France's Julien Guerrier raised the prospect of carding just the second 59 in DP World Tour history before settling for an opening 62 in the Andalucia Masters.
Guerrier raced to the turn at Sotogrande in just 29 shots and also birdied the 10th and 11th to reach nine under par, with two par fives still to come.
However, the 39-year-old was unable to take advantage of the 12th and 14th and although he did birdie the 15th, his chance to match Oliver Fisher’s 59 in the 2018 Portugal Masters had effectively disappeared.
Nevertheless, at 10 under par Guerrier ended the day with a one-shot lead over England’s Dan Brown, with Spain’s Jorge Campillo another stroke back.
Ireland's Tom McKibbin is in a share of seventh after a five-under 67. The 21-year-old from Holywood, who is battling for a place on the PGA Tour next year, dropped just one shot while making six birdies, including four on a flawless back nine.
Leaderboard
Pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm lies eight shots off the lead and it could have been a lot worse for the two-time major winner, who had to birdie three of his last five holes for a 70.
"It just wasn’t my sharpest," Rahm said.
"As good as I hit it off the tee I made too many mistakes with my irons and when you’re not striking it solidly in this wind you’re going to pay the price and that’s what happened today.
"It was pretty early on that I realised the swing wasn’t great and it was going to be a bit of a battle but on a day like that the crowd is always going to be helpful and pull you back.
"I missed that putt on four (from inside three feet) and had some cheers and a lot of support and I was able to finish strong.
"I’m happy that the last five holes I played some goof golf and gave myself some chances and posted, not the best score, but a score and hopefully I can improve upon it the rest of the week."
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