Julien Guerrier produced a brilliant birdie blitz on the front nine as he shot a sparkling 62 to lead by one after the first round of the 2024 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters.
Frenchman Guerrier reeled off five birdies in a row from the second hole before picking up further shots at the eighth and ninth to turn in 29.
And he kept the momentum going as he started the back nine, birdieing the tenth and 11th to make it four on the bounce.
Guerrier continued to create birdie chances but had to wait until the 15th for his next gain, with a superb approach shot setting up a four-foot putt that sent him into the lead for the first time.
And he finished off his round with three straight pars to reach ten under, post his lowest round to par on the DP World Tour and sit one shot ahead of early clubhouse leader Dan Brown after 18 holes.
Englishman Brown had set the target at nine under in the morning after carding two eagles and five birdies in a flawless 63. He sits alone in second, one ahead of home favourite Jorge Campillo after the Spaniard's bogey-free 64.
After starting his round with a par, Guerrier opened his birdie account after getting up and down from a bunker at the second before holing from nearly 35 feet for another on the third.
He made it three in a row from ten feet at the short fourth before putts from around five feet on the fifth and sixth sent him to five under after six holes.
A par at the seventh broke the birdie run but he bounced back after a stunning tee-shot at the par-three eighth before a seven-foot birdie on the ninth took him to the turn in 29 shots.
The 39-year-old rolled in his 18-foot birdie try at the tenth for a hat-trick of gains before a close-range effort on the next took him level with early leader Brown on nine under.
Guerrier took the outright lead with a birdie putt from four feet at the 15th before parring his way home.
Speaking about his spectacular start, Guerrier said: "I had the feeling I was playing the PlayStation on the front nine! It was very nice.
"But we know golf, we know we have to stay in the present. Of course it was really nice but I try to stay focused because we know with this wind everything can happen.
"When you're playing like that and everything goes your way, you take everything and it was a great feeling, of course.
"And the front nine was not easy because the wind was blowing and it's tighter. So it was so nice to play this kind of game.
"It looks easy from the outside but it's very tough to stay in the present because you are so hot with your game and you enjoy your game.
"So sometimes the emotion is too high and you try to calm down a little bit. But at the same time you try to enjoy it, so it's a good balance to finish well and have a good round.
"I'm feeling good. I like Spain - I play very often and very well in Spain.
"It's a good opening round and we have three more rounds to go."
Ugo Coussaud made a brilliant hole-in-one at the par-three eighth, holing from 175 yards using a six iron.
