Alvaro Quiros' roller coaster of a season took another turn as he held a share of the early lead at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.
The Spaniard did not have a card coming into the season and had vowed to concentrate on the Challenge Tour before claiming the seventh European Tour win of his career at the The Rocco Forte Open - Verdura, Sicily.
He missed his next eight cuts to take his total of weekend absences to 13 from 16 events but turned in a four under par 31 at Close House Golf Club to share the lead with Swede Johan Carlsson and England's Chris Hanson.
Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Welshman Bradley Dredge and England's Lee Slattery were then a shot off the lead, one ahead of a group of ten players at two under.
Quiros birdied the first, third and fourth to share the lead and an eight-footer on the sixth briefly handed him top spot on his own.
Carlsson had set the early pace with birdies on the tenth, 11th and 13th but bogeyed the 16th before making further gains on the 18th and second.
Hanson made a brilliant start with birdies on the second, third and fourth and had the chance to take the solo lead on the sixth but his eagle putt from the side of the green on the par five missed on the low side.
Slattery birdied the 12th, the 17th from 18 feet and hit the pin on the first for three gains in his opening ten holes.
Dredge had five birdies but two bogeys in his first 12 holes, while Aphibarnrat birdied the first, second and sixth in his first eight.
South Africans Dylan Frittelli, Haydn Porteous, Richard Sterne and Justin Walters, Irish pair Paul Dunne and Shane Lowry, Swede Jens Fahrbring, Frenchman Alexander Levy, Australia's Jason Scrivener and England's Jordan Smith were then at two under.
World Number Six Rory McIlroy turned in level par to sit four shots off the lead.
