Jacksonville, March 13 -- Golfer Sahith Theegala produced an impressive performance on the opening day of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida in the US, carding a 5-under 67 to share the lead before play was suspended early due to darkness.

Theegala joined Maverick McNealy, Lee Hodges, Sepp Straka and Austin Smotherman at the top of the leaderboard. Smotherman was the only player among the leaders who had not completed his round, with one hole still to play.

The 28-year-old, who was troubled by injuries last season, began his round strongly with three consecutive birdies on the front nine. His only setback came at the ninth hole, where he dropped a shot after finding trouble in a bunker.

The highlight of his round came on ...