day of low scores, hiding three putts for birdie at least 40 feet and closing with three consecutive birdies.
Rory McILroy made nuggets in the first green in the first round of the Tour championship (Mike Stewart / AP)
Scheffler finished with two birdies alongside McILroy to jump out of the pack as a closest challenger to Henley.
Macintyre and Fleetwood almost won in the first events of the Fedex eliminations at the end of the season and continued their good shape in East Lake.
Fleetwood opened with three birdies, its only imperfection to come on 10, Macintyre chaining three consecutive Birdies from the 11th, both making a birdie at the last.
