Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Opening-round play in the eGolf Gateway Tour’s $100,000 Palmetto Hall Championship presented by Sonesta HHI was suspended due to darkness at 5:25 PM on Wednesday night, with 36 players on the course yet to complete their first rounds. Heavy afternoon rain and darkening skies made visibility difficult to the point where officials were forced to pull players off the course roughly 40 minutes before scheduled sunset.

Round one will resume on Thursday morning at 7:50 AM, with round two scheduled to begin on a one-hour delay at 9:00 AM.

Of the players who managed to finish 18 holes on Wednesday, Vaita Guillaume of Tahiti grabbed the unofficial overnight lead with a 6-under 66 – good for a one-shot lead over local favorite Chris Epperson of Hilton Head Island, S.C. entering day two.

Guillaume, a former Campbell University star, was 1-over par through five holes on host Palmetto Hall Plantation’s Cupp Course before righting the proverbial ship in phenomenal fashion.

Birdies on Nos. 6, 7 and 8 put the Lillington, N.C. resident at 2-under 34 on the turn, but it was a torrid stretch of golf on his closing nine that led to a majestic 66 to open the week.

Guillaume’s back-nine scorecard looked like a roller coaster of colors, with an eagle on the par-5 10th giving way to birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17, which were somewhat negated by bogeys on Nos. 12, 16 and 18.

“To be honest, I was not expecting such a good round today. I came down here a week early to shake the rust off and avoid the not-so-consistent North Carolina weather,” said Guillaume after his round. “The only part of my game that has been good and consistent so far is my putting. Every time I was able to hit the green in regulation I felt like I had a good chance to make the putt for birdie. All the bogeys were due to a ‘battleship’ version of my iron game.”

All told, the 26-year-old failed to record a single par en route to a 4-under 32 on his back nine, which left him at 6-under par overall and in good position with three rounds to play.

Guillaume, who was born in Paris, is coming off without doubt his top year as a professional. The former Camel “All America” selection opened 2014 with a win at eGolf Florida’s prestigious Citrus Open before adding a stellar six top-3 finishes on the eGolf Gateway Tour – including a win at the Sapona Ridge Classic and a runner-up at the season-ending Tour Championship (contested at Palmetto Hall).

With nearly $88,000 in 2014 earnings in just his third year as a professional, Guillaume felt he was set to capitalize even further on his talent heading into 2015.

Chris Epperson

“Last year's good performance at the Tour Championship gave me a lot of confidence for the offseason work, and good memories to feed from,” he said. “Last year was definitely an interesting year. It taught me a lot. My overall game feels more whole and I have the ambition to have another big year.”

Epperson, a longtime local legend on the Island and former star at nearby Armstrong Atlantic State, notched one birdie and one bogey over his first seven holes before recording five birdies over his final 11 holes to close out a 5-under 67.

The affable 32-year-old spent 2014 on the Web.com Tour, making six out of 20 cuts, including a season-best T20 at the Panama Claro Championship.

Prior to his stint on the PGA TOUR’s developmental circuit, Epperson starred as one of the most consistent players on the eGolf Gateway Tour, collecting 11 top-5 finishes between 2012 and 2013 – including a third-place finish at the 2013 Palmetto Hall Championship, where he was the 54-hole leader.

Michael Miller of Brewster, N.Y. posted the day’s low round in the afternoon rain, recording a 4-under 68 to slide into solo-third place as the round was coming to a close due to darkness.

Brad Miller of Timonium, Md. and Brendan Kelly of Annapolis, Md. are tied for fourth with matching rounds of 3-under 69.

Kelly, who played his college golf at Villanova, was in the last threesome to finish before play was called for the day, posting his 3-under-par effort in veritable darkness.

First-round play in the Palmetto Hall Championship will resume at 7:50 AM, with second-round play schedule to begin on a one-hour delay at 9:00 AM. Players set to resume their first rounds on Thursday morning should be in the cart staging area, ready to return to the course at 7:35 AM.

Following the conclusion of 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 players and ties for the final two rounds of play. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.