Germany's Marcel Siem eagled the final hole of his round en route to an eight under par 64 which gave him the clubhouse lead midway through opening round of the Avantha Masters.
The 2004 Dunhill Championship winner produced a faultless round whilst carding six birdies, as well as the eagle on the ninth, to move into a one stroke lead at the DLF Golf and Country Club.
Just behind Siem is Chan Yih-shin of Chinese Taipei, who signed for a seven under 65, while England's John Parry and Singaporean Lam Chih-bing carded matching 67s to finish five under.
“I cannot remember the last time that I shot 64 to be honest with you,” said Siem.
“It must be at least three years ago so I am pretty happy with that. It’s definitely my best round for a few years. I have been playing well for a couple of years but it just hasn’t quite come off for me for a few different reasons.”
Richard Bland failed to build on a positive start to his round as the Englishman returned to the clubhouse with a four under 68.
The 37 year old had enjoyed a blemish-free run heading out whilst picking up four birdies, but two additional gains on the back nine were cancelled out by two bogeys.
That left the Southampton golfer alongside a group of five players who finished on four under.
Darren Clarke, who teed off in the afternoon, will need to improve if he is to challenge the early pacesetters with the Northern Irishman one over through six holes, while World Number 59 Jeev Milkha Singh - the highest ranked player at the tournament - was also one over after six.