James Morrison was revelling in his first taste of the US PGA Championship as he helped spearhead the European challenge at Whistling Straits.
The Englishman carded two bogeys and five birdies in an opening 69, completing his round in style by holing from 35 feet for birdie on the 520 yard 18th.
That left him three under alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose and Thomas Bjørn and three shots off the lead held by Dustin Johnson.
The trio took advantage of the lighter winds in the morning as the Wisconsin layout began to bare its teeth after lunch with the wind picking up and defending champion and World Number One Rory McIlroy being held to level par over the front nine.
Morrison started the year 361st in the world rankings but earned his place in the field thanks to winning the Open de España and finishing second in the Alstom Open de France in Paris.
That also earned him a place in last month's Open Championship where he finished in a tie for 20th and he now feels he is mentally prepared for Major Championships.
"It's about how good you are in the brain, how strong you are and how much you want to achieve it," he said. "I love competing, I love being in the mix and I really enjoy it and there comes a point where you've got to man up and get on with it and I'm doing that, hopefully.
"It's nice to come here and play another Major after playing the Open a few weeks ago. It's an amazing golf course.
"I've been playing well so I'm kind of carrying on, really."
He added: "The wind is picking up now and playing 18 then was a brutal hole but I'm loving every minute of it, it's been a great experience.
"I'm still learning to play in Majors but I'm feeling very comfortable and I try and learn from my peers.
"Turning into the back nine there with some of the names on the leaderboard in a Major, it's all different, it's exciting, all positive stuff (but) I found myself glimpsing at the leaderboard - I tried hard not to and I made a bogey at 17.
"Then coming to 18 knowing it's a tough hole, I just stuck to the process, hit two good shots and holed a good putt to finish."
Bjørn had held the outright lead after five birdies in his first 12 holes but, despite finishing with two bogeys, he was pleased with his day's work.
"It's disappointing obviously to finish with two bogeys but I came into the week not playing very well," Bjørn said.
"I played poorly last week and worked very hard early in the week and you're never really sure where you are but I was really, really pleased with the way I played for 16 holes.
"A couple of little shots (were lost) at the end but they'll not destroy a pretty good day."
Martin Kaymer, who won the tournament last time it was held here at Whistling Straits in 2010, was four under walking up the ninth, his last, but registered a double bogey to drop to two under and Anirban Lahiri finished on the same score after a double on 18.
Swede David Lingmerth was making the best of the tougher afternoon conditions as he sat one shot behind Johnson after 11 holes, ahead of a group of seven players all on four under including Australian Jason Day and American Matt Kuchar.
McIlroy, playing with Masters Tournament and US Open champion Jordan Spieth and Open champion Zach Johnson, had two birdies and two bogeys as he reached the turn level.
After bogeying the first, he bombed a drive down the par five second and made the green in two before two putts got him back to level par.
The Northern Irishman then completed a remarkable save on the par five fifth as his third shot landed in shallow water but he got up and down to save a par.
He could not scramble a par on the eighth but picked a shot back up on the ninth to join his playing partners on level par.
Emiliano Grillo, playing in his first Major, was two under through 16 holes and Andy Sullivan was also two under having played his first eight.
Branden Grace and Francesco Molinari were both one under having completed their rounds while Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Mikko Ilonen and Marc Warren were all in the clubhouse at level par.
