All the talk might be of Europe’s Ryder Cup hopefuls, but it was Rolf Muntz stealing the early headlines at The KLM Open first round.
The Dutchman, who has not won a tournament since he scooped the Qatar Masters title eight years ago, bounced back to form with a flawless six under par round of 64.
It gives him the clubhouse lead in just his fifth event on The European Tour this season, while his nearest rival is Jean-Baptiste Gonnet three strokes further back.
No fewer than five other players - including Justin Rose - are also on three under.
Muntz looked impressive from the start, collecting birdies at the second and sixth in a front nine of 34, but it was coming back in where he looked strongest.
He picked up strokes at each of the tenth, 11th and 12th holes before sinking another birdie putt at the par four 16th.
Gonnet, meanwhile, was not quite as smooth. He bogeyed the first, but recovered with back-to-back birdies from the second to go one under. Further birdies followed at the ninth, tenth and 12th, but bogeys at the 14th and 16th slowed his charge. A birdie at the 17th addressed the slump before he finished with a par at the 18th.
Darren Clarke, a member of the last five European sides and an inspirational winner of all his three games two years ago, was four under par after 15 holes, but finished two under.
Clarke is 25th on the cup table and with the top ten earning automatic places in Nick Faldo's Team after next week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles he already requires another wild card.
Clarke almost eagled the long 12th, his third, bogeyed the 473 yard 16th after pulling his drive, but then birdied the 17th, second, third and 363 yard sixth - the last of them just as a rainstorm and fierce winds arrived.
A bogey came at the par five seventh and then another arrived at the next.
Cup-chasing Nick Dougherty, his playing partner, had to try to fight back from losing a ball with only his second shot, but was down on one over with two to go.
A second place finish in last week's SAS Masters in Stockholm had brought Dougherty back into the race for places, but at 14th he still needed another high finish.
However, his approach to the 447 yard 10th, his opening hole, came up short left in a patch of gorse and heavy rough and could not be found in the permitted five minutes.
A double bogey six instantly went on his card, he birdied the 12th, 14th and third, but then bogeyed the next two.
Rose and Oliver Wilson, eighth and ninth on the points table, were paired together with Rose at three under and Wilson at two under through 16.
Wilson was the first to strike with a putt from 25 feet on the tenth and twos on the 15th and 17th enabled him to turn in a three under 31.
Another birdie came on the long second, but there were also bogeys at the first and fifth.
Rose made a birdie putt from 15 feet on the 11th, but had to wait 11 more holes for his second birdie. Another came at the sixth.
Dane Soren Hansen and German Martin Kaymer were both among the afternoon starters.
