Sweden’s Jens Dantorp shot a five under par 67 to hold the clubhouse lead during day one of the Nordea Masters in Malmö.
The 26 year old, who began his round on the back nine, recovered from a bogey on his opening hole with an eagle at the par five 11th and a birdie at the 14th to reach the turn in 34.
Dantorp made further gains at the first, third and fourth holes to take the outright lead, one shot ahead of Thomas Pieters and Lee Slattery who both fired an opening 68.
Dantorp, who also claimed a share of the lead on the opening day of last year’s tournament, was pleased with his start.
“I putted really well today, which was the key to my score,” he said. “There are a couple of things I need to improve with my shots, but my putting made up for it.
“I know the course really well, so actually in practice I only played four holes because of the wind and rain.
“It’s great to play with such good support. Normally you’re travelling to other countries to play, but here it’s nice to have lots of people cheering you on.
“Tomorrow I think there will be even more people, which will be great. I love it.
“Last year I played well here so I have confidence from that. Last season playing on the Tour has definitely helped my game and I’m trying to improve all the time.”
Englishman Slattery, who finished tied 43rd at last week's Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation, was pleased with his performance in difficult conditions at PGA Sweden National.
He said: “It’s a serious test. We seem to have had a lot of wind the last few weeks and it was more of the same today. After last week it felt a bit easier, but four under is still a good score.
“We can’t get out of the waterproofs – the last few weeks have been really tricky and certainly will have toughened us up for the next stretch of events.
“It’s so easy to under-club here as there’s nothing to stop the wind. You can’t flight it under the wind, so if it’s two clubs up you just have to trust it and get on with it.
“It was nice to hit a lot of good shots today and I putted a bit better. It’s a good start.”
World Number Four Henrik Stenson had a mixed round on his first appearance in Europe this season, reaching the turn in level par after two birdies and two bogeys and eventually signing for a two under par 70.
