Kevin Phelan maintained his fine form from the Joburg Open to take a share of the lead with Matt Ford after the opening round at the Africa Open on Thursday.
The Irishman finished second last weekend behind Andy Sullivan after a final round of 66, and he delivered another low score to take a one-shot lead with Ford in East London.
Starting at the 10th, Phelan was sluggish early on, bogeying his second, but after reaching the turn at one under, he flourished on the front nine in blustery conditions.
Four birdies – including three in a row from the fifth – saw him climb up the leaderboard and sit one-shot clear of Richard Bland and David Howell.
He was joined at the summit by Ford after an error-free round from the Englishman, including three pars in the final four holes.
"I'm very happy, said Ford. "I had no bogeys today, and I think it's the first time this year that I've had no bogeys, so that will keep a couple of people at home happy.
"It was very tough. You're trying to judge the wind and get it close. There were a couple of pins out there that were on the wrong side of the green for the direction of the wind. You couldn't get it close and on some holes anywhere near the green was good."
Bland and Howell are in a group of five players just a shot off the lead after the opening day, John Parry, Neil Schietekat and Eduardo De La Riva also shooting 68 at the East London Golf Course.
Further down the leaderboard, Morten Orum Madsen had an eventful start to the tournament with only four pars in his round of 71.
With six birdies and two eagles, the Dane should have been well clear at the front, but he was unable to maintain any consistency as he also carded four bogeys, a double bogey and a triple at the 11th to finish one-under.
Meanwhile, Sullivan – who has won twice in South Africa already this year – saw his chances of a third title suffer, the Englishman sitting five shots off the lead on even par.