Thomas Björn's decision to treat The Open Championship as "a bit of a joyride" paid off as he posted the clubhouse target with a superb opening 65 at Royal St George's.
Björn, 40, famously saw a three shot lead with four holes to play wiped out when The Open was last staged here in 2003, taking three shots to escape from a greenside bunker on the 16th.
Björn was sixth reserve for the event only nine days ago, but came in on Monday evening when Vijay Singh - joint runner-up with him eight years ago - followed Tiger Woods, Thomas Levet, Tim Clark and David Toms in pulling out.
The former Ryder Cup player would still have been left on the sidelines but for the fact that first alternate Brendan Jones turned down the chance to play because his wife was expecting.
"It was not very nice being first reserve on Monday but I decided to treat it as a bit of a joyride if I got in," said Björn, who played the last four holes in one under par today, despite a bogey on the 18th.
"It gave me a bit of a boost on Monday when I got in and it's a good start. There's a lot involved after what happened in 2003 and I was just happy to get in first of all. I've not had good form of late so it's a bit of a surprise to me how well I played today."
Björn held a one shot lead over Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez, whose 66 was the only bogey-free round of the day so far, while Bjorn's playing partner Simon Dyson returned a 68 to lie third.
Although the wind was nowhere near as strong as during the practice rounds, scoring was still tough and US Open Champion Rory McIlroy was among those back in the pack.
The 22 year old from Northern Ireland, favourite to become the youngest Open Champion since 1893 following his stunning victory at Congressional last month, dropped two shots in the first three holes, but steadied the ship and eventually signed for a one-over 71, the same score as World Number One Luke Donald.
"Especially after the start, playing the last 15 in one under par was a pretty good effort," McIlroy said. "It was a day where you just needed to grind out a score. Anywhere around even par was a good start."
In reference to his second round 80 at St Andrews last year after opening with a 63, McIlroy added: "On a day like this, I know better than most people you can shoot a high number and put yourself out of the golf tournament.
"I said yesterday, if the conditions stayed the same I'd take two 70s over the first two days, and if I shoot 69 tomorrow with similar conditions I'll be really happy going into the weekend."
Sergio Garcia was left to rue two dropped shots in the last three holes as he recorded a 70, while Ian Poulter played the same stretch in one under to shoot 69.
The odds looked against anyone catching Björn, but 1997 winner Justin Leonard started with birdies at the first three holes to move into outright third at three under, while Adam Scott - with Tiger Woods' caddie Steve Williams on the bag - was two under at the turn.
However, World Number Two Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington were all struggling at two over par, having played seven, nine and ten holes respectively.
