Scott Hend is one shot off the lead after firing an opening-round 66 featuring seven birdies at the World Tour Championship golf event in Dubai.
The Australian is six-under-par after Thursday's first round at Jumeirah Golf Estates, trailing only American Patrick Reed who made a late charge to finish with a 65.
Swede Alexander Bjork is a shot back in a share for third with New Zealand's Ryan Fox, Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti and Frenchman Alexander Levy.
The group is one shot ahead of Englishmen David Horsey and Andy Sullivan, Dane Soren Kjeldsen and American Julian Suri.
Hend birdied the first and fourth but then rattled off a hat-trick of gains from the 10th to jump into the on-course lead at the season-ending European tour tournament.
Further birdies on the 14th and 15th had him three ahead but he faltered on the last, the solitary bogey coming after he drove into the creek which runs the length of the hole.
Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia are the only players who can still win the season-long title but the aim for Hend is a third European Tour trophy.
Fleetwood and Garcia were two over and Rose at level par in the very early stages of their rounds on Thursday.
Fleetwood ran up a double bogey on the first after missing the green with his approach and three-putting while Rose missed from 12 feet for birdie on the same hole but made no mistake from closer range on the par-five second as he chased the top-five finish required to overhaul his countryman.
