Worksop's Mark Foster continued to shine on a weather-affected first day at the Ballantine's Championship after reaching the turn at Pinx Golf Club in a flawless six under par.
After a brief early fog delay Foster made a flying start with an eagle and two birdies leaving the 2003 Dunhill Championship winner at four under par through six holes before the fog and low cloud returned to force the small group of players who had actually started off the course.
But after the delays reached over six hours, Singapore-based Foster tapped in for a third birdie of the day at the eighth after his superb downhill approach spun back to rest of the edge of the hole.
The 34 year old followed that by holing a 40 putt a hole later to reach the turn a shot clear of equally impressive playing partner Marcus Fraser.
Foster has not posted a top ten finish since the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August 2008, although after finishing last season with an 11th place finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open he showed a glimpse of a return to from with a bogey-free second round 64 in China last week.
Australian Fraser failed to post a sub-70 round at the Volvo China Open, but also birdied the last two holes of his front nine with the highlight a 25 foot conversion at the eighth to add to a hat-trick of early gains.
With the expected high winds failing to materialise, which led to the fog and low cloud remaining for much of the morning and early afternoon, several players also took full advantage.
Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng added to a first hole gain with his own hat-trick of birdies to sit third at four under, with Singapore's Mardan Mamat slipping back a further shot off the pace with a solitary bogey after recording four consecutive birdies to start his round either side of the prolonged delay.
Former European Tour rookie of the year Pablo Larrazabal and Jamie Donaldson, both fresh from top ten finishes in China, sat in in group tied for fifth at two under par with Anthony Kim and Henrik Stenson alongside last week's joint runner-up Rhys Davies.
Stenson, who also finished inside the top ten in Suzhou, started his round with an eagle but quickly followed that up with a bogey before struggling to adapt to the greens as the light wind failed to fully dry them following overnight rain.
The Swede let chances for birdie slip at both the fourth and fifth holes of his round.
