Paul Lawrie made the most of ideal conditions to fire a flawless 61 and set the clubhouse target on day one of the KLM Open.
Beginning his round at the tenth tee, the 1999 Open Championship winner carded an eagle and four birdies in his first nine holes before making further gains at the second, sixth and seventh.
The 46 year old needed to pick up two shots in his final two holes to break the 60 barrier but that dream was shattered when he sent his tee shot on the eighth into a bunker, before recovering to save par from eight feet.
Lawrie safely parred the last to end the day on nine under and set the pace at Kennemer Golf and Country Club.
The Scot was delighted with his start to the week. He said: "Sixty-one - it sounds good, doesn’t it? I played very nicely and putted very well again.
"My previous best was 63 in the third round of the Dunhill Links when I won. I was ten under after 12 holes that day and shot nine under.
"A nine under round there on that day with the wind picking up in the afternoon, was a good knock. Any time you’re nine under, in fact, is a decent effort.
"I hit a lot of really good shots and it couldn’t have been much lower than that. I’m usually moaning that I could have been three or four less, but that was pretty much all I could have got.
"The 59 did cross my mind. I had a long putt on the seventh – my 16th – for eagle after a lovely three wood in there, and had that popped in there I would have only had to birdie one of the last two to make it. It was at the back of my mind, but I’m very happy with 61."
Lawrie sits two strokes clear of Englishmen James Morrison, David Horsey and Robert Rock, home favourite Joost Luiten and Argentina's Estanislao Goya, who shot matching rounds of 63 on Thursday.
Mikko Ilonen and Morten Ørum Madsen are a shot further back on six under, with Stephen Gallacher among the group on five under.
Luiten was happy with his day's work. He said: "It was a very solid round. I didn’t have any bogeys today which was the key – keeping the mistakes off my card. I had a few chances and took a few nice ones on my back nine.
"I’ve had three weeks off working hard on my game and it’s good to feel so confident stepping on the first tee. I haven’t had that all year. It feels really good to do that in front of your home crowd as well. It was time to work on my game and just glad it has paid off.
"It’s always an advantage to know the course and to have played here so many times. That also gives you confidence."
After finishing second behind Lee Slattery at last week's M2M Russian Open, Goya was pleased with his steady start in Zandvoort.
He said: "I tried to take the good feelings from last week into this week, and I had a really good round today. I had a couple of good par saves to keep the round going, which helped a lot. I’m very happy.
"It’s very different from last week, but I’ve played the last two years here and I know the course pretty well. I adapted very well today.
"I’ve been working very hard lately after some poor results earlier in the season. Eventually a good week came last week, and that’s helped me realise that I’m doing the right things and have to keep going in the same vein."
Last year's Ryder Cup captains, Paul McGinley and Tom Watson, finished the day on one under par after opening rounds of 69.
