Thomas Pieters made an impressive start to the defence of his title as he took a share of the early lead at the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
The Belgian claimed his maiden European Tour win at the Albatross Golf Resort last season and picked up straight where he left off as he turned in 32 to sit at four under alongside England's Ben Evans and Swede Johan Edfors.
Pieters arrived in Prague off the back of an impressive fourth-placed finish at the Olympic Men's Golf Competition and birdies on the 11th, 13th, 14th and 16th had him straight into contention once again.
Evans made an excellent start with a birdie on the first and added further gains on the sixth, ninth and tenth to sit alongside Pieters after 11 holes.
Edfors went even better with an eagle on the par five opener and added birdies at the second and sixth in his first eight holes.
Fellow Swede Peter Hanson, English trio James Busby, Robert Coles and Oliver Fisher, and Scot David Drysdale were then all at three under.
England's Lee Westwood is aiming to keep himself in the thoughts of Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke as he seeks a tenth appearance in the biennial showpiece, and he briefly held a share of the lead at three under before dropping shots on the 15th and 16th.
