McGrane and Elson share Joburg lead

IRELAND’S Damien McGrane and England’s Jamie Elson share the lead after a weather-interrupted first round of the Joburg Open yesterday.

Elson, who holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the final green of the European Tour’s qualifying school at the end of last year to secure his card, made a flying start to 2012 with an eight-under-par 63 on Royal Johannesburg and Kensington’s West Course. That matched the earlier effort of McGrane, who managed to reach the clubhouse before thunderstorms halted play.

In total around four hours were lost because of the threat of lightning, some unable to complete their rounds.