Former British amateur champion Lee James turned his recent poor form on its head today with a sparkling start to the Nissan Irish Open at Portmarnock.
The 30-year-old Englishman has missed nine of his last 10 halfway cuts and is down to 205th place on the Order of Merit but he covered his first 10 holes in five under par to lead Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and New Zealander Michael Campbell by two.
Bjorn, hitting superbly following the disappointment of losing last weekend's British Open when holding a three shot lead with four to play, birdied three of his first six holes.
James, however, had opened with two birdies and after bogeying the short 15th - his sixth - he eagled the 577-yard next and birdied the 472-yard 17th. After turning in 32 he then added another birdie at the first.
England's Mark Roe, disqualified from the British Open on Saturday when he and playing partner Jesper Parnevik forgot to exchange cards, was among the early starters.
"Is this my card?" Roe joked as he walked onto the first tee. He swapped cards with playing partners Malcolm Mackenzie and Costantino Rocca before driving off.
One spectator caught Rocca's attention and said: "Make sure he's got the right card." The Italian wagged his finger disapprovingly but Roe received a warm reception when his name was announced and tipped his cap appreciatively to the small number of fans.
Tournament and local favourite Padraig Harrington is two under after six, but Darren Clarke had a bogey and five pars in his opening stretch.