The scoreboard at the Travelers Championship made the U.S. Open seem like a distant memory.

A week after only eight sub-par rounds were carded at the U.S. Open, 60 players broke par in the first round.

Hunter Mahan, who finished second a year ago, shot an 8-under 62, one shot off the course record, to take the first-round lead. It was his sixth consecutive round in the 60s at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.

"It’s one of the courses that you look at it and you feel comfortable," he said. "There’s not really a shot here that I worry about."

Rain suspended play last night, and 39 golfers wrapped up their first round this morning, including Olin Browne, who won this tournament in 1998. He finished with a 67 then eagled early in his second round to trail the leader by three.

"This is what golf should be," said Chris DiMarco, whose 64 was good for only second place. "It shouldn’t be about plus-20s and plus-25s. I think the fans, if we started doing that every week, I think we would lose our fans. I think they want to see us make birdies."

Mahan shot a 31 on his first nine holes. He parred No. 10 then birdied his next four holes. A rain delay of more than an hour didn’t seem to faze him, as he came back out and birdied No. 17.

"I hit my driver great, put the ball in play," he said. "I hit a lot of good irons and wedges."

That run allowed him to overtake DiMarco, who shot a strong round despite an ailing shoulder.

"I hit a ton of good golf shots today," Mahan said. "But it’s just the first round. We’ve got a long way to go."

Mahan tied his best round, which came during the 2003 Valero Texas Open. His previous best this year was a second-round 65 at the Buick Invitational. He’s had two top-10 finishes this year but has never won on tour.

"If I can build on my score from today, I feel I have a pretty good shot," he said.

The course record is 61, held by four players, including two-time champion Phil Mickelson, who withdrew from this year’s tournament because of an ailing left wrist.

Five golfers finished at 65, including Tour rookie Michael Sim of Australia, who shot 29 on his closing nine. Defending champion J.J. Henry, from nearby Fairfield, shot a 68.

Former Hickman High School and University of Missouri standout Jason Schultz struggled, relatively, shooting a 4-over 74.

Masters champion Zach Johnson shot a 71 and Vijay Singh a 68. Singh entered the tournament in third place in the race for the Fedex Cup. He has a chance to make up ground on Tiger Woods and Mickelson.

The best shot yesterday came from Craig Perks of New Zealand, who used a 6 iron to ace the 202-yard par-3 eighth hole.

● LPGA: In Pittsford, N.Y., Cristie Kerr, comforted by a new putter as she battled a head cold, opened with a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead in the storm-delayed Wegmans LPGA.

Canada’s Alena Sharp, showing steady progress in her third year on tour, ran off seven birdies and two bogeys to shoot a 67.

She was one better than Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, who is still glowing after capturing her first major title at the LPGA Championship two weeks ago.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, who won here in 2005, was tied for fourth at 3-under with Brittany Lincicome and South Korea’s Mi Hyun Kim.

Defending champion Jeong Jang carded a 71, while 50-year-old Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, who is playing a limited schedule this year, slumped to an 82.

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