Van Rooyen two shots off the pace as Crowe storms into Austin Championship lead

The South African carded an eight-under-par 64 at the Fazio Canyons Course to sit alongside Max Greyserman in second place, with American Trace Crowe setting the pace after firing a career-best 10-under-par 62.

Crowe made 10 birdies in a bogey-free round to establish a two-shot advantage over the chasing pair. The American found a useful adjustment to his driving swing and put himself in contention for a first PGA Tour victory.

"Just every part of my game was good. It didn't feel fluky at all," said Crowe. "Every part of it was just kind of like full go. Made some nice putts and count 'em up, 62, yeah."

Van Rooyen, who mixed four birdies with two eagles in an impressive bogey-free round, will be encouraged by his start as he looks to challenge for the title.

One of the day's other talking points was the continued rise of 19-year-old Blades Brown, who carded a seven-under-par 65 to sit three shots off the lead.

Brown arrived in Texas fresh from becoming the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years after his playoff triumph at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico last week.

The victory lifted him to 62nd in the Official World Golf Ranking and put him in a strong position to secure starts at two $20 million Signature Events early next year. He also has his sights set on qualifying for the Masters by finishing the year inside the world top 50.

"I'm starting to get back to normal," said Brown. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I was still kind of coming off of Sunday. After a couple hours of sleep, I'm feeling a lot better. Get some food in me, yeah, feeling back to normal."

The first round was suspended due to darkness, with 25 players still needing to complete their rounds.