Trevor Fisher Jnr and Keith Horne gave the home fans something to cheer as they shared the first-round lead at the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni.
The duo both entered the 2017 season without a European Tour card but posted six under par rounds of 66 on Thursday to establish a one-shot advantage over World Number Two Rory McIlroy, 2016 Challenge Tour winner Jordan L Smith and South African trio Thomas Aiken, Dean Burmester and Jbe Kruger.
Fisher Jnr won the Africa Open in 2015 but lost his playing privileges last season after finishing 125th in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, while Horne has not held full playing privileges since 2013.
The pair looked very much at home at Glendower Golf Club, however, with Fisher Jnr producing a run of seven birdies in eight holes from the 12th, while Horne birdied two of his last three holes.
McIlroy was playing the event for the first time since the 2009 season after being drawn to Gauteng by tournament host and good friend Ernie Els and he did not disappoint the huge following gallery with seven birdies and two bogeys.
Fisher Jnr's start was not impressive as he bogeyed the 11th but after back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th he came to life, making five in a row from the 15th to open up a two-shot lead.
The 37 year old then finished with eight straight pars, producing an excellent up-and-down for par on the fifth, and declared it was his best ball-striking round in two years after making some changes in the off-season.
"I hit some bad shots but I hit some good shots too and the ball really went where I wanted it to go with the good shots," he said. "With my bad shots I mistimed it but, in general, I was quite happy with the way I hit it.
"I can still improve it a bit. I've just got to trust what I'm doing. It's quite a change for me. Old habits die hard. I've just got to figure out a way to trust this and keep it going for the next three days."
I can still improve it a bit. I've just got to trust what I'm doing - Trevor Fisher Jnr
Horne turned in 33 with birdies on the second, fourth and eighth and when he added further gains on the tenth and 12th he was one off the lead. A dropped shot on the 15th did not stall his momentum and he birdied the 16th and 17th before very nearly chipping in on the last for the outright lead.
"You know, I wasn't playing that well coming in," he said. "I've been playing really well until the holidays but my practice rounds here didn't promise very much so it's nice to get off to such a good start. In contention, first out, I can't complain.
"I hit my irons beautifully today and I putted well. You know my putting hasn't been great and today was nice.
"I really struggled with the driver today and I think if I'm going to be in contention on the weekend, I am going to have to sort out my game off the tee box."
McIlroy started on the back nine and came to life when he put his tee-shot on the par three 14th close for the first of four consecutive birdies. Another birdie followed on the second but poor approach shots on the fourth and fifth led to a pair of bogeys.
A near-ace on the sixth made it three birdies out of four on the par threes and he added another on the eighth.
Birdie runs were the order of the day at the top of the leaderboard and Aiken was level par as he stood on the fifth tee but he finished with five consecutive gains to move to five under.
Burmester made an excellent recovery to put himself right in contention after making a double-bogey on the 12th. He then went birdie-eagle-birdie from the 14th and added further gains on the second, sixth - courtesy of a 20-footer - and eighth.
Smith was another player to make a smart recovery, bouncing back from a bogey on the first with birdies on the second, fifth, seventh and eighth. He dropped a shot on the 11th but birdied the 14th and 15th and a stunning tee-shot on the 17th gave him a share of second.
It's nice to get off to such a good start. In contention, first out, I can't complain - Keith Horne
Kruger was one over at the turn but picked up six birdies in seven holes from the tenth.
Swedish pair Jens Fahrbring and Alexander Björk, English duo Oliver Fisher and Mark Foster and South African Darren Fichardt were then at four under.
Sir Nick Faldo, 59, was playing his first regular European Tour event since 2014 but the six-time Major Championship winner recovered from an opening bogey with birdies on the seventh, 15th and 16th to roll back the years and sit four shots off the lead.
Els opened with a two over par 74, as did defending champion Brandon Stone.
