Former Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet started the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles with a hole-in-one today.

Until the 38-year-old Frenchman sank his five-iron on the 208-yard 10th, the feat of beginning a tournament with an ace had been achieved only once on the circuit - by Paul Lawrie on the very same hole in 2000.

Levet was up to five under par with two to play, but that was still three behind the early pacesetter, Scot Marc Warren. His eight under 65 was only one off his lowest round on Tour.

Warren, who sank a five-foot birdie putt on the last to edge ahead of Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, was playing with defending champion Paul Casey, who had to be content with a two under 71.

Tournament chairman Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood were among the later starters, but Darren Clarke, the other member of last year's Ryder Cup side in the field, recovered to card an opening level par 73, the same score as Damien McGrane.

Levet, a member of the winning European side in 2004 and runner-up in the Open two years earlier after a five-hole play-off with Ernie Els, is rebuilding his career this season after seven months of sheer agony suffering a severe form of vertigo that left him wondering at times if he would ever play again.

"I was losing my balance 100 times a day," he said. "I couldn't hit a shot. I couldn't look at the ball to start with. They initially told me it was going to take between three months and two years to cure. It took seven months, so I was lucky.

"It was the same kind of treatment that they use for Parkinson's. I took the pills for one month and they calmed down my nervous system so that my brain didn't get the wrong signals.

"There were days when I couldn't drive a car, I couldn't walk down a corridor, go through a door. I couldn't do anything. I was feeling bad on my bed, on a chair, standing, sitting.

"Imagine being in a car that is spinning for 45 minutes. Or imagine a hamster spinning on its wheel. Except I'm not the hamster, I'm the wheel."

Levet finished a lowly 184th on the 2007 Order of Merit and kept his exemption only by virtue of his place in the top 40 of the career money list.

He is currently 79th this season and was joint third in the KLM Open in Holland on Sunday.

Warren, last season's Rookie of the Year after capturing the Scandinavian Masters, has not had a top 20 finish since the Irish Open in May and has missed the cut in seven of his last nine starters.

But that was put behind him as he birdied three of the first five, hit his tee shot to two feet on the short 17th and then picked up further strokes on the first, second, fourth and ninth.

David Higgins was four-over with the back nine still to play, one better than Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy who were both still on the front nine.

Graeme McDowell opened with a disappointing four-over 77.