Robin Sciot-Siegrist was pleased to see the hard work he has been doing recently pay off after firing an opening 63 at the Omega European Masters on Thursday.
The Frenchman sits three shots off the lead in a tie for second after bouncing back from an opening bogey with eight birdies to get to seven under par.
He is locked alongside Marcus Armitage, with only runaway leader James Morrison ahead of them.
Sciot-Siegrist has enjoyed an upturn in form recently, making the cut at his last three tournaments having failed to do so in the previous five.
And he revealed after Thursday's first round that his results on the course are directly linked to the work he has been putting in behind the scenes.
"I'm feeling good right now," he said. "I've been working a lot on my game, mostly my putting, and I've been putting well the last few weeks.
"I've had a couple of good rounds the last few weeks so that gives me confidence and I'm playing better at the moment.
"It's a very tricky course, things can go sideways a bit. You just need to get what you can.
"I had a good stretch on the front nine and on the back nine I just stuck to my strategy. If things go well, you take it.
"I don't know if the course fits my game but you really need to be strategic and I like courses like that.
"You still need to play well. I just like the set up and it's beautiful out there."
Afternoon starter Armitage shot seven birdies and no bogeys in his first round, and he was enjoying being back at a place that holds happy memories for him.
He said: "I enjoy the feeling of being here again. I've only been here once before and that was when I got engaged four years ago. Unfortunately, Lucy isn't with me, but just great feelings here, and a couple of weeks off (before this week) have paid dividends.
"Sometimes you can look at a score like that (Morrison's 60) and try to put the foot down. Then if you don't start off well you can get frustrated with your own game.
"This is very much a patience golf course, so even if you see someone like James with ten under - which is an amazing score - you've just got to be patient, take your time and construct a round.
"If it's your day, it's your day, if it isn't, you've just got to stay in it."
