Thorbjørn Olesen carded a flawless seven under par 63 to set an electric pace during the opening round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Gullane.
The Dane posted seven birdies, the last of them coming from 30 feet on the penultimate hole, to hold a two shot clubhouse advantage over England’s Matthew Nixon, Spain’s Adrian Otaegui and American Jimmy Walker.
"It's been a tough time but I keep working on the right things and hopefully it will come," said Olesen, who lost a play-off for the Mauritius Open in May after three months on the sidelines due to surgery on a hand injury. "I showed today I can still shoot low rounds.
"I hit almost every green - only missing the 18th - and hit a lot of fairways and greens today, which was the key."
This year's hand injury is not the only problem Olesen has suffered since finishing sixth in the Masters in 2013, the 25 year old famously injuring his groin falling off a camel in Dubai.
"When I had to get down I pulled a muscle in my groin and it took a few weeks before I could walk properly again," two-time European Tour winner Olesen added.
Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell enjoyed a welcome return to form before bogeying the last two holes to fall into a tie for fifth on four under, with Ryder Cup opponents Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar alongside him.
McDowell's sole top-ten finish on The European Tour this season came back in February and he missed the cut when bidding for a third successive Alstom Open de France title last week, a second round of 78 being his worst score in 32 rounds at Le Golf National.
The 35 year old admitted he needed to get back to basics and "clear his mind" of thoughts about technique and looked to have succeeded as he made a flying start at Gullane.
After picking up a shot on the par five second, McDowell rolled in four birdies in succession from the fifth to reach the turn in 30.
A two putt gain at the long 16th took him to six under, before a costly bogey-bogey finish.
Nixon had recovered from a bogey on the first with seven birdies in the next 12 holes to reach six under, only to card a double bogey on the 14th.
Defending champion Justin Rose was among the later starters alongside five-time Major winner Phil Mickelson and Scotland's Marc Warren, who was joint third behind Rose at Royal Aberdeen 12 months ago.
