Golf: Brits hold own with boys in Brazil

English duo Mark Roe and Matthew Blackey moved to within two shots of the lead when the delayed first round of the Sao Paulo Brazil Open was completed.

Half the 144-man field were unable to finish their rounds on schedule on Thursday when lightning brought an early end to play at 3pm local time.

Roe and Blackey both had six holes to play when they returned to the course this morning and picked up two late birdies to card four-under-par 67s, two behind leader Per Nyman of Sweden who completed his 65 on Thursday.

Roe is playing this season on a medical exemption after a 20-month injury lay-off caused when he tore ligaments in two fingers on his left-hand after grabbing hold of his dog's collar.

"It's fantastic being back out on tour," said the 38-year-old from Sheffield who only hit his first shots since July 1999 in November last year.

"The hand is still not 100 per cent and I can't hit many balls on the range now. I've had to re-arrange the time I spend practising and work more on the mental side of the game rather than the swing."

After resuming on the 13th this morning Roe birdied the 17th from four feet and then hit a superb second shot to the last from a fairway bunker to set up another birdie.

Blackey birdied two of his last four holes to match Roe's 67 and then enjoyed a brief rest before going back out to begin his second round as officials attempted to get the tournament back on schedule.