The early starters were trying to make the most of a calm morning as The Open Championship got under way at St Andrews.
Former champion Paul Lawrie, winner at Carnoustie in 1999, struck the opening shot at 6:30am, with no sign of the wind and rain which lashed the course on Wednesday and forced the cancellation of the four-hole Champions Challenge.
Light rain did arrive after more than an hour of play, with heavier showers forecast later, but conditions were still conducive to low scoring and Germany's Marcel Siem was the early pacesetter.
Siem birdied the second, fourth and fifth to move to three under par, one clear of veteran American Loren Roberts and John Daly, the winner here in 1995.
Daly, who beat Italy's Costantino Rocca in a play-off 15 years ago, holed from 15 feet at the first and 12 feet at the second, while Roberts had picked up shots at the second and third.
Earlier, Lawrie had unsurprisingly had no trouble finding the widest fairway in golf off the first tee as hundreds of spectators looked on despite the early start.
The 41 year old Scot's approach to the green finished around 20 feet beyond the flag, which was placed just 12 yards over the burn which guards the front of the green.
From there Lawrie charged his first putt three feet past, but holed the return to card a par four along with playing partners Thomas Levet and Steve Marino.
World Number One Tiger Woods, seeking an unprecedented third Open Championship victory over The Old Course, was due out at 9:09am, alongside England's Justin Rose and Colombian Camilo Villegas.
Rose, fourth at Birkdale in 1998 as a 17 year old amateur, is the most in-form player in golf with two victories in his last three events on the US PGA Tour.
Heavy rain overnight had led to greenkeepers clearing standing water off the course before play got under way, but the lack of wind meant a good score was there for the taking.
Siem picked up his fourth birdie of the day on the seventh to improve to four under, one ahead of Daly who holed from eight feet on the sixth after playing partner Andrew Coltart had done likewise from nearer 60 feet.
Roberts had bogeyed the eighth to fall back to two under and into a group containing English duo Robert Rock and Simon Dyson.
Players Championship winner Tim Clark was also one over after unfortunately seeing his approach to the first hit the flag and bounce back into the burn.
Daly made another birdie from 25 feet on the eighth and almost holed from considerably further away from short of the ninth green for an eagle two.
The subsequent birdie took the flamboyant American - wearing a trademark pair of garish purple and green trousers - out in 31, and yet another birdie on the next gave him a two shot lead on six under par.
Siem had reached five under with his own birdie on the tenth before dropping his first shot of the day on the next, while Scotland's Andrew Coltart and Australian John Senden were also four under.
Englishman Justin Rose birdied the first and second to continue the form which has brought him two tournament wins in his last three starts on the US PGA Tour, while playing partner Tiger Woods also birdied the second.
However, two-time winner Padraig Harrington duffed his approach to the first into the burn and ran up a double bogey six.
