Local favourite Brett Rumford was among the early contenders as the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth got under way in Australia.
Golf history was being made on the west coast, with the innovative format seeing the top 24 players after 54 holes making it through to a six-hole match play format at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Perth native Rumford completed his first 11 holes in four under par to sit just a shot behind fellow Australian and pace-setter Dimitrios Papadatos on Thursday morning.
Rumford, a five-time winner on the European Tour, lost his card last season but had made an impressive start to the 2017 campaign before being forced to withdraw at the BMW SA Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni, and he continued that good form on home soil.
The 39 year old made birdies on the tenth, 11th, 14th and 15th - with a single dropped shot on the 13th - to turn in 33 before making another gain on the first.
That could not keep pace with Papadatos, however, who had birdies on the tenth, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th in his first ten holes.
England's Robert Dinwiddie was alongside Rumford a shot off the lead as he recovered from an opening bogey with birdies on the third, sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth.
Australia's Nick Cullen was then at three under after nine holes, alongside German Sebastian Heisele who had completed six.
There was then a group of 16 players at two under including 2014 winner here Thorbjørn Olesen, 2016 victor Louis Oosthuizen and American Peter Uihlein.
