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Brooks leads but rain further delays Mandela Championship

DURBAN, South Africa, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Daniel Brooks didn't play a shot Thursday but kept his lead at the European Tour's weather-hampered Nelson Mandela Championship in South Africa.

The tournament began a day early -- Wednesday -- to further honor Mandela, the South African leader who died last week. But waterlogged course conditions severely limited play Wednesday and additional rain Thursday allowed for only 4 1/2 hours of play before organizers again suspended the tournament.

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Brooks was able to get in his first round Wednesday, shooting 8-under-par 62, but dozens of players weren't able to tee off. Even after Thursday many players are yet to complete the first round and some have completed little more than half their rounds. As a result, the first round was to continue at 6 a.m., local time, Friday.

No one caught Brooks or Francois Calmels, who was in second at 7-under after Wednesday. Edouard Dubois and Romain Wattel remain tied for third at 6-under.

Oliver Bekker opened his first round with three birdies and got to 6-under, tying Dubois and Wattel, through 14 holes before play was stopped Thursday.

"You just keep your head down and grind. There's nothing you can do about it," Bekker said about the conditions. "I'm actually happy with the delay, to be honest. The weather is brutal out there at the moment and I've got a couple of tough holes coming up, so hopefully it clears up and those holes become a little easier when I go back out."

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