Thunderstorms cut short opening day

Only two thunderstorms were able to halt Open champion Ernie Els' assault on a fourth straight victory in the Caltex Masters in Singapore.

Els fired four birdies in the space of five holes at Laguna National to close within two shots of the lead before play was abandoned for the day.

European Tour rookie Benn Barham from Kent took advantage of being in the first group out on the course to card a superb opening 65 for a one-shot lead over former Ryder Cup player Paul Broadhurst, Essex's Simon Khan and India's Jeev Milkha Singh.

Els, who was able to complete 15 holes in five under par to finish alongside playing partner and defending champion Arjun Atwal, was one of 78 players unable to finish the first round, which will resume at 8am local time on Friday morning.

The South African world number two had just made his third birdie in a row on the 13th when the players were called off for the first time, and after just half an hour delay returned to par the 14th and hit a superb two iron approach from 250 yards on the par five 15th to set up another birdie.

The 33-year-old's drive then split the 16th fairway seconds before the siren went for the second, and final time, to signal the end of play for the day.

"We can go home happy now and come back tomorrow, it doesn't make any difference," said a relaxed Els, who won the Nedbank Challenge at the end of last year and the first two tournaments on the US Tour in Hawaii over the last fortnight.

"I'm happy with the way I came back on the back nine and I think maybe I was about to run out of birdies anyway. I still have to get used to the grain on the greens but I'm satisfied.

"I had a great sleep last night, about nine hours, so I feel a lot better for that and it was good that I had an afternoon start today as well to help get over the jet-lag."

Meanwhile, Barham is on course to pay out a healthy dividend for the members of his golf club paying his expenses after his opening 65, just one shot outside the course record.

The 26-year-old from Ashford only had time to walk the course, which features water on 11 of the 18 holes, after arriving in Singapore late on Tuesday.

A visit to one of the water hazards on the 13th, his fourth hole, cost him his only dropped shots of the day, but nine birdies, six of them in an inward half of 30, saw him end the day at the top of the leaderboard.

"The members from Chart Hills have helped me for the last three years," explained Barham, who gained his card for this season by finishing 13th on the Challenge Tour.

"They've stuck by me and it's worked really well. Hopefully they will cover my expenses for this year. There are around 20-30 people involved and one share costs £125 so they can buy just one or as many as they like.

"I paid back just under half of what they gave me last year as the expenses on the Challenge Tour are quite high but the prize money is not so big."

Barham, who only arrived in Singapore after a tortuous flight from Johannesburg via Dubai, is now hoping history will repeat itself as his best European Tour finish - fourth in the Scottish PGA Championship in 2000 - came after an opening 65 when he had not played the course.

"I was first reserve that day and stood on the first tee all day before someone in the very last match pulled out," added Barham, a friend of last week's Dunhill championship winner Mark Foster. "I didn't get to see the course then either.

"The earliest flight I could get here was from Johannesburg on Monday and I arrived on Tuesday afternoon having flown via Dubai! I walked nine holes and that night I slept for 15 hours. I forced myself to get out of bed on Wednesday and walked the other nine holes in the afternoon."

Broadhurst's six under 66 matched his final round at the Qualifying School in November which secured his card for this season, a round he described as the best of his career, surpassing even his singles victory over Mark O'Meara in the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island in 1991.

The 37-year-old recovered from a bogey at the first to card eight birdies before a dropped shot on the 17th cost him a share of the lead.

Norfolk's Andrew Marshall and Welshman David Park were a shot further back after rounds of 67, with England's Nick Dougherty and John Bickerton on four under after rounds of 68.

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