ENGLISHMAN Daniel Brooks led the Nelson Mandela Championship after a flawless first round 8-under 62 at the Edgecombe CC in Durban, South Africa.
Brooks, who retained his European Tour card at Qualifying School in November after a disappointing rookie campaign in 2013, had four birdies in five holes around the turn to surge to the top of the leaderboard.
Play had begun seven hours later than planned after heavy rain left the course saturated.
Brooks had a host of French players in pursuit, with Francois Calmels second on seven under and Romain Wattel and Edouard Dubois tied for third a shot further back.
More than half the field were unable to complete their opening round, with play set to resume on Thursday in a bid to make up for lost time.
The event had already been brought forward a day to ensure its conclusion did not clash with the funeral of Nelson Mandela’s on Sunday.
Nelson Mandela Championship Leaderboard