Graeme McDowell boosted his chances of winning the Race to Dubai by claiming the clubhouse lead midway through the opening day of the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Sotogrande.
US Open champion McDowell, who currently sits second in the standings behind runaway leader Martin Kaymer, carded three birdies in a bogey-free round of 68 to move to the top of the leaderboard.
That gave him a one shot lead over fellow Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin, who also avoided any dropped shots in his 69.
Robert Rock and Raphael Jacquelin were alongside Maybin at two under after eight and ten holes respectively, while John Parry, SSP Chowrasia and Ricardo Gonzalez were on the same mark in the early stages of their rounds.
A host of players were a shot further back, including Francesco Molinari, who moved to three under through 11 before finding a greenside bunker at the short 15th and three-putting for double bogey.
Soren Hansen was also in the clubhouse at one under, while Marcel Siem mixed five birdies with two double bogeys in his opening 12 holes to sit on the same score.
Sweden’s Oskar Henningsson - the world number 434 - reached four under at one stage before dropping back into the group on one under courtesy of a bogey at 12 and a double bogey at the par three 13th.
Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello faded in the closing stages to finish the day on level par - his round containing five birdies and five bogeys.
He was joined by England’s Ross Fisher, who ended his round in disappointing fashion by double bogeying the final hole.
Kaymer, meanwhile, who can move to the top of the world rankings with a top-two finish this week, could only muster a 72.
The 25 year old German has won his last three events, but will hope to improve on Friday after a round containing four bogeys, including three in a row between the 11th and 13th.
Thomas Levet was also at one over with two holes to play - having started the day in spectacular fashion with a double bogey at the first and an eagle two at the second - while Ireland’s Peter Lawrie birdied the first three holes before double bogeys at 14 and 17 sent him sliding down the leaderboard.
