Storm clouds help Barham steal Els' early thunder

Benn Barham recorded a superb opening 65 in the Caltex Masters here but had the Open champion Ernie Els breathing down his neck before bad weather halted play.

The European Tour rookie from Kent hit nine birdies at the Laguna National for a one-shot lead over the former Ryder Cup player Paul Broadhurst, Essex's Simon Khan and India's Jeev Milkha Singh, with Els one shot further back.

The round means Barham is on course to return a healthy dividend to the members of his golf club paying his expenses after his opening 65, just one shot outside the course record.

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 to 30 people involved and one share costs £125, so they can buy just one or as many as they like."

Els managed to complete only 15 holes of his round before a second thunderstorm of the afternoon forced play to be abandoned for the day. Chasing a fourth successive tournament victory, Els was one of 78 players unable to complete the first round, which will resume today.

The South African 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. Els' drive then split the 16th fairway seconds before the siren went for the second, and final, time.

* Darren Clarke took the first-round lead at the Dimension Data Pro-Am in Sun City, South Africa, with an opening-day 63. The Ulsterman used his new driver to good effect as he smashed drives of over 300 metres for a round of eight birdies, an eagle and a bogey. Clarke ended the day tied with Austria's Uli Weinhandl, who hit eight birdies and an eagle.England's Mark Foster, who won a six-way play-off last week at the Dunhill Championship, also in South Africa, is three shots behind Clarke on six under. Justin Rose is three shots further back after a 69.