Daniel Im and Benjamin Hebert took advantage of good scoring conditions to share a one-shot lead after day one of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.
The Rolex Series teed off its third event at Portstewart Golf Club and a pair of opening 64s moved Im and Hebert to eight under and put them in a good position to take home a considerable chunk of the seven million dollar prize fund come Sunday.
They already had some serious competition forming behind them, however, with World Number 11 Jon Rahm joining English duo Oliver Fisher and Matthew Southgate at seven under.
Former champion Jamie Donaldson, David Drysdale and Matthew Fitzpatrick were then at six under, with 39 players within four shots of the leaders.
American Im narrowly held on to his card last season and has a best finish of tied for 14th so far this term but was in stunning form on Thursday as he led on the European Tour for just the second time in his career.
The 32 year old made four birdies in a row from the second and when he added further gains on the seventh and eighth in favourable conditions, something special looked on the cards.
He took advantage of the back-to-back par five 13th and 14th but needed a couple of smart par saves to keep his nose in front, getting up and down from the back of the 17th and holing a clutch 18-footer on the last.
"I think it was a bit of luck," he said. "I think the big man was definitely watching out for me today. And then I striped the ball quite well at the end. I putted really well through the round. I made some good par saves and I made some good birdie putts to keep it going."
Frenchman Hebert turned in 32 with four birdies and added four more in succession from the 13th to take the lead from the final group of the day.
"I holed some very important putts, the four birdies in a row, a few long putts, it's okay," he said. "I played very good, only missed one green, no bogeys, it's still good. We've been a bit lucky I think also with the conditions, the wind at the end. So it was just perfect today. We'll see tomorrow."
Rahm started as he meant to go on with a lengthy birdie putt on the first and while he dropped a shot on the third, a stunning approach from the rough on the fourth and a double-breaker on the sixth got him back on track.
He got inside 20 feet with his second on the par five seventh for an eagle and after taking advantage of the next two par fives on the 13th and 14th, he put his tee-shot on the next to 15 feet for another birdie.
"It was just a great day," he said. "The atmosphere was so good. My attitude was probably the best it's been all year. I was positive all day. Kept my routine going. Stayed calm and the result showed how good it was."
Southgate had set the early pace with birdies on the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and 11th and when he produced an excellent chip on the 13th he was six under. An impressive up-and-down to save par on the 14th maintained his momentum and brought a fist-pumping celebration before he made another birdie on the 16th.
Fisher bogeyed the third but responded in brilliant fashion, birdieing seven of his next eight holes before dropping a shot on the 12th. An eagle on the 13th flew him back up the leaderboard and he left an eagle putt on the next just short before dropping a shot on the last.
Donaldson was a winner the last time the event was held on the northern coast just down the road at Portrush in 2012 and he made nine birdies in an eventful 66. The Welshman birdied the 11th but double-bogeyed the 13th before a further three gains got him to the turn in 34. He went birdie-bogey on the first and second but then picked up shots on the fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth to rocket up the leaderboard.
Drysdale had a single bogey on the sixth but eagled the next with five birdies in his round, while Fitzpatrick was bogey-free while picking up shots in bursts, with hat-tricks of gains coming from the fifth and 13th.
There was then a group of 14 players at five under including World Number Two Hideki Matsuyama, US Open Championship winners Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose, and local favourite Paul Dunne.
Defending champion and tournament host Rory McIlroy posted a disappointing level par 72 while Joost Luiten recorded the 21st hole-in-one of the season at the sixth.
