Kevin Kisner was the man to catch as the early starters finished their rounds on day one of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie.
After dropping his only shot of the day at the fifth, the American carded an eagle and four birdies - including three in a row from the 13th - to set the early clubhouse target on five under par.
Erik van Rooyen was a single shot behind Kisner in second after producing an opening 67 earlier in the day, while Ryan Moore was also on four under after six holes.
After opening his round with four straight pars, Kisner carded a bogey at the fifth but quickly made amends with an eagle on the long sixth before taking advantage of the par-three eighth to get to two under.
The 34 year old made another two at the short 13th before firing further birdies at the 14th and 15th to grab the outright lead on five under.
And he managed to keep his nose in front by saving par from 18 feet at the 17th before getting up-and-down from a bunker on the last.
Kisner needed just 22 putts as he conquered a dry and firm Carnoustie in just 66 strokes and the 34 year old believes he will be in a strong position at the end of the tournament if he can repeat the trick in his next three rounds.
He said: "The golf course is great for me. The conditions have been fine. Going forward, you never know what you're going to have in Scotland.
"I know the rain is coming in tomorrow. I don't think the rain is going to affect how the golf course is playing in one day, but I have to just keep doing what I'm doing.
"If I have 22 putts the next three days, I bet I'll have a pretty good shot.
"I think I only hit four drivers all day, maybe five. I just want the ball on the fairway because it's not an overly long golf course.
"Maybe five iron was the longest. I hit a hybrid into 12. You're not going to have that many long clubs into the hole.
"If I can keep it on the fairway, I feel like I can control my golf ball around the green. The greens are calm, and around the greens are flat.
"I feel like any time I'm around the green I'm going to make four or par at the worst. So that's been my game plan."
Van Rooyen, who is no stranger to links golf having held a commanding four-shot lead heading into the final round of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation earlier in the month, got off to a flying start, firing back-to-back birdies at the first and second before tapping in for another at the sixth to get to three under.
His fourth birdie of the morning at the 11th saw him regain the outright lead and he rolled in from 30 feet at the 15th for another to stay ahead.
After confidently draining his testing par putt at the 17th, Van Rooyen drove into a bunker at the last and could only splash out on to the fairway.
And when he failed to convert his par putt from just off the green, he dropped his only shot of the day to finish on four under.
