Lasse Jensen set the early pace but he had a host of star names chasing him down as round one of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic got under way at Emirates Golf Club.
All eyes were on a three-ball of Major champions in the desert with defending champion Sergio Garcia teeing it up alongside Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson but it was Jensen who took the early headlines.
The Dane, searching for a maiden European Tour win, played his first 12 holes in six under to lead by one shot from South African Haydn Porteous and Frenchman Alexander Levy.
Garcia and McIlroy and were then at four under after turning in 33 from the tenth, alongside recent winner Chris Paisley.
Porteous and Jensen both started on the tenth and went blow-for-blow over their first nine holes, Porteous birdieing the tenth, 13th, 15th, 17th and 18th, and Jensen picking up shots on the 11th, 12th 15th, 16th and 18th.
Levy also made a fast start with birdies on the tenth, 12th and 13th and when he holed a long putt on the 17th and played a nice chip on the next, he had also turned in 32.
A Jensen birdie on the first from four feet and a Porteous gain on the second moved them to six under but Jensen gave the shot straight back and when Porteous double-bogeyed the par five third, Levy shared the lead.
Porteous then hit a stunning tee-shot into the par three fourth and there was a three-way tie at the top before Jensen birdied the third.
Garcia hit a poor tee-shot on the tenth but a beautiful bunker shot allowed him to make a birdie and, after bogeying the 12th, he made three birdies in a row with the help of some very smart iron play before taking advantage of the par five 18th.
McIlroy hit a stunning tee-shot into the 11th, made a putt from the fringe on the 15th and made the most of the par five 13th and 18th.
Paisley - victor at the BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni - had five birdies and a bogey in his first 11 holes.
Stenson, fellow Swede Robert Karlsson, English trio Ashley Chesters, David Horsey and Matt Wallace and Spaniard Carlos Pigem were then at three under.
