Australian Terry Pilkadaris used all his experience to set the pace on five under par alongside Belgian Hugues Joannes on day one of the Najeti Open Presented by Neuflize OBC.
Both men carded rounds of 66 at Aa Saint-Omer Golf Club, in northern France, to lead by one stroke from New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, Finland’s Roope Kakko and Italian Nicolo Ravano.
Pilkadaris birdied the fifth and ninth holes on his front nine, before reeling off a hat-trick of birdies from the 12th.
The 41 year old made his only bogey of the day on the 15th hole, but regained a shot on the 17th to sign for his joint lowest round of the season.
Pilkadaris is playing in the tournament for the sixth time, with a share of 19th place last year his best finish to date, and he feels his knowledge of the tricky at Aa Saint-Omer GC could prove beneficial this week.
“On this golf course, it’s a real advantage to know the place,” he said. “Most of the players near the top of the leaderboard are experienced guys, they know how to draw the ball.
“I played a practice round with Ryan Fox, it’s his first visit here. I helped him to discover the course and to respect it, where to hit. And I know Roope likes this place very much, he likes the challenge. So it’s not a surprise to see him in with a good score.”
Pilkadaris recorded a top 20 finish in his last appearance on the Challenge Tour, in the D+D Real Czech Challenge, and an improved display on the greens was the key to his round.
“This season, on the Asian Tour in particular, I’ve played well but not scored well,” he said. “Today a few putts dropped, so that was the difference. I managed to keep the ball in play, and you really have to be on the right spot on the greens.”
At the other end of the experience spectrum, Joannes is making only his second appearance in the tournament, but after missing the cut on his debut last year, the 26 year old is getting to grips with the quirks and contours of the Lumbres layout.
He said: “It’s a very nice feeling to lead. I played here last year, but the course is in very different condition this time. The fairways are much drier, and although the greens are soft the course is playing much faster. It’s so important to know this golf course. All day long it’s a battle, and if you drop a shot it’s important to stay calm and be patient.
“The greens are really difficult to read as well, but I hit quite it close to the flags today which makes life much easier and takes the pressure off your putting.
“The wind is supposed to pick up tomorrow, but we had good practice with that in Belgium last week! The wind doesn’t really bother me anyway, as my trajectory is quite low.”
Whiteford, who is trying to regain his European Tour card after finishing 144th in The 2014 Race to Dubai, already has one top five finish to his credit this season, in the Made in Denmark Challenge.
The Scot made all his scoring on the front nine, courtesy of birdies on the fifth and eighth holes and an eagle on the ninth, where he chipped in.
“To start with a 67 is a very good score,” he said. “I didn’t have any dropped shots, which is very rare on this course. The bounces are going all over the place, because the course is so firm.
“I played very well on the front nine, then sort of held on over the back nine.”
Fox, son of former New Zealand rugby international Grant, was one over par after five holes, but swiftly reeled off four successive birdies from the sixth before adding another at the 16th to sign for a round of 67.
Kakko, who lost his playing privileges on The European Tour last year, dropped his only shot of the day on the 16th, but compensated with five birdies to join Fox and Ravano – who also made just one bogey – in a share of third place.
