Former Amateur Championship runner-up Matthias Schwab was among the early front-runners as the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity began at Diamond Country Club.
The 18 year old Austrian amateur gave the home fans plenty to cheer as four birdies in his first eight holes took Schwab to four under par in Atzenbrugg.
That was level with recent Madeira Islands Open runner-up Mark Tullo at the top of the leaderboard, the Chilean birdieing his first two holes before an eagle at the long 13th.
Dane JB Hansen, German Moritz Lampert and Swedish pair Björn Åkesson and Åke Nilsson were all three under in the early stages, with defending champion Bernd Wiesberger and Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jiménez amongst those on two under.
