Big-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros quickly established himself as the man to catch at the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain.
Quiros birdied the first four holes on the back nine and added another at the 429 yard 17th to be five under par.
The 28 year old was one ahead of Dutchman Maarten Lafeber, who was also up and running with four successive birdies, and two in front of a group which included former Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton and Italian sensation Matteo Manassero.
The 17 year old from Verona, who finished 13th in the 2009 Open Championship and last October became the youngest winner in European Tour history, was playing with Quiros and also Sergio Garcia, who in his first start of the year birdied the 13th and 17th.
Course designer Colin Montgomerie hit back from an opening bogey to be two under as well, as did World Number Nine Paul Casey.
Quiros drove into the water on the 18th and double-bogeyed, but further birdies at the first and third - he just missed a nine foot eagle attempt there - took him back to five under.
He had company at the top by then, however - and plenty of it. Swedes Alex Noren and Johan Edfors, Dane Søren Kjeldsen and South African James Kingston were all on the same mark.
Manassero went to tap in from 18 inches at the first and missed it for his first bogey, but he matched Quiros' birdie two holes later and Garcia made four there too.
It put them both on three under, but Casey was back to level par after double-bogeying the 17th.
