Darren Clarke began the Madrid Masters with a five under par outward 31 to take the early lead at Centro Nacional de Golf.
The Northern Irishman collected five birdies on the back nine after starting on the tenth and kept his card bogey-free to move into a one stroke lead over compatriot Michael Hoey and England’s Danny Willett.
Willett was four under through 14 while Hoey, who was in contention for the Alfred Dunhill Championship last week until a quadruple bogey nine at St Andrews, was through 11 holes.
Four players were three under during the early stages - Italian pair Emanuele Canonica and Alessandro Tadini, Austrian Markus Brier and England’s Ross McGowan, who is in good form having finished third and sixth in his last two European Tour events.
