Joost Luiten rediscovered his form in fine fashion to fire a 64 and set the clubhouse target on day one of the Portugal Masters.
The Dutchman had missed just one cut all season up to the Open Championship but three of his last four arriving at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course, including last week when he had an unfortunate draw while defending his title at the weather-affected KLM Open.
He showed no ill-effects from that disappointment on home soil, however, staying bogey-free to lead the way at seven under from Italy's Nino Bertasio, Frenchman Grégory Havret, Australian Jason Scrivener and China's Ashun Wu.
Dean Burmester, Alejandro Cañizares, Nacho Elvira and Michael Jonzon were then at five under.
Luiten made birdies on the 11th and 15th, and then a hat-trick from the 17th to join the lead before an excellent chip on the par five fifth set up another gain to hand him top spot on his own.
He was soon joined at the summit by Wu but got a good bit of fortune when bouncing off the waterside rocks and saving par at the seventh before making a closing gain from eight feet on the ninth.
Wu was among the early pace-setters with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 15th and while he surrendered a stroke on the next, he birdied the 17th to turn in 33. Further birdies on the fourth and fifth followed and a 15-footer on the eighth had him right in the mix.
Havret was another man to make a fast start with birdies on the first, second and fifth before he bogeyed the seventh and picked up another shot on the next. Birdies on the tenth, 15th and 16th moved him within a shot of the lead.
Bertasio made a hat-trick of gains from the fourth and when he added an eagle on the par five 12th, he was flying. A bogey on the 14th threatened to derail his progress but further gains on the 16th and 17th saw him recover well.
Scrivener made a steady start with birdies on the fifth, eighth and tenth before a hat-trick of gains from the 13th catapulted him up the leaderboard.
Swede Jonzon had also been six under with birdies on the first, second, ninth, tenth, 12th and 17th before a bogey on the last dropped him back.
Spanish duo Cañizares and Elvira both had a single bogey in their rounds of 66, with Tshwane Open champion Burmester dropping two shots.
Padraig Harrington was bogey-free in starting his title defence with a 67 to sit alongside semi-retired Dane Anders Hansen - tied third here last season - English trio Ashley Chesters, Graeme Storm and Jack Singh Brar, Australian Richard Green and Scot Marc Warren.
