Adrien Saddier fired a flawless 62 to open up a one-shot lead as the first round of the weather-affected Omega European Masters was completed on day two at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Lengthy fog delays on Thursday meant that none of the scheduled afternoon starters could begin their rounds on day one, with England's Richard Mansell and Spaniard Ivan Cantero setting the clubhouse target at five under.
The duo soon had company in the form of Matthew Baldwin and local favourite Ronan Kleu but when the second wave finally got under way, it was Saddier who stole the show in the mountains.
The Frenchman claimed his maiden DP World Tour win at the Italian Open in June and six birdies and an eagle saw him make a strong start in Switzerland.
Former champion Thriston Lawrence and England's Jordan Smith were a shot back on seven under, one clear of Zimbabwe's Benjamin Follett-Smith.
Defending champion Matt Wallace, American John Catlin, China's Haotong Li and German Maximilian Rottluff then rounded out the group at five under.
Saddier left himself a tap-in at the second and then sandwiched gains at the seventh and ninth with a hole-out from the sand at the eighth to turn in 31.
He then got up and down at the par-five 14th for birdie before eagling the next after leaving himself just 13 feet, with a tee-shot to two feet at the par-three 16th seeing him set the target.
South African Lawrence was also bogey-free in his round, making the most of the three par-fives and holing monster putts at the third and 18th in his 63.
Smith holed from 42 feet at the 15th for an eagle and was diallied-in with his irons in making seven birdies but also dropped two shots to sit ahead of Follett-Smith, who made seven birdies with a single dropped shot.
The second round will not be completed on Friday, with 18 groups getting their second circuit under way between 7.40am and 9.00am local time on Saturday.
