Home favourite Darren Fichardt held a share of the lead early on day one of the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player.
The seventh Rolex Series event of the season has a 7.5million US dollar prize fund as the European Tour's finest battle to finish as high as they can on the Race to Dubai at Gary Player Country Club.
Fichardt claimed his fifth European Tour title earlier in the season at the Joburg Open and while he cannot finish the year as Europe's Number One, he is fighting to get into the top 60 and next week's DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Paul Waring is also in contention to make the season finale and he joined Fichardt in turning in 33 to get to three under.
Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen and French pair Victor Dubuisson and Mike Lorenzo-Vera were then at two under.
England's Waring got off to the best possible start, making birdies on the tenth, 11th and 12th, and when he made another gain on the 15th he had a two-shot lead. A bogey on the 17th then dropped him back alongside Fichardt.
The South African had also birdied the tenth and 11th but dropped a shot on the 12th before making further gains on the 14th and 17th.
Oosthuizen had played just three holes but delighted the home crowd as he holed a 20-footer for an eagle on the second.
Dubuisson had birdies on the 13th, 14th and 18th with a dropped shot on the 16th as he turned in 34, while Lorenzo-Vera made birdies on the 14th and 15th after a birdie-bogey start.
There were then 20 player at one under including Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex leader Tommy Fleetwood.
