Tom McKibbin emerged as the Husqvarna British Masters round one leader after an opening day at The Belfry in which the weather had rather more influence on the timetable than anyone carrying a scorecard.

The Northern Irishman reached five under through 13 holes, one clear of Joe Dean and Nacho Elvira, before storms forced another suspension at 7.11 pm.

McKibbin builds his lead between the stoppages

There was barely time for the opening groups to loosen their shoulders before the first interruption arrived. Play lasted two minutes before lightning halted proceedings, and after the restart only 94 minutes of golf were possible before flooded bunkers brought another suspension lasting four hours and ten minutes.

McKibbin had begun from the tenth and was level par after two holes when the second delay arrived. Once the course reopened, he made the restart count.

Birdies at the par-five 15th and 17th gave his round momentum, before a long putt at the 18th sent him through the turn at three under. A fine approach to the first produced another birdie, and he then completed a clean sweep of the par-fives he had played by picking up another shot at the third.

Five under through 13 was enough for the outright lead. Given the stop-start nature of the day, simply remembering which hole came next felt a modest achievement.

Dean and Elvira keep the pressure on

Joe Dean, playing in the group immediately behind McKibbin, stayed within one shot despite a bogey at the 14th. He birdied the 13th, 15th and 17th before adding gains at the second and third to reach four under through 13 holes.

Nacho Elvira also moved to four under, having completed 12 holes. The Spaniard birdied the third, then produced three successive gains from the tenth just before the final hooter called everyone in again.

Behind them, Dylan Frittelli, Francesco Laporta, Oliver Lindell, Antoine Rozner, Marcel Schneider and Johannes Veerman were all three under.

With much of the first round still unfinished, the leaderboard had shape rather than certainty.

The Belfry holds up, until the bunkers do not

The course itself coped better than the schedule might suggest. The central problem was not the greens or fairways but the volume of water collecting in the bunkers after heavy rain.

Tournament Director Ben Groutage explained the difficulty: “They have done a great job on the course. Tees, fairways and greens have actually held really well to the weather. It’s just so much rain in such a short period of time that put so much in the bunkers, and there’s not really a lot the greens staff could have done about that.

We managed to play two minutes first thing this morning before we came off for lightning. We got back out there and, unfortunately, had so much rain that the bunkers became unplayable. The rest of the golf course is actually very good but we just couldn’t keep the bunkers playable, so it wasn’t fair.

We suspended again. We were off for nearly four hours, and we managed to get back out and play another three just now”.

It was an unusually precise summary of an unusually imprecise day: the playing surfaces were largely sound, but the hazards had become hazards in a rather more literal sense.

Round one resumes with plenty unresolved

Play is due to resume at 7.30 am, with the second wave from round one scheduled to tee off between 8.00 am and 10.00 am.

Round two will not begin before 1.45 pm.

That leaves McKibbin with work still to do before his opening round can be signed off. His advantage is only one shot, Dean and Elvira are close enough to make the restart immediately meaningful, and a group at three under remains within touching distance.

McKibbin has made the interruptions count

The strongest part of McKibbin’s day was not simply the five birdies. It was the way they arrived after hours of interruption, with momentum repeatedly taken away and then rebuilt.

He was level par when the long afternoon suspension struck. When golf finally resumed, McKibbin made five birdies across the next stretch of his round and put himself alone at the top.

There will be no shortage of unfinished business when players return to The Belfry. Scores remain incomplete, half the opening round still has substantial golf to play, and the revised schedule already tells its own story.

McKibbin, though, has at least given everybody else a number to chase.

For now, he has the lead. The weather, rather predictably, still has the last word.