Dylan Naidoo took advantage of a sodden Irene Country Club on Friday in the first round of the Sunshine Tour’s Kit Kat Group Pro-Am as he reeled off seven birdies in 13 holes to open up a three-stroke lead before rain halted play.

It was the second time in the first round that weather intervened, after play was delayed for more than three hours in the morning after the Hennops River burst its banks after heavy overnight rain. But Naidoo didn’t allow the rain to put a dampener on his game as he led Rupert Kaminski and Jayden Schaper by three. There were seven players in a share of fourth on three-under-par.

Naidoo started out by making birdie on the first hole, and then he birdied every second one after that on the front nine to turn in five-under-par 30. That included a par-three on the eighth which had been cut down from a par-four because of rain damage on the normal landing area of the fairway, making the course a par-71 instead of its normal 72.

On the back nine, Naidoo started with two birdies on a row, and then made pars on the next two holes before the siren sounded halting play as lightning and bad weather came rolling through again.