Reno, United States (AFP) - Former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year John Huh got off to a roaring start and emerged with a slim lead after Thursday's opening round of the PGA Barracuda Championship.

The 27-year-old American rolled in four birdies on his first five holes and finished one point ahead of the rest of the field at the Montreux Gold and Country Club course in Reno, Nevada.

Huh tallied 15 points using the Modified Stableford System, which awards eight points for a double-eagle, five points for an eagle and two for a birdie.

Pars are worth zero points, while bogeys result in a loss of one point and double-bogeys or worse mean a loss of three points.

Australia's Stuart Appleby and Argentina's Miguel Angel Carballo shared second on 14.

Six Americans - Brandon Hagy, Ben Martin, Ryan Palmer, Dicky Pride, Patton Kizzire and Rick Lamb - shared fourth place at 13.

After starting with a birdie at the 10th hole, Huh followed with a par, before reeling off three consecutive birdies.

He finished with a total of eight birdies and a bogey.

Huh, the 2012 PGA top rookie, earned his lone US Tour victory that same season in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

Appleby had eight birdies and two bogeys while Carballo drained two eagles in his round