French golf proved once again that it was in rude health with five players in the top 13 after round one of the Trophée Hassan II.
Gary Stal and Grégory Havret held a share of the lead at three under, with Grégory Bourdy, Alexander Levy and Clément Sordet all a further shot back after a day of tough scoring at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.
Levy's victory at the Porsche European Open last season extended France's winning run on the European Tour to six years and next year the country will host the Ryder Cup for the first time.
Havret has three European Tour wins to his name and he was delighted to finish in red numbers on a course that he regards as a major test.
"It's good to play under par, anything in the red here is very good on a very tough course, so I'm happy," he said. "Even par is a good score. This course always plays hard and since the changes a few years ago it's even harder.
"When the wind is changing it's not easy to find the right club. It's in perfect condition, the course is just in great shape and we always enjoy it here. It's definitely a test of golf.
"I think it's one of the toughest all season. There's a little bit of a wind but nothing silly like you can have sometimes here."
Stal is looking for a second European Tour win but has had just three top tens since his 2015 victory in Abu Dhabi and was pleased with his consistency on Thursday.
I think it's one of the toughest all season - Grégory Havret
"I played really well today," he said. "My driving was good, my irons were really good and my putting was okay.
"The course is hard though - if you miss a shot, you will pay the penalty.
"It's good to get off to a good start so I'm very happy."
Levy may have secured a win as recently as last season but he has changed his coach and taken the last eight weeks off, a move he is glad to see initially bearing fruit.
"I've had eight weeks off, I've practised a lot and changed coach so it's nice to come back out to play a tournament and it's exciting to bring all that hard work over the last eight weeks back out on the golf course," he said.
