Chris Paisley continued his stunning start to the 2018 season as he set the clubhouse target on day one of the Maybank Championship.
The Englishman had five career top fives coming into the new campaign but has added three in as many weeks since the turn of the year, including his maiden win at the BMW SA Open Proudly hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni.
He is 55 under for tnat stretch and seven birdies in a blemish-free 65 moved him to seven under at Saujana Golf & Country Club.
Fellow Englishman David Horsey was then at six under, a shot clear of countryman Andrew Johnston, last year's runner-up David Lipksy, India's Arjun Atwal, South Korean Soomin Lee and Frenchman Romain Wattel.
The later starters had then made little progress in catching the leaders when play was suspended at 3.40pm due to storms in the area.
Horsey had been right in contention at last week's Omega Dubai Desert Classic before struggling with the wind like much of the field on Sunday, and he brought that good form to Malaysia as he set the early pace.
He began with a bogey but bounced back in spectacular style, birdieing the 11th and 12th, and eagling the 13th. Another dropped shot came on the 16th but he added further gains on the 17th, 18th and third.
Paisley also started on the tenth and turned in 32 after birdies on the 11th, 13th, 17th and 18th. Another birdie on the second gave him a share of the lead and when he put an approach to six feet on the next, he was ahead on his own.
Johnston had his first top ten since September 2016 in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago and after being one over after six holes he birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th and made an eagle on the first.
He made further birdies on the fourth and fifth to join the lead and when Horsey picked up a shot on the ninth from 12 feet to set the clubhouse target, there was a three-way tie.
Johnston's par putt on the ninth was just a roll short as he dropped back to five under before Paisley put his approach to the eighth to six feet to lead on his own.
Fabrizio Zanotti's spectacular birdie-eagle finish last year denied Lipsky the title but the American made sure he was in contention again, making birdies on the 13th, 15th, 17th, 18th, first and eighth before dropping a shot on his final hole.
Wattel made just five pars in a roller coaster of a round containing nine birdies and four bogeys, while Atwal made seven gains with two dropped shots.
Lee had a single bogey on the 16th with birdies on the first, fifth, eighth, 14th, 17th and last.
There was then a group of 11 players at four under made up of Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, Italy's Nino Bertasio, Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar, Taiwan's Shih-chang Chan, Belgian Thomas Detry, New Zealander Ryan Fox, England's Chris Hanson, Scotsman Scott Jamieson, Swede Robert Karlsson and Thai duo Phachara Khongwatmai and Jazz Janewattananond.
