Nicolai Højgaard produced a back nine birdie blitz in an opening round of 64 to set the clubhouse target on day one of the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The Danish teenager announced himself on the professional stage as he finished second to Sergo Garcia at last season's KLM Open and since then he and identical twin brother Rasmus have been blazing a trail on the European Tour.
Rasmus came through the Qualifying School and won the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open earlier this season but it was Nicolai's time to shine at Education City Golf Club.
The 18-year-old turned in one under but then made six birdies in a row from the tenth as he came home in 29 and hit the summit at seven under.
Dutchman Joost Luiten was a shot back, one ahead of Spaniard Jorge Campillo, Italy's Lorenzo Gagli and Belgian Thomas Pieters.
England's Marcus Armitage made the first big move of the day, birdieing the second and third and then reeling off a hat-trick from the fifth to get to five under.
Luiten made birdies on the tenth, 11th, 13th and 18th and the duo were pulling away as Armitage birdied the tenth and Luiten joined him on six under with gains on the first and fourth.
A double bogey from Armitage on the 12th put Luiten two ahead but Højgaard was starting to make his move.
After birdies on the third and fifth, he dropped a shot on the eighth, but his incredible birdie run after the turn catapulted him to seven under alongside Luiten, who had holed a long putt from off the green at the seventh.
Luiten bogeyed the next and with Højgaard holing from six feet, the advantage was two before the leader dropped a shot on the last.
Gagli, who achieved his best finish of the season so far last week despite the disruption of being tested for coronavirus, parred his first 11 holes but then birdied the 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th and last to fly up the leaderboard.
Pieters started with a bogey but picked up shots on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th and second and, while he made a bogey on the fourth, he birdied the fifth and eighth.
Campillo gave an opening birdie back on the 12th but then made gains on the 13th, 16th, 17th, first and sixth.
Armitage, India's S.S.P. Chawrasia, South African Darren Fichardt, Frenchman Benjamin Hebert and South Korea's Kyongjun Moon were three off the lead.
