Adrian Otaegui produced a blemish-free round to take the clubhouse lead on day one of the Lyoness Open powered by Sporthilfe Cashback Card.
The 23 year old was in fine form as he signed for a 64 at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, leaving him two ahead of Björn Åkesson of Sweden and three clear of France's Gary Stal and South African Zander Lombard.
Otaegui, who fired rounds of 62 and 63 at Qualifying School to earn his card for this season, reached the turn with successive birdies at the seventh, eighth and ninth, adding to a shot already picked up at the third.
Starting the back nine with four successive pars saw him temporarily drift back from leader Stal, but another run of three straight birdies from the 14th to 16th gave him the outright lead, before a superb drive on the par three 18th left him a tap in for another gained shot.
Stal, starting on the back nine, bogeyed the 10th but sprang to life on the 15th with the first of two eagles.
Birdies followed at the 16th and first, before he recovered from another dropped shot on the second with a run of birdie-eagle-birdie through to the fifth.
But while Otaegui finished with a flourish, Stal bogeyed the difficult seventh to slip to second.
He was joined on five under by Lombard, who had six birdies in his 67, while Åkesson made a late surge up the leaderboard to take second.
Åkesson, starting on the back nine, reached the turn in 34 but birdies at the first, third, fifth and seventh shot him into contention.
Defending champion Chris Wood slipped up late on after a solid start.
The Englishman was three under through 13 but dropped three shots either side of another birdie at seven for a one under 71.
It could have been worse as Wood found water on the ninth but produced a fine recovery shot to the edge of the green before two putting for a hard-earned bogey.
Home favourite Bernd Wiesberger is a shot better off after firing three birdies and a bogey on that tricky seventh.
The duo's playing partner Thomas Bjørn withdrew after 15 holes due to a back injury.
