American Connor Arendell birdied four of his last five holes to snatch the clubhouse lead midway through the first round of the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco.
The Qualifying School graduate had missed his first four cuts this season, but reproduced the form that saw him take the eighth card at PGA Catalunya Resort with a seven under par 65.
That was one ahead of Scotland’s Marc Warren and English pair Andy Sullivan and Tommy Fleetwood.
The 23 year old from Florida said: "It's a great start.
"There was quite a bit of wind so I wasn't expecting too low of a round out there but I kept putting the ball in play and I was making some putts.
"I gave both tours a try, Q-school wise, but I just think this is the best thing for me now.
"I think it's huge, coming over here getting that experience, the travelling; week to week the courses vary quite a bit compared to the US every week so you are working a lot on getting used to the greens and the courses and it's tough, but I think over time it will make it that much easier when I'm in the US."
Arendell is following in the footsteps of the likes of Peter Uihlein and Brooks Koepka in swapping America for Europe, adding: "I spoke to Peter a little online asking what to expect when I came over.
"I played against them a little in college and junior golf so we know each other a little bit. They have done great so far and it's a great thing what they're doing and I think you will see more Americans (on The European Tour)."
Johnnie Walker Championship winner Fleetwood, who had also missed his last two cuts, set the pace for much of the morning after covering the back nine in just 30 shots thanks to four birdies and an eagle on the 17th.
However, the former English Amateur Champion was frustrated to then card seven straight pars before three-putting the eighth.
A birdie on the last swiftly made amends for that mistake and meant Fleetwood joined compatriot Sullivan and Warren on six under.
Former Walker Cup star Sullivan finished his round in style with four straight birdies.
Warren carded his lowest round of the season, having made a slow start to the 2014 Race to Dubai where he currently resides in 142nd place.
The former World Cup winner has missed the cut in three of his five events, but the 32 year old rediscovered some of the form which took him to a career-best 33rd on last season’s Race to Dubai to card an opening 66 at Golf du Palais Royal.
After starting from the tenth and covering the back nine in 32, Warren picked up shots at the third, fifth and seventh to move into the outright lead on seven under.
His only bogey of the day came on the eighth, where his tee shot found an awkward lie in the back of a greenside bunker, and that dropped him into a share of the lead.
Scotland's Peter Whiteford and India's Gaganjeet Bhullar were a shot behind after rounds of 67, while defending champion Marcel Siem returned a 69.
Siem, who enjoyed a wire-to-wire win here 12 months ago, picked up a neck injury on his flight to Agadir and was advised to pull out of the pre-tournament pro-am on Wednesday.
The 33 year old showed few signs of the problem as he carded five birdies in his first six holes before dropping shots on the 16th and 18th.
A birdie on the first took Siem back to four under but he had to scramble a par on the fifth after finding water with his approach to the par five and then double-bogeyed the next after fluffing his chip.
Another birdie on the last meant Siem finished three under par alongside playing partner George Coetzee, who is looking for a good performance to climb inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking from 56th in order to secure a place in the Masters Tournament next month.
