Padraig Harrington made a fast start while Marcus Armitage set the pace at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in UAE.
England's Armitage carded a whopping 11 birdies in his opening round to post a nine-under par total of 63, blazing four shots clear of the field.
His closest pursuers are Sweden's Alexander Bjork and Spain's Ivan Cantero, both of whom went into the clubhouse on five-under par, before England's Jack Senior joined them in that tie for second.
Harrington is tied for fifth. The three-time major winner posted a four-under par 68 to sit five strokes adrift of Armitage.
Beginning on the back nine, Harrington's round ignited with three birdies on the trot between the 14th and 16th. Further birdies at the third and fifth lifted him to five-under briefly before dropping a stroke after missing the green left on the sixth.
He's among a quartet of players in tied-fifth alongside Austria's Bernd Weisberger, South Africa's Louis De Jager and Spain's Alejandro del Rey.
Conor Purcell, in his first start of 2025, carded a steady even par 72, with two birdies and two bogeys to lie tied-46th.
Purcell, winner of last year's Northern Ireland Open at Galgorm, is embarking on his first full season on the DP World Tour, the Dubliner securing his card following a stellar season on the Challenge Tour in 2024.
Tom McKibbin, by contrast, endured a difficult opening round at Al Hamra GC. After contending strongly at the Dubai Desert Classic last week, McKibbin struggled on Thursday, posting an opening 76 to sit near the foot of the field on four-over par.
The Down golfer's round was blighted by a double-bogey 7 at the third, after slicing his approach into the water. Aside from that, McKibbin recorded four bogeys and two birdies to sit well down in 113th.
