Martin Kaymer returned to a happy hunting ground at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and quickly found it to his liking again.
Last season's Race to Dubai winner, who needs only a top-seven finish in his defence of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship to replace Tiger Woods as World Number Two, raced to four under par after just seven holes.
But that was not quite enough to give the 26 year old German the early lead.
Swede Alexander Noren covered the back nine in a five under 31 and then added another birdie on the long second to be two in front.
Kaymer won on the course not only last year, but also in 2008. That was his first European Tour title and he has since gone on to win his first Major at the US PGA Championship.
Lee Westwood, who cannot be toppled as World Number One this week, is also playing his first tournament of the year and he started well too, reaching the turn in 33 to be three under and joint third with Noren's compatriot Johan Edfors and Dane Anders Hansen.
Padraig Harrington was part of the group one further back and Ian Poulter one under after eight, while US Open Champion Graeme McDowell and Masters Tournament winner Phil Mickelson - playing together and joint fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking - were among the later starters.
Noren three-putted the fifth and Kaymer, starting the outward half with two birdies, was back where he finished the event last year.
As the wind started to pick up, though, he shanked into water from the edge of a fairway bunker at the 439 yard third and did well to drop only one shot.
Westwood also birdied the first, but after leaking a couple of drives he did it again on the sixth and found the lake.
The hole cost him a bogey and on three under he slipped two behind Kaymer, Noren and also Harrington, who joined the other two with birdies at the fourth and fifth.
