European Tour Members dominated the top of the leaderboard in a three-way tie for top spot early on day one of the ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf.
The Swedish pair of Alexander Björk and Joakim Lagergen, and the Finnish duo of Mikko Ilonen and Mikko Korhonen both turned 30 to get to six under alongside Malaysian pair Gavin Green and Ben Leong at the The Metropolitan Golf Club.
Italians Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore were also at the turn at eight under, sharing fourth with the Irish duo of Paul Dunne and Shane Lowry during the opening fourballs.
France and Canada were three shots off the lead.
Korhonen and Ilonen bogeyed the second but then made five birdies in a row to fly up the leaderboard and an eagle when Korhonen holed a bunker shot on the par-five ninth had them level at the turn with Malaysia.
Green and Leong had made a slow start with five opening pars but birdied the sixth and then Green eagled the seventh from five feet before Leong holed a 15-footer for eagle on the ninth. Another gain on the tenth then moved them to six under.
Eagles were proving plentiful and the Finns' playing partners Björk and Lagergren made one of their own on the seventh to go with birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth.
Pavan and Paratore made a hat-trick of birdies from the third and added further gains on the seventh and ninth, while Dunne and Lowry made birdies on the second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh.
French pair Alexander Levy and Mike Lorenzo-Vera made birdies on the second, fourth and seventh.
Germany, Wales and South Africa were then among the teams at two under, a shot clear of Scotland and New Zealand.
