Brian Stuard topped the OHL Classic leaderboard at 5 under with three holes left Thursday when first-round play was suspended for the day because of rain and wet conditions.
More than 3 inches of rain soaked the Mayakoba Resort since early Wednesday night.
Play was suspended from 8:40 to 11 a.m. local time, and stopped again at 1:22 p.m. It was called for the day at 3:30 p.m., with only 15 players able to finish their rounds on the El Camaleon course.
''The biggest thing was the lightning threat and the rain we received,'' said Slugger White, the vice president of rules and competition for the PGA Tour. ''We absolutely lost the golf course. With this rain it just knocked us out.''
More thunderstorms are expected Friday.
''We'll just grind through it again,'' White said.
Stuard had six birdies and a bogey. He had his best career PGA Tour finish in the 2010 event, tying for second behind Cameron Beckman.
Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton and Alvaro Quiros were a stroke back. Compton completed 17 holes, and Quiros finished 15.
Harris English, Jeff Maggert, Josh Teater and Jamie Lovemark were 3 under. English and Harris finished 17 holes, Maggert played 15, and Lovemark 12.
Defending champion John Huh had yet to tee off. He won the February 2012 event for his first PGA Tour title, parring the eighth hole of a playoff with Robert Allenby. The playoff matched the second-longest in tour history. Huh closed with a 63, while Allenby had a double bogey on the final hole of regulation.
The PGA Tour event offers full FedEx Cup points for the first time and the winner will get a spot in the Masters. It was previously played opposite the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play.
