American Daniel Im carded a flawless seven-under-par 65 to lead the way after the first round of the Hero Indian Open in Delhi.
Im began his round birdie-birdie, starting from the 10th, and picked up another shot on 15 to reach the turn in 33.
Successive birdies followed on the first and second holes and the 30-year-old added two more in his final three holes to earn a one-shot lead over Thailand's Prom Meesawat and Spanish pair Jorge Campillo and Nacho Elvira.
"There were a couple of times where I almost walked away with a bogey but I made the up-and-down," Im said on www.europeantour.com.
"I was just cool. I've heard about this golf course so many times prior to this trip.
"I came in with a bit of respect. I showed some respect and got some respect back."
Im, who progressed through qualifying school in November, has made four cuts from six and claimed back-to-back top-10 finishes in South Africa earlier this year.
He added: "I've played a lot of golf at the beginning of this year in South Africa. The courses were way different from South African courses.
"I like this area where you need to keep it straight and hit good iron shots to have good birdie putts."
Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin, Australia's Terry Pilkadaris, South Korea's Jeunghun Wang and home pair Sanjay Kumar and SSP Chawrasia were joint fifth after registering 67s.
Ireland's three-time major winner Padraig Harrington was among a large group six shots off the pace after a 71.
Michael Hoey is a shot back on level par, while Paul Dunne is two-over after shooting an opening round 74.
