Marcus Fraser turned in a bogey-free 33 at Carnoustie to hit the top of the leaderboard early on day one of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The three-time European Tour winner has just two top 20s so far this season but was ably tackling one of the toughest tests in golf to sit at three under, a shot clear of fellow Australian Jason Scrivener, South Korea's Jinho Choi, Frenchman Sébastien Gros, Thai Phachara Khongwatmai, Dane Søren Kjeldsen and Belgian Thomas Pieters.
There was then a large group of players at one under as one of the European Tour International Schedule's most eagerly-anticipated events got under way.
The first three days are played over the Championship Course Carnoustie, the Old Course at St Andrews and Kingsbarns Golf Links, with the cut coming on Saturday after all players have played all three courses.
Each player also has an amateur partner, with big names from the worlds of sport, music, business and much more teeing it up in Scotland.
Fraser birdied the 12th, 14th and 16th to hit the front, and had Kjeldsen for company before he dropped a shot on the 17th after a hat-trick of birdies from the 12th.
Gros was also playing the back nine at Carnoustie and he birdied the 12th and 14th in his first five holes.
Khongwatmai turned in 34 at St Andrews, birdieing the tenth and 18th, with the rest of the top seven playing at Kingsbarns.
Choi birdied the third and eighth in his first eight holes, while Scrivener had gains on the third and fifth in his first seven.
Pieters was playing the back nine and he birdied the tenth and 12th in his first five holes.
