Ian Poulter made a spectacular start to The Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida to claim the clubhouse lead.
Poulter, runner-up to Swede Henrik Stenson three years ago, led the way thanks to a seven under par 65. It was his best score on the course by two.
It was a good morning too for Padraig Harrington, round in 69, but Poulter's six birdies in the last ten holes made him the early star of the show.
All that cleared the stage for Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood to continue their battle for the World Number One spot, back in possession of the Northern Irishman after his play-off defeat to Rickie Fowler last weekend.
Poulter came to the long ninth one under, but pitched to four feet there and began a run of four successive birdies.
The former WGC-Accenture Match Play and Volvo World Match Play champion hit his approach to six feet at the tenth, came out of sand to four feet on the next and converted an 18 foot putt at the 12th.
Another up and down from a bunker at the par five 16th took him alongside American Blake Adams and a curling nine foot putt at the dangerous 17th - the hole with a near-island green - gave him the outright lead.
"I played lovely," said the Englishman, who will finally move into his new house in Florida this weekend. "I hit it really, really solid."
He also had nine successive one-putts from the ninth to 17th.
"You have to hit the right shot at the right time - it's a very, very difficult course and tests you to the highest."
Westwood bogeyed the first, but birdied the second and fourth, while McIlroy made up for a missed three footer on the second with a 22 foot putt on the next to be one under as well.
Donald also birdied there, but followed it with a bogey.
Scot Martin Laird birdied the 17th like Poulter and as a result he was up to four under and still had ten holes to play.
Westwood reached two under, but found two bunkers at the seventh and double-bogeyed. He and Donald were level par and McIlroy two under.
