Matteo Manassero compiled an outward 31 to race into an early lead at the Maybank Malaysian Open.
The Italian wonderkid, who celebrates his 18th birthday next Tuesday, started on the tenth tee at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.
He mixed two birdies and a bogey in his first five holes, before reeling off four successive birdies from the 15th.
That was enough to give Manassero - already a European Tour winner in Spain last year - an early two shot lead.
Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, England's Chris Rodgers, Australian Marcus Both, India's Jeev Milkha Singh and Welshman Jamie Donaldson were all three under par during the opening exchanges.
Things were not going quite so well for newly-crowned Masters Tournament champion Charl Schwartzel, who found himself three over par at the turn.
Perhaps not surprisingly given his exploits at Augusta National only 72 hours earlier, the South African had three bogeys on his outward nine and was still waiting for a first birdie.
World Number One Martin Kaymer and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, who led for the first three rounds in Georgia last week, were among the afternoon starters.
