Leishman carded a five-under-par 65 to be tied atop the leaderboard with Americans Russell Henley, Talor Gooch and Luke List, who only managed 15 holes before play was suspended due to darkness.

Fresh off top-four finishes at the Shriners Children's Open and Fortinet Championship followed by a share of 38th at the CJ Cup, Leishman had six birdies before dropping his only shot of the day at the par-4 18th.

He was leading outright until making bogey on the last.

"My irons were really on and gave myself a lot of chances and made the putts," Leishman said. "It was pretty stress-free.

"Disappointing to bogey the last and not have a bogey-free round, but on a course like this I'm pretty happy with just making one bogey."

Leishman's equal-low score of the day was his tenth in the 60s from his 13 rounds so far on the 2021/22 PGA Tour season, a run that has included four rounds of 65 or better.

"My irons were really on and gave myself a lot of chances and made the putts. It was pretty stress-free." - Marc Leishman.

The leading quartet enjoy a one-stroke buffer over the former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, with six players sharing sixth spot after three-under 67s.

Adam Scott is the next-best-placed Australian, tied for 12th at two-under.

Jason Day and Cam Davis were level with the card through 11 holes each when officials called it a night at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, with Cameron Smith two-over after nine.

American Tony Finau, the highest-ranked player in the field at World No.12, had a 69, while former No.1 Brooks Koepka was even par with nine holes left.