Marc Warren and Lee Slattery set the clubhouse target on day one as crowds flocked to Woburn to witness the return of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.
The tournament is back on the The European Tour International Schedule for the first time since 2008 and began in glorious conditions with Warren and Slattery both firing opening 65s to establish a two-shot lead.
Bumper crowds were following tournament host and home favourite Ian Poulter but just a few holes ahead, it was Warren with six birdies in a flawless effort who moved clear of the chasing pack before Slattery joined him with three closing birdies.
Birdies at the 14th and 16th saw the Scotsman turn in two under and when further gains followed on the first and third, he was level at the top with early pace-setter Slattery and a surging Luke Donald who picked up three birdies in four holes from the first.
Slattery and Donald then both dropped shots but Warren made another gain on the fifth and when he tapped in from inside two feet on the seventh, he held a two-stroke advantage.
"Round a golf course as tree-lined as this there is danger on every hole so I'd probably say the way I drove the hole on the front nine which was my back nine, I felt as if I set up the holes really well," he said. "I hit a lot of fairways."
"I've got a new driver in the bag this week as well so it was nice to see how it was going under the gun."
Slattery began with three pars but picked up back-to-back shots on the fourth and fifth holes and another followed on the seventh before a further gain on the ninth moved him to the top of the pile.
He dropped a shot on the 12th but then made birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th to continue his good form after winning the M2M Russian Open and finishing in a tie for second at the KLM Open last month.
Donald also made a birdie on the seventh to get back to four under and sign for a 67 alongside Andy Sullivan who made four birdies with a single blemish to turn in 33 before becoming another player gain on the 538 yard par five seventh.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat was also in the group at four under after turning level but making four birdies on his back nine while Alexander Levy had three birdies and an eagle to sit alongside his playing partner.
Poulter was then in the group a further shot back after a topsy-turvy 68.
Bogeys at the 14th and 15th had dropped him back to level par after early gains but a wonderful putt on the 17th got him back into red numbers much to the delight of the home crowd.
A stunning approach to the fifth left him with a tap-in birdie and he picked up a further stroke on the seventh after seeing his eagle putt agonisingly horseshoe round the cup.
Fabrizio Zanotti and Rikard Karlberg were also in the clubhouse at three under as the later starters made their way around the course.
