Justin Walters made the most of the favourable early conditions to post a brilliant bogey free 64 and open up a three shot lead on an opening day of the 2020 ISPS HANDA UK Championship where four hours were lost to the weather.
The final event of the UK Swing brought the Tour back to The Belfry, with the four time Ryder Cup venue playing host to an event for the first time in 12 years, but the rain proved as big a problem as the course for an impressive field.
Walters had just chipped in for an eagle at the 15th to get to eight under when the rain began to fall heavily and, while he completed his round, some had yet to start theirs.
When darkness fell, there were 59 players still out on course, who would return to resume their rounds at 7am, with a 30 minute delay to round two tee times.
Frenchman Benjamin Hebert, Swede Joel Sjöholm, Zimbabwean Scott Vincent and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger all finished their opening rounds and they were Walters' nearest challengers at five under.
There were emotional scenes as Walters kept his card by finishing second at last season's Portugal Masters and he entered this week at 156th on the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, but that does not tell the whole story.
He has missed the cut by just a single shot in three of his last four events on the UK Swing but finally saw the pendulum swing his way in the English Midlands.
"In any conditions or any situation when you shoot 64, you smile," he said. "I wasn't smiling with a couple of holes to go as I started to get really wet.
"During the lockdown I was in North Carolina and didn't have to face any golf courses being closed. I could practise as normal, played a few mini tour events. I played a fair amount of golf and played some really good golf. I almost feel like I peaked in lockdown now.
"I came back out here, and I was confident. Felt like I was going to have a good run. Missed three cuts by one, made one cut and didn't finish very high. It's been really disappointing to say the least, but that's golf.
"Every time you expect something from it, it shows you otherwise. Just changed my outlook a little bit and freed it up. If it was going to work it worked, if it didn't there's not much I could do about it."
In any conditions or any situation when you shoot 64, you smile
The 39-year-old birdied the second, third, sixth and ninth to turn in 32 but he had Wiesberger alongside him after the seven time European Tour winner picked up shots on the third, fourth, sixth and seventh.
The duo continued to go blow for blow as Wiesberger birdied the 11th and 13th, with Walters making gains on the same holes.
Walters found the rough to the side of the green at the par five 15th but produced an exquisite pitch over a bunker that found the cup for an eagle, with a Wiesberger bogey on the last after finding the sand handing him a three shot advantage.
The course record of 63 looked under serious threat but, as the heavens opened, Walters will have been pleased to get in with three closing pars.
Sjöholm set a blistering early pace from the first group of the day with birdies on the second, third, fifth and sixth.
He made further gains on the tenth and 13th but dropped a shot on the 16th to drop back to five under, a pattern that was mirrored by Vincent.
The 28-year-old also got to six under as he cancelled out a bogey on the fourth with gains on the second, seventh, eighth, 11th, 12th, 13th and 17th but bogeyed the last.
Hebert was bogey free in his 67, making birdies on the second, third, tenth, 15th and 17th.
Ross Fisher had found himself at six under after making four birdies in a row from the 14th but he found the water on the last for a double bogey.
That left him at four under alongside fellow Englishman David Dixon, two time Major Champion Martin Kaymer, Welshman Rhys Enoch, Swede Marcus Kinhult and Australian Wade Ormsby.
Scots Calum Hill and Craig Howie were also at four under and the only players in the top ten to finish their rounds after the resumption, with Howie making four birdies in seven holes following the delay.
