Casey Jarvis and Scott Jamieson share early lead at rain-hit Mauritius Open

The pair were five under par when play was suspended for the day, with five groups still to complete their first round.

There were another 13 players within two shots of the lead, with the group at four under featuring former champion Dylan Frittelli and Frenchman Alexander Levy, on his first DP World Tour appearance of the season.

Jarvis, winner of two Sunshine Tour events in the past month, birdied the last to cap off a round featuring two eagles.

Jamieson, starting on the back nine, birdied four of his first five holes and eight in all to offset a pair of sixes at the 15th and the first.

The Scot's one previous win on the DP World Tour came in South Africa at the 2013 Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa, while Jarvis is chasing a maiden victory.

Frittelli and Levy, playing together in the fourth group to tee off on the back nine, set the early target along with Frittelli's fellow South African Herman Loubser after rounds of 68.

Frittelli, the 2017 champion, was over par until a spectacular finish with three birdies in succession from the fourth followed by an eagle at the eighth.

“The wind was howling and we had three rain squalls come through," he said. "I was really happy to be under par today. But I’m also starting to learn this course.”

Levy, winner of five DP World Tour events in his career, lost his card last season but showed a glimpse of his best form in a round featuring seven birdies and three bogeys.

"It was tough, I played really good today," he said. "I'm really pleased with my game, I worked very hard the last months so I'm pleased the hard work paid off, it's nice."

Loubser was another early starter and looked set to post a mark of six under par but after five birdies in eight holes, helped by a brilliant bunker shot at the sixth, he ended his round with a double-bogey at the ninth.

The trio were part of a leading group which for much of the day saw between four and six players tied, with Ryan Gerard prominent among them. The American eagled the eighth while his five birdies included superb approaches at the fourth and 15th.

Manuel Elvira and Brandon Stone were the other players to shoot 68 on Thursday, with last week's Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Jayden Schaper in the group at three under after a round featuring four birdies and just a single bogey.

Alex Fitzpatrick nudged ahead at five under until a bogey-bogey finish left him alongside Schaper, Joakim Lagergren, Andreas Halvorsen, MJ Daffue, Hugo Townsend and Anthony Quayle. The latter had two holes left to play and was the only player under par among the 15 yet to complete their rounds.