France's Ravetto made six birdies and just one bogey and Norway's Johannessen had a blemish-free round of five birdies on Thursday as the tournament made its debut on the DP World Tour.

They are one shot clear of Syme, who had an eventful day, starting with three birdies and a bogey in his opening four holes. Seven birdies and three bogeys made up his round of 68.

A handful of players weren't able to complete their opening rounds because of fading light and will be back out early on Friday morning to finish before the second round gets under way.

None of them are likely to match the first-round scores of Ravetto and Johannessen.

Ravetto's only bogey came on No.7, his 16th hole of the day, but he birdied the last to ensure he had a share of the lead.

The Frenchman said he enjoyed his first round on the links in St. Francis Bay, a city on South Africa's typically blustery south coast.

"With the wind it's really nice to play, it's really fun, some nice tee shots to hit, nice second shots, a really nice track," Ravetto said.

Ravetto and Johannessen are both seeking a maiden title on the DP World Tour.

Joost Luiten is in a five-way tie for fourth, he made a triple-bogey on the 8th, and then holed his second shot into the par-5 13th for an albatross to get back the three shots he had lost.