Adri Arnaus led the Spanish charge as home favourites dominated the upper echelons of the leaderboard on day one of the Mutuactivos Open de España.
Norwegian Kristian Krogh Johannessen carded a brilliant 63 to lead the way at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid but there were a host of home heroes in the chasing pack.
Arnaus was playing in the marquee group alongside defending champion Jon Rahm and 2016 Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello, and the trio put on a stunning show for adoring home fans.
Arnaus carded a 65 to get to six under, a shot clear of his playing partners and two ahead of Adrian Otaegui and Samuel Del Val.
European Challenge Tour graduate Arnaus already has three second place finishes to his name this season and after an opening round that saw him six under after nine holes, he would love to break his European Tour duck on home soil.
"It would be amazing, it would be a dream come true, but there’s a lot of work still to do," he said.
"It was such a fun round out there with the crowds following. I was really happy with how I played out there, especially the front nine - that was a lot of fun. I was happy to finish with a birdie on the ninth.
"I was six under through nine and finished birdie-birdie-birdie on my last holes on my front nine. That was amazing. I kept it going but some of my putts on my back nine didn’t want to drop, but it finally dropped on the last so I was really happy."
Rahm made six birdies and a bogey in his 66 and while he enjoyed playing alongside Arnaus, he believes his countryman could be a major threat to his title defence over the weekend.
"It was great," he said. "Once we started making birdies it felt like everyone showed up. Adri went six under through nine, I was two under with an unfortunate bogey and Rafa was three or four under. We all got it going and once we made the turn, everyone was there.
"Every time you’re hitting shots, even if you’re missing you’re getting a lot of words of encouragement. It’s a great atmosphere.
"I’ve not been able to successfully defend a title. I’ve been close but not there so, hopefully, I can make it happen this week.
"It’s a challenge. Adri is playing good, if he keeps hitting it long and straight, he’ll have a chance."
Cabrera Bello was the only one of the trio to go bogey free on day one and he enjoyed soaking up the home atmosphere.
"It was very cool," he said. "I’m very pleased for Adri and Jon, having played so well. There was some good, positive energy and we were all feeding on the crowd who were up early this morning to support us. I was pleased that I could dedicate a good round to everyone who came to watch."
