Bryson DeChambeau and Marc Leishman both carded six-under-par 66s to take a share of the lead at LIV Golf Adelaide.
They sit one shot ahead of Dustin Johnson and Anthony Kim, who are tied for third after the opening round at The Grange Golf Club.
DeChambeau, who said before the season that he had added 20 yards to his driving distance, struggled to build momentum last year despite picking up one win.
But his strong start in Adelaide should give him a boost heading into the rest of the week.
The American’s round was far from flawless, though.
Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie offers advice during day one at LIV Adelaide
While he will have his sights set on winning a major this season, a few more wins on the LIV circuit would not go amiss.
Speaking after Thursday’s opening round in Australia, DeChambeau admitted he was not quite firing on all cylinders.
“Yeah, it was a tough battle out there,“ the 32-year-old said,
“First three holes, played really solid. Almost made a putt on one; good par on two; three, good par, made a six-footer; four, got a little unfortunate.
“Felt like things weren’t going my way, and I kept talking to my caddie G-Bo and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how over these past couple weeks, I’m hitting it really well but just not scoring’.
“He’s just like, ‘stay patient‘. You’ve got to stay patient with this game.
“That’s what I did today. I kept staying patient. I knew the back nine was gettable if I just hit some good wedges.
“Fortunately I was able to do that, and didn’t capitalize on a couple areas, but 6-under out here with these conditions, I’ll take that any day.”
A win in Adelaide would be a big lift for Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau will be looking to sharpen up his iron play as the week goes on and find a bit more consistency with the putter.
It is early in the season, but his overall game looks solid. A victory here would give him plenty of momentum moving forward.
Even though he is already one of golf’s biggest names, there are still areas where he can improve.
The next three rounds in Australia should provide a good measure of where his form really stands.
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