Bernd Wiesberger produced a stunning finish to sign for an opening 63 and set the clubhouse target on day one of the Porsche European Open.
The start was delayed by three hours and 25 minutes in Germany due to fog but once the mist cleared, blue skies and bright sunshine provided excellent scoring conditions.
Wiesberger has not missed a cut in a regular European Tour event so far this season but only had two top tens in his first 18 starts, a below-par campaign by his very high standards in recent years.
The Austrian was very impressive in finishing second to Joost Luiten at the KLM Open last time out, however, and he continued that form at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach to get to eight under and open up a two-shot lead over Italy's Renato Paratore.
Lucas Bjerregaard, Daniel Im, Michael Jonzon and Steve Webster were then at five under with 86 players, including those from the second wave, under par.
Wiesberger started on the back nine and turned in 31 with birdies on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th before a double-bogey on the first stalled his progress.
Back-to-back gains on the second and third were followed by a bogey on the fourth and a further gain on the sixth before the 30 year old put an approach from 280 yards to 15 feet for an eagle on the eighth and birdied the ninth from ten feet.
Paratore turned in 34 after three birdies and a double-bogey but came to life on the back nine, making an eagle on the tenth and birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th.
Bjerregaard, Im and Webster had all held the lead before Wiesberger's late charge catapulted him to the summit.
England's Webster also started on the back nine and turned in 31 but when he picked up another birdie on the third, he was the first man to break from the pack and hit six under.
Im had birdies on the third, fifth and eighth with a bogey on the seventh to turn in 33 but a hat-trick of gains from the 11th sent him flying up the leaderboard. A birdie on the 15th coupled with a Webster bogey on the seventh saw him hit the summit but when the American bogeyed the last, it was Bjerregaard who had the lead.
The Dane birdied the first and third and three in a row from the fifth saw him share the lead. A bogey on the tenth dropped him back but further gains on the 13th and 15th had him six under before he too bogeyed the final hole.
Swede Jonzon is 207th in the Race to Dubai but showed some excellent form, playing the back nine in 35 before making three consecutive birdies from the first followed by a birdie-bogey-birdie run from the sixth.
There were then 12 players in the clubhouse at four under on a congested leaderboard.
