, Singapore, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- England's Benn Barham shot a 7-under-par 65 Thursday to take the lead after a suspended first round at the Caltex Masters.
Barham carded nine birdies and a double bogey to fall just one shot shy of the course record on his first ever round at Laguna National.
He was one of only 72 golfers to complete the first round before thunder and lightning forced play to be suspended. Exactly half the field will complete their first rounds on Friday. The second round will be delayed by 75 minutes.
Ernie Els, who already has won $1.8 million after capturing the first two PGA events of the year, was one of those who did not complete the round and was in a group of six tied for fifth place at 5-under.
"I'm not really disappointed to have stopped," Els said. "I can go home now because I'm happy with the way I came back on the back nine. I hit a good drive down the 16th so we can go home happy and come back tomorrow, it doesn't make a difference."
The 26-year-old Barham only had time to walk the course, which features water on 11 of the 18 holes, after arriving in Singapore late 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 the nine birdies, six of them on the front nine, gave him a one-shot lead over former English Ryder Cup player Paul Broadhurst.
