Tommy Fleetwood revealed he took momentum from his playing partners as he carded an opening 66 at the 2021 AVIV Dubai Championship.
The Englishman was playing alongside Ryder Cup team-mate Paul Casey and fellow Rolex Series winner Min Woo Lee - sitting seventh and sixth respectively in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex - with the three ball a combined 15 under.
Lee carded a 67 with Casey taking 68 blows over the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and Fleetwood admitted the marquee group were helping each other along.
“I think it always helps when there are a couple of you playing well, of course it does, because there’s just more momentum there so you just ride that," he said.
"I started off like a rocket, four under through five and bar the odd sloppy, disappointing mistake I just threw a good round together like a few people did.
“But you’ve still got to hit the shots, you can still play bad golf and bogey. I did it on a couple of really easy holes, so it’s still out there to happen.
"It always helps when Paul, who I’m obviously close with, and I know Min Woo pretty well - all three of us were playing well and any time you have a day like that it obviously helps.”
The 2017 Race to Dubai champion made a fast start with a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th and picked up another on the 15th before going bogey birdie to turn in 32.
All three of us were playing well and any time you have a day like that it obviously helps
Back to back gains on the third and fourth were followed by a bogey on the fifth before a birdie on the seventh moved him to six under.
“I drove it well," he said. "I did a lot of very good things. There were a couple of sloppy things out there that you would like to, on a really good day when you feel like you can get it going, you would rather not do," he said.
“But overall off the tee I felt pretty confident, in a good space. I felt a lot of good tee shots and gave myself a good chance of scoring.
"It’s a scorable morning and you can see by the scores but you’ve still got to go out there and do it. You’ve got to hit the shots and hole some putts so I’m happy with the start."
