Matteo Manassero fired a brilliant 68 to set the clubhouse target on day one at the Hero Indian Open but was in danger of being outshone by David Horsey when play was suspended at DLF Golf and Country Club.
The Italian had finished at four under before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning at 3.11pm and with an hour and 34 minutes lost before a resumption, 66 players would have to complete their first rounds on Friday morning.
Among them was Horsey, who was at five under through 15 holes when darkness ended proceedings in New Delhi.
England's Eddie Pepperell signed for a 69 to sit at three under alongside Spain's Carlos Pigem and Frenchman Grégory Havret, who had completed 16 and 12 holes respectively.
It was a day of tough scoring on the Gary Player designed course that was hosting a men's international tournament for the first time, and just nine players with completed rounds were able to get under par, with Manassero leading the way.
The Italian has been slowly re-finding his form of late after a run of 15 missed cuts over the 2015 and 2016 seasons and his third-place finish at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open was his first top ten since the same event two years previously.
He has made three cuts from four so far this term, though, and showed more reasons for encouragement in New Delhi.
The four-time winner started with a double-bogey and after picking up a shot on the 13th gave it back on the next but he really caught fire from the 17th. He picked up five shots in six holes with help from an approach to four feet at the second, a tee-shot that spun back to six feet on the third and a four-footer on the fourth.
The fact that I found a lot of birdies, it's very, very positive and I'll try to keep it that way - Matteo Manassero
Manassero then left himself eight feet after laying up on the eighth and made no mistake to lead the way.
"I started well, which was important because I have been three weeks at home and to come back to a tough course like this, it's never easy," he said. "So the fact that I found a lot of birdies, it's very, very positive and I'll try to keep it that way.
"You have to be always in play, otherwise there will be a lot of high numbers and a lot of doubles. It's very easy to lose shots on this course."
Horsey has had a slow start to the season with a single top 30 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship but he was on course to record his best round of the campaign so far with birdies on the second, sixth, ninth, 11th and 12th.
Pepperell made the turn in 34 and added another gain on the 11th but back-to-back bogeys on the 14th and 15th stalled his progress before a birdie-birdie finish.
Havret was blemish-free in his progress so far while Pigem had joined Manassero at four under before bogeying the 16th.
English duo Steven Tiley and Sam Walker, Malaysia's Danny Chia, Portuguese José-Filipe Lima, American Paul Peterson and Filipino Angelo Que all signed for rounds of 70, with Chile's Felipe Aguilar, Spaniard Eduardo de la Riva, Thai Jazz Janewattananond, Frenchman Romain Langasque and England's Anthony Wall all two under with holes to complete.
Australia's Terry Pilkadaris was the remaining man in the clubhouse under par after a 71.
