Retief Goosen was in sparkling form at Durban Country Club as he completed his weather-delayed opening round in an eight under par 64 for a three shot clubhouse lead.
The two-time US Open Champion stormed clear of the field at the South African Open Championship with a round that included two eagles and six birdies - with only two bogeys preventing an even bigger lead.
But Goosen, twice a winner of this event, was clearly frustrated to drop a shot at the ninth, his final hole of a first round which is mainly being played on Friday after the course waterlogged on Thursday.
Having caught a slight flyer with his approach to the green, he then failed to get up-and-down form the fringe.
But there were far more positives for the 41 year old, not least his eagle two at the 273 yard par four 18th, which was followed by another at the par five third.
Scotland's David Drysdale, Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen and his compatriots James Kamte and Martin Maritz are in the clubhouse on five under, while another South African, Jaco Ahlers, lies on the same mark with two to play.
And World Number 25 Oosthuizen was happy to have finally got out on the course.
Speaking after his bogey-free round, which included five birdies, he said: "It was a long wait yesterday, so just to get the round going today was good.
"I think the greens looked a lot better than what we all expected after all the rain.
"I felt much better after last week (he missed the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Championship). There were no bogeys and I hit my driver well, which helps out here. The weather is good today, so that helped as well."
