A brilliant burst of scoring around the turn saw India's Arjun Atwal open up an early one-shot lead on the first morning of the Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi.
Starting at the 11th tee, three-time European Tour winner Atwal picked up his first shot of the day at the 17th before reeling off birdies at the first, third and fourth to jump to four under par.
Spain's Alvaro Quiros was Atwal's nearest challenger on three under after he followed up an eagle at the par-five 13th - his third hole - with a birdie at the next.
Joachim B Hansen, who finished top of the Road to Ras Al Khaimah Rankings on the Challenge Tour in 2018 to regain his European Tour card, had the honour of playing the first tee-shot of the 2019 Race to Dubai campaign early on Thursday.
And Dane Hansen started well, notching a birdie at the second, but back-to-back bogeys at the third and fourth and another at the eighth saw him slip to two over before a second birdie at the 13th moved him to one over.
India's Shubhankar Sharma, who enjoyed a sensational rookie season on Tour in 2018, was among the large group on two under after carding three birdies and a single bogey in his first ten holes.
