Martin Kaymer equalled his lowest opening round of the season as he aimed to kick-start his campaign with a good performance at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.
For much of the day it looked like the two-time Major Championship winner would hold the lead alongside Ross Fisher heading into round two, as rounds of 69 saw the pair top the leaderboard for much of the early afternoon.
But Danny Willett turned on the style late in the day with a stunning 65 to move into the lead, leaving Kaymer in a tie for fifth overnight.
It was still an encouraging start for the German as he looks to follow up his top ten at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation last month.
Kaymer is without a win since his 2014 US Open Championship triumph but he is targeting a big summer as he looks to qualify for a fourth consecutive European Ryder Cup team.
"I played really good golf today," he said. "I gave myself a lot of chances. Missed three or four putts within six, seven feet and still shot three under par, which obviously says a lot about the ball-striking.
I was very happy the way I hit my drives today. They were long and straight, and that's always a positive - Martin Kaymer
Defending champion Søren Kjeldsen has been a picture of consistency since winning this event 12 months ago, a run of form that has catapulted him back into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The Dane was one under for his round before he eagled the last and that boost powered him into the top five.
"I don't know the importance of it," he said. "It felt great and it put a smile on my face, that's for sure. It's lovely. I hit a great drive, hit a great second shot, and hit a beautiful putt there, so a nice way to finish."
Challenge Tour graduate Callum Shinkwin was at four under after catching the eye in his rookie season with a sensational ten under par 62 in the third round of the Shenzhen International.
He followed that with a 79 and then finished 13th in the Trophée Hassan II and feels he is learning all the time on the European Tour.
"Me and David (McNeilly - caddie), we worked out what went wrong and the week after we had a week off, and then we played Morocco and played pretty solid," he said. "Didn't putt as well as we wanted to but we kept doing what we did the last few holes in that final round in China.
"It's nice to show people how well I can play and I feel like I've done it so far, but I wouldn't want to raise the bar too high at the moment. I just want to carry on what I'm doing."
