Trevor Fisher Jnr set the clubhouse target midway through day one of the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni, but World Number Two Rory McIlroy was an ominous presence just a shot further back.
The European Tour kicked off 2017 at the second-oldest national Open in the world, with McIlroy attracting a huge following after being drawn to South Africa by good friend and tournament host Ernie Els.
The Northern Irishman did not disappoint the crowds as he carded an opening 67 but that was not good enough to keep Fisher at bay as the home favourite went one better to set the target at six under.
Fisher won the Africa Open in 2015 but lost his playing privileges last season and this confidence-boosting start in his homeland comes at an event where he has finished in the top 15 in his last five visits.
His start was not impressive, though, 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 on the fifth that kept him a shot clear of McIlroy and South African duo Thomas Aiken and Dean Burmester.
McIlroy is playing this event for the first time since the 2009 season when he narrowly missed out on a play-off spot but was making himself very much at home in his debut at Glendower Golf Club.
After four opening pars, the four-time Major Championship winner put his approach to the par three 14th close to set up a first birdie of the day and he rattled off two more before a 20-footer on the 17th left him just two off the lead after nine holes.
A five-footer on the second had him within one but he failed to get up and down after poor approaches to the fourth and fifth and found himself three back.
His tee-shot to the par three sixth threatened a hole-in-one as it rolled back towards the cup to leave a tap-in and after an excellent par save on the seventh, he recovered from a wayward tee-shot on the eighth to take advantage of the par five.
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 finished with five consecutive gains to move within one of his countryman.
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.
Mark Foster and Jens Fahrbring both had to go to the Qualifying School in November to get their cards back and they each carded rounds of 68 to sit two off the lead.
The Englishman had a single bogey in his round while Fahrbring birdied two of his last three to get to four under.
Fellow Swedes Richard S Johnson and Sebastian Soderberg, Englishmen Daniel Brooks and Simon Dyson, South African duo Colin Nel and Ulrich van den Berg, and Australian Brett Rumford were then at three under.
Els opened with a two over par 74, as did defending champion Brandon Stone.
