Ricardo Gouveia held a share of the early lead as the first round of the Hero Indian Open got under way in New Delhi.
DLF Golf and Country Club is one of the most fearsome layouts on the European Tour and just 19 players were under par in the early stages on Thursday.
Portuguese Gouveia was among those as he turned in 32 to get to four under and lead the way alongside Thai Danthai Boonma and Australian Terry Pilkadaris.
Malaysia's Nicholas Fung was then at three under, a shot ahead of a group containing Grégory Havret, Pablo Larrazábal and Paul Peterson.
Gouveia won the Challenge Tour in 2015 and enjoyed a successful rookie season but needed the Access List to keep his card last term.
Birdies on the first, sixth, seventh and eighth saw him join the lead as he looks for a first European Tour win.
Pilkadaris made birdies on the tenth, 11th, 13th and 15th in his first seven holes, while Boonma turned in 35 and then made a hat-trick of gains from the 11th in his first 14.
Fung had four birdies and a bogey in his first 12 holes.
Spaniard Larrazábal had a roller coaster of a first 14 holes, making a double and two bogeys but adding six birdies including a holed bunker shot on the par three fifth.
Frenchman Havret had two birdies and two bogeys in his first seven holes but egaled the eighth to turn in 34, while Peterson made birdies on the 11th and 16th in his first nine holes.
Spaniard Javi Colomo, American Sihwan Kim and Thai veteran Prayad Marksaeng were also two off the lead, a shot ahead of a group containing Jamie Donaldson, Andrew Johnston, Edoardo Molinari and James Morrison.
