Tom McKibbin finished his opening round six under par, placing him one stroke behind the tournament leader after a severe weather interruption.
The Northern Irishman recorded six birdies on his card, with only a single bogey preventing him from matching the top score.
Niklas Norgaard of Denmark took the day's lead with a six-under-par total of 66, featuring an eagle and six birdies in his final seven holes.
Play was suspended shortly after 06:30 BST due to lightning and torrential rain, remaining halted for five hours before resuming at the tenth hole.
Rory McIlroy completed his round three strokes behind McKibbin, having bogeyed the opening hole but recovering with four birdies later in the day.
McIlroy's card included a par on the third hole after an initial error, followed by shots from the twelfth to fifteenth holes before a drop at the sixteenth.
Eugenio Chacarra of Spain and Thomas Detry of Belgium also reached five under par, joining McKibbin in contention for the top spot.
A trio of Scottish players—Scott Jamieson, Robert MacIntyre and Ewen Ferguson—finished three under, alongside India's Om Prakash Chouhan and England's Marcus Armitage.
McIlroy sits third in the Race to Dubai standings prior to this event, currently trailing Patrick Reed and Chacarra in the overall order.
Since January 2025, McKibbin has competed on the LIV Golf tour while his only DP World Tour victory remains the European Open in Germany in 2023.
The tournament is taking place at the Delhi Golf Club, where many competitors were unable to complete their first eighteen holes due to the storm conditions.
No further updates are expected until play resumes for the second round following the weather delay.