Ross Fisher finished birdie-birdie on day one of the US PGA Championship to record his best ever round at a Major Championship.
The Englishman looked set to take a place in the pack at Baltusrol Golf Club before he took advantage of the unique finishing pair of par fives to sign for a 66 and sit at four under.
Fisher has five European Tour wins under his belt but just a single top ten in a Major at the 2009 US Open and, after dropping just one shot in New Jersey on Thursday, he was happy with his day's work.
"I was really solid today and struck the ball well all day – especially from the tee," he said. "Picking up birdies on 17 and 18 was obviously a lovely way to finish.
"I gave myself a lot of chances and missed very makeable putts for birdie on one and five.
Four under to start a Major and with only one bogey on the card, I've obviously got to be very happy with that - Ross Fisher
"It's a long course but in this heat and with the fairways so firm, it probably plays a bit shorter than its true length. You need to drive the ball well and that was definitely the strongest part of my game today. I think the only fairway I missed all day was 18 and I still managed to make birdie.
"It's also important to hit the right parts of the greens and whilst I left myself a couple of tricky putts out there, I managed to do that for the most part. So all in all, very pleasing."
Countryman Andy Sullivan also had a big finish in his opening 67, albeit in different circumstances.
Sullivan - who claimed his first three European Tour titles last season - started on the tenth and was level par before closing with gains on the sixth, seventh and ninth.
"I'm buzzing with that start," he said. "I've been playing really well leading up to the tournament so it's just nice to keep the form and momentum going. I hit a lot of good golf shots out there and managed to take most of my chances when they came long."
Another Englishman who enjoyed a good start was Chris Wood as he made his return from a neck injury.
The BMW PGA Championship winner missed the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and then had to withdraw from The Open Championship due to the problem, so he was happy to be fit and firing in an opening 69.
It was a huge relief to be able to play pain-free today after three-and-a-half weeks of not being able to move my neck - Chris Wood
"The longest shot I'd hit before this week was a 100 yard pitch on Sunday. So when I arrived, I still didn't know whether or not I'd be able to hit a driver, which was a bit worrying. It was so bad at The Open I couldn't move my head on the Monday, so I've made a fairly quick recovery since then, really.
"I suppose looking at the positives, I've had a bit of a break from golf. So when I arrived here this week, I felt really fresh and ready to go."
