Padraig Harrington opened the new season as he finished the last to move within one shot of the lead on the first day of the BMW Asian Open in Taiwan.
The Dubliner, who two weeks ago just failed to pip Retief Goosen to the European Order of Merit title after another successful season, fired six birdies in a flawless opening round of six under 66.
After birdies at the third, fifth, sixth and eighth had taken the 31-year-old to the turn in 32, the Ryder Cup star added two more on the 14th and 15th and lies just a shot off the pace set by India's Jyoti Randhawa.
The 30-year-old former Singapore Open champion carded a seven under 65 that included six birdies and an eagle over the 7,101-yard course. Germany's Sven Struver and Holland's Maarten Lafeber were alongside Harrington a shot back on 66.
Paul McGinley also recorded a solid start, but his round of 70 was somewhat marred by a double-bogey six at the ninth - his final hole.