SUN CITY (South Africa), Nov 29: Defending champion Ernie Els of South Africa took the first-round lead with a five-under-par 67 as the 21st Sun City Golf Challenge got underway on wet and muddy Gary Player Country Club course Thursday.

With the players in the invitation 12-man competition chasing a first prize of two million dollars, the richest in golf, and soaking rain falling for most of the day, Els carded six birdies with nine-hole loops of 33 and 34.

His only mistake was to drag a three-iron into the water that fronts the island green at the par-five ninth hole.

That cost Els a bogey-six but the so-called “Big Easy” has made the right sort of start here to put him in line for an unprecedented hat trick of titles following his record-breaking 25-under-par return on his way to victory in 1999, and his defeat of England’s Lee Westwood in a playoff last year.

Just behind him, one stroke off the pace, were fellow-South African Retief Goosen, Germany’s Bernhard Langer, Zimbabwe’s Nick Price, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, Canada’s Mike Weir and 21-year-old Spanish star Sergio Garcia all on four-under-par 68.

Price has won this tournament three times and Langer is a two-time champion. Goosen, the current US Open champion, and Weir are making their debuts in this lucrative, end of year event which is being staged for he 21st time.

A worrying dizzy spell robbed Garcia of a share of the lead. The players talk much about the “fear factor” at the Gary Player Country Club course. The tee-shots at the par-four third, eighth and 11th holes are particularly intimidating as the players’ drives must be hit over long expanses of bushveld to what - visually at least - appear to be tiny targets of closely-mown grass in the far distance.

The treacherous 545-metre par-five ninth is another fearsome hole. Here, if the drive is long enough, the approach must be hit with a fairway wood or long iron over water to an island green.

Garcia was on the fairway, a two-iron in his hand, and looking at the green. Clearly, if he could hit the green in two shots here a birdie or even an eagle would be in the offing.

The Spaniard then exchanged the two-iron for a short-iron and laid up short of the water. From there he wedged onto the green and two-putted for a safety-first par.

Leading first round scores:

67 Ernie Els (South Africa)

68 Colin Montgomerie (Scotland), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Nick Price (Zimbabwe), Bernhard Langer (Germany), Mike Weir (Canada), Retief Goosen (South Africa)

69 Lee Westwood (England)

70 Padraig Harrington (Ireland)

71 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Jim Furyk (United States)

75 Darren Clarke (Northern Ireland)—AFP/Reuters