Wade Ormsby set the clubhouse target but his position at the top of the leaderboard was under serious threat when play was suspended for the day due to storms during round one of the 2021 BMW International Open.
The Australian had carded a bogey free 65 to get to seven under at Golfclub München Eichenried but Spain's Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez, England's Sam Horsfield and Japan's Masahiro Kawamura had all joined him when the hooter sounded due to thunder and lightning.
All three also had putts to take the outright lead, with Horsfield left with an eagle putt on the last, Kawamura facing a birdie effort on the ninth - his final hole - and Garcia Rodriguez left with a birdie attempt on the 12th.
The trio will return at 7.30am to complete their first rounds along with 51 other players, with all second round tee times in the morning delayed by 20 minutes.
Pablo Larrazábal - a two time winner of this event - England's Andrew Johnston, Australian Min Woo Lee and South African JC Ritchie were in the clubhouse at six under.
Ormsby was already a European Tour veteran when he claimed his maiden win at the 2018 UBS Hong Kong Open en route to finishing a career best 48th on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
And after finishing 40th at last week's U.S. Open Championship, he was glad to shake off the jet lag and make a fast start in Bavaria.
"I was definitely upside down yesterday," he said. "I got a few hours sleep last night, so I feel much better today but yesterday I thought I was going to be in trouble for the week but somehow it sorted itself out.
"I had a nice start. Holed a few putts. I have been swinging pretty good the last week and a half but the putter hasn’t been co-operating, but it did today, so that’s how you can shoot those numbers."
Ormsby holed a 30 footer on the third and followed that with a smart approach to the fourth before he sandwiched a 20 foot putt on the seventh with birdies on the par five sixth and ninth.
A stunning tee shot to eight feet on the 12th moved him to six under and he then holed from 16 feet on the 14th to lead the way.
The 41-year-old then sat at the top of the leaderboard for almost the entire afternoon but he had company shortly before the players came off at 5.51pm.
I have been swinging pretty good the last week and a half but the putter hasn’t been co-operating, but it did today, so that’s how you can shoot those numbers
A fantastic tee shot on the second left Horsfield with six feet for birdie and he then eagled the ninth to turn in 33 after putting his second to 12 feet.
Another excellent tee shot on the 12th set up a second birdie on a par three and he made further gains after smart irons into the 13th, 15th and 16th.
He was then left with a 60 footer on the last for another eagle when the players were forced off the course.
Kawamura was also left with the possibility of having a single blow to finish his round and take the lead as he was left with 11 feet on the ninth.
That came after he had holed from distance on the tenth and 17th, adding another gain on the 15th but giving it back on the 16th after finding the water.
The 27-year-old followed a two putt birdie on the 18th with an approach to inside ten feet at the first, drove to seven feet at the short fourth for a spectacular eagle and holed a 15 footer on the seventh.
Garcia Rodriguez's first 12 holes were even more spectacular as he he reached seven under despite bogeys on the second and seventh.
He holed from around 25 feet for eagles on the sixth and 11th and made birdies on the third and fourth thanks to two more long putts, while also picking up a hat-trick of gains from the eighth.
He had seven feet left to get to eight under on the 13th when play was stopped.
Spaniard Larrazábal was bogey free in his 66, as was Johnston, with Ritchie recording a single blemish and Lee partnering two bogeys with eight birdies.
Ireland's Niall Kearney was at six under having completed 16 holes, a shot clear of Spaniard Jorge Campillo, South African Darren Fichardt, English pair Matthew Jordan and Garrick Porteous, Australian Dimitrios Papadatos and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, all of whom had completed their rounds.
