Oliver Fisher leads the Qatar Masters by one shot after he carded a seven-under round of 65 on the opening day at Doha Golf Club.
The Englishman, who started at the 10th, enjoyed a strong finish to his front nine as he sunk three consecutive birdies, adding another three before the day was out.
That was enough to keep him a single stroke clear of Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who carded an unblemished 66.
Behind the leading pair are a group of 11 golfers all tied on five under.
That cluster includes four-time major winner Ernie Els and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, while Sergio Garcia, bidding to become the first man to successfully defend this title, is four shots off the lead on three under.
Elsewhere, Jason Palmer had an eventful round as he eventually carded a four-over 76, with his first par not arriving until the 12th hole.
The Englishman birdied the opener, before going on a run of five consecutive bogeys. Four straight birdies brought him back to level par, before a triple bogey on the par-four 11th set him back further.
Slovakian amateur Jakub Hrinda, who, at 14, is the youngest player to compete in this event, recorded a 77 to finish day one fourth from bottom.
At the opposite end, Fisher was pleased with his performance as eight birdies - tarnished only by a bogey on the par-three 13th - saw him reach the summit heading into Thursday's second round.
"I played nice today - it was a little bit breezy and I felt like I controlled my golf ball," he said.
"I played good and gave myself a lot of chances so it was a good round.
"It's a great field like last week - I'm out there giving it my all every time until the last shot and hopefully add them up at the end of the day and hopefully it's a good run."
Cabrera-Bello added: "I'm very pleased and happy with the way I played, and looking forward to tomorrow and the weekend.
"I had a good stretch through 16, and all the way through to two, which for me are the birdie holes where you can go low. I managed to do that with three birdies there, and just kept playing solid till I got home."