Portugal Open 2017: Matt Wallace out to 1st-Round Lead Before Play Suspended

Englishman Matt Wallace was at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the 2017 Portugal Open on Thursday, before thunder and lightning forced play to be suspended at Portimao. 

Wallace is a shot in front of German Sebastian Heisele, after finishing 10-under on the day. Meanwhile, American Julian Suri was part of a three-way tie for third, while Frenchman Thomas Linard is one of six players who ended the abbreviated day sixth.

Sadly, play was cut short with the weather threatening to turn nasty, per the European Tour official Twitter account:

Here's what the leaderboard looks like:

Position	Player	Today	To Par	Round 1
1	Matt Wallace	-10	-10	63
2	Sebastian Heisele	-9	-9	64
T3	Julian Suri	-6	-6	67
T3	Paul Maddy	-6	-6	67
T3	Jamie Rutherford	-6	-6	67
T6	Christian Braeunig	-5	-5	68
T6	Thomas Linard	-5	-5	68
T6	James Allan	-5	-5	68
T6	Erik van Rooyen	-5	-5	68
T6	Ben Evans	-5	-5	68
T6	Mark Tullo	-5	-5	68

Recap

Wallace's scorecard made for impressive reading, as he hit double-digits for birdies on the day. Six of his 10 birdies were made on the back-nine, with a string of five in a row starting on the par-four 12.

In the process, Wallace earned a distinction this season, per the European Tour official Twitter account:

Afterward, Wallace gave this sterling assessment of his round, per the Challenge Tour:

Wallace set the standard for the day, particularly in terms of consistency, but Heisele's scorecard was even more eventful. In one stretch, the German slumped to a bogey at the par-four six, before sinking an eagle on the par-five seventh.

Heisele was guilty of another bogey, this one on the par-three 11th, but he recovered to follow it with a hat-trick of birdies. The 28-year-old revealed how much he enjoyed his round, via his official Twitter account:

By contrast, Suri's scoring was a little more steady. In fact, he settled for par on 13 holes but should be applauded for a bogey-free round.

Suri's lack of errors was in sharp contrast to Linard, who began his day with a bogey. The Frenchman hit another bogey late on, this time at the par-five 16.

It means Linard is already five shots off the pace after just the first day.

Wallace has sent a message with his stunning first-round display. However, there is enough talent in the field to believe more than one player will keep pace with him as the tournament progresses, provided the weather cooperates.

All scorecard information per the European Tour official website.