Søren Kjeldsen set the early pace as the 15th Alfred Dunhill Links Championship got under way in Scotland on Thursday morning.
The Dane, starting on the tenth hole, reached the turn at Kingsbarns in 31 to get to five under and take a one-shot lead over the rest of the early starters.
The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open champion picked up shots on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th holes on a glorious morning on the east coast which was providing decent scoring conditions not only at Kingsbarns but also at St Andrews and Carnoustie.
James Morrison was making the most of the conditions at Kingsbarns as he birdied his first four holes to sit just a shot back of the leader alongside French duo Alexander Levy and Benjamin Hebert who were reaching the turn.
Carnoustie is regarded as the toughest of the three lay-outs on offer but Scott Jamieson was making serene progress in his opening round and picked up birdies on the 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th to sit four under through six holes.
Swede Kristoffer Broberg, playing St Andrews, was also in the group at four under after making gains at the 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th.
Adrian Otaegui made four consecutive birdies from the second to the fifth at Kingsbarns to also join the group at four under.
Peter Lawrie, Johan Carlsson, Nathan Holman, Ross Fisher and professional debutant Jimmy Mullen were a further shot back.
