Lee Westwood and Mark Tullo were the men to catch after both started the Barclays Scottish Open with a seven under par 65s at the new Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness.
Certain to go back to World Number One if he wins, Westwood had an eagle, six birdies and just one late dropped shot.
Tullo birdied his first four holes, dropped three shots in the next four and had five birdies in an inward 31.
“It was great - I enjoyed myself,” said the two-time Challenge Tour winner. “I hit some great shots, I hit some terrible shots, and this golf course, the beginning of the week I said you can have a million birdies or a million bogeys and today, thank goodness it was a million birdies.”
Luke Donald, currently top of the Official World Golf Ranking, bogeyed his fourth hole and had to wait three more for his first birdie, but he then came home in a five under 31 to be in joint third place on five under.
In with a 66 was another member of last year's Ryder Cup Team, Swede Peter Hanson, after he birdied three of the last five.
Playing partner Colin Montgomerie, who needs a top-five finish for a chance of playing next week's Open Championship, was also six under with one to play, but a bad drive led to a closing bogey and so he was two behind Westwood as well.
That put him in the clubhouse alongside not only Donald, but also two more English players, Chris Wood and 51 year old Barry Lane, holder Edoardo Molinari, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and South African Retief Goosen.
Westwood, who had a word with the watching Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson during his round, said: "I played well and it's a nice way to start the next two weeks.
"I've no superstition about winning the week before a Major. The more pressure I can get myself under the better - I like having the pressure."
The biggest problem he had was getting lost a couple of times.
"I couldn't find a couple of tees, so I had to ask direction," he added.
That was strange considering he had played the eve-of-tournament pro-am, but he explained that most of that was played with an umbrella in front of his face to shield himself from the rain.
There was one heavy downpour during his round, but during it he found the green in two at the long sixth - his 15th - and two-putted for birdie.
The eagle had come after a superb second to four feet at the 607 yard 18th.
Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose and Ernie Els were among the later starters.
Westwood was joined by Chilean Tullo, a graduate from The Challenge Tour last season who can boast a victory over Rory McIlroy at the Egyptian Open.
South African George Coetzee moved alongside Hanson in third spot, but England's Richard McEvoy, six under with the long 18th to come, bogeyed it.
Meanwhile Welshman Phillip Price had 168 reasons for enjoying his first competitive hole in one at the par three 11th.
The former Ryder Cup hero holed out with an eight iron – then learned that the 168 yards he covered in one sweet stroke would be rewarded with 168 bottles of Laurent-Perrier champagne.
Price, who had made a number of aces in practice prior to this week’s championship, received his consignment of ‘bubbly’ from John Cleary, National Accounts Controller of Laurent-Perrier (UK) Limited.
He said: “This is a lovely prize, and I am sure my wife Sandra and I will enjoy the product. It was nice to make a hole in one in competition for a change and even better to watch it bounce once and drop into the cup.”
