Thriston Lawrence matched the lowest round of his DP World Tour career with a stunning 62 to take a three-shot lead after day one of the Joburg Open.
The South African made history at this event two years ago as he became the first winner of the DP World Tour era with his maiden victory on Tour.
He has since won three more times, securing the 2022 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award in the process, and he was once again making waves in a new era as the Opening Swing got under way.
Another South African in World Number 1,214 Nikhil Rama was his nearest challenger at Houghton Golf Club, one clear of a group of ten players that included defending champion Dan Bradbury and former Ryder Cup players Stephen Gallacher and Andy Sullivan.
The last time Lawrence started with a 62 was his victory at the 2022 Omega European Masters and he believes the putter could be the key to history repeating itself and him making it win number five on Sunday.
"The putter was hot and I just felt like I was reading them really nicely," he said. "The speed was good and compared to last year the greens are quite firm so you can play some nice shots and coming in with an eight iron you can plan the shot with all the undulations on these greens.
"I got the wind right today, I was pin high quite a few times and the proximity to the greens was good as well. The putter was on fire so I'm quite happy with the opening round.
"I had a fun day with the guys out there, they both played well, they didn't make as many putts as I did but all in all a good day."
Lawrence arrived back on home soil after a tie for fifth at the DP World Tour Championship helped him finish 19th on the 2023 Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
One more birdie in Dubai would have seen him secure a PGA TOUR card for the 2024 season and the 26-year-old insisted that near-miss could fuel the fire for another successful DP World Tour campaign.
"It's unfortunate but you're going to miss a lot of cuts by one shot, you're going to finish second by one quite a few times, it happens in life and we're used to it," he said.
"It fuels you up but it's a long way to go until the end of the year to get one of those ten cards, I'm just out here trying to do my job and enjoy it."
Rama made a birdie-birdie-birdie start from the tenth and then added two further gains on the 17th and 18th to turn in 30.
Birdies on the first and fifth sandwiched dropped shots on the second and fourth and he held the lead for most of the day before Lawrence's bogey-free 62 saw him overtaken.
Lawrrence played from the rough to five feet at the first and made birdie from similar range at the third and fourth before an unorthodox putt from a long way off the green through the first cut set up a birdie from ten feet at the fifth.
A fourth gain in a row with a lengthy putt at the next put him in a share of top spot before he took the lead on his own from five feet at the 13th, following that with a tee-shot to ten feet at the par-three next and a smart closing approach to move clear.
England's Bradbury had shared the lead at five under with the help of an eagle at the seventh but dropped a shot at the 13th as playing partner Lawrence pulled away.
Scot Gallacher was bogey-free as he made a birdie-birdie finish, with Englishman Sullivan also finishing birdie-birdie with two blemishes on his card.
Swede Jesper Svensson overcame a double and two bogeys in his 66, while home favourites Zander Lombard and Darren Fichardt were bogey-free, Jaco Prinsloo and Jayden Schaper dropped a single shot, Jacques Kruyswijk had an eagle and two bogeys and Welshman Stuart Manley dropped shots on the 15th and 17th.
