Thomas Aiken turned in 31 to open up a one-shot lead on the opening morning of the Tshwane Open.
The South African has three European Tour wins - the last of those coming in his homeland in 2014 - and he made six birdies after starting on the tenth to get to five under at Pretoria Country Club.
Countryman Shaun Norris was then at four under, a shot clear of two more South Africans in Haydn Poreous and Jaco Prinsloo, Spaniard Scott Fernandez and Dane Jeff Winther.
Aiken opened with a bogey but then made five birdies in a row from the 11th and when he added another on the 18th, he was out in front on his own.
Norris is heading to the Open Championship this summer thanks to his performance at the Joburg open and he continued to play well on home soil, birdieing the 11th, 12th, 17th and 18th in his first nine holes.
Porteous was playing alongside Aiken and he also bogeyed the tenth but hit back with birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 18th.
Fernandez - who finished 14th on last season's Challenge Tour - had also completed nine holes with birdies on the third, fifth and ninth.
Winther finished second here in 2016 for the best result of his European Tour career so far and he bounced back from a bogey on the first with birdies on the second fourth, seventh and eighth.
Prinsloo had birdies on the second, fifth and eighth in his first eight holes.
There was then a group of eight players at two under.
