Scott Strange ensured Paul Casey did not mark his return to golf with a victory as the Australian took the opening match in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain.
Out since August 6 because of a torn rib muscle, top seed Casey went down to Strange, the World Number 168, when he missed a seven foot birdie chance on the last.
“The whole day I was pretty calm,” said Strange. “I just kept on a level playing field and kept playing consistent, solid golf all day.”
It was not the end for Casey, though. Under the tournament's new group format The Ryder Cup star still has to play American Anthony Kim this afternoon and South African Retief Goosen on Friday.
Asked how he felt Casey admitted: “Not great. I can't swing the way I want. I'm coming out of a lot of the shots. Scott played well, but having said that I gave him three holes on the front and you can't do that against anybody in this field.”
Kim defeated Goosen by four holes - every game goes to the 18th green and "holes up" could decide who goes through to the semi-finals.
In Group B, meanwhile, England's Oliver Wilson, who missed the pro-am after waking up with neck trouble, came from one down after 13 holes to win one up against Sergio Garcia and Australian Robert Allenby scored victory over German Martin Kaymer by the same margin.
Kaymer finished second last week in his first event since breaking toes in a go-kart crash two months ago, but he was again limping.
Half of the players, including Lee Westwood and Camilo Villegas, had only one afternoon game.
Casey went in front when Strange, who qualified by winning the Volvo China Open earlier this year, bogeyed the short second.
But on the 541 yard next the Perth golfer hit the rocks by the lake and bounced over the green, while Casey went into the water with his second shot and again after taking a penalty drop.
There was never more than one in it after that and they were on level terms when Casey bogeyed the 177 yard 17th.
Both were then in a greenside bunker for two on the 568 yard 18th and, after Strange had failed from nine feet, Casey's attempt to halve the match curled wide.
Kim had won the first two holes against double US Open Championship winner Goosen and by the 12th was four clear.
“This is the first round I really played solid golf in probably over a year,” said Kim. “I’ve been scoring pretty sporadically, low scores, high scores but this was a consistent round with some great ball striking.”
Wilson drew first blood against Garcia with a nine footer on the sixth, lost the eighth and 13th, but then Garcia bogeyed the 14th and he birdied the next to get his nose back in front.
The first four games were all won by the lower seed, Wilson beating Garcia thanks to a brilliant chip on the last.
Wilson was right of the green in two, but his next shot over the bunker gripped on landing and finished only two feet from the flag.
It left Garcia almost certainly needing to hole his bunker shot and he nearly did, but Wilson made no mistake with the putt.
Considering he had not practised yesterday because of his neck the Mansfield golfer stated: "I'm very happy to have won that. I'm not 100 per cent by any means and my short game was not very sharp at all."
Kaymer was two down with two to play, but birdied the 17th and had a chance on the last, but just missed from 15 feet.
Allenby said: “Anyone in this whole field can win, whether it's the guy that's the highest ranked or the guy that's the lowest ranked. It’s just that type of format - it's just a matter of trying to get job done, even when you have a bad hole, you've just got to try to pick it back up.”
