England's Oliver Fisher has shot a brilliant seven-under-par 65 to upstage his fancied rivals in the first round of the $US2.5 million dollar Qatar Masters.
With the feared strong winds not materialising on Wednesday, the 26-year-old produced a strong finish to put himself in contention for only his second title on the European Tour since turning pro in 2006.
A hat-trick of birdies over the final three holes gave him a one-shot advantage over Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who was sitting pretty on a six-under 66 after taking the clubhouse lead earlier.
Fisher, whose only title so far came at the Czech Open in 2011, had worked up some decent form at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship where he finished tied 12th and seems to have carried it through to Doha.
A bogey on his 13th hole somewhat blemished his effort, but he maintained his composure to close out the round in style.
Earlier, Cabrera-Bello started off with two straight birdies and picked up four more shots in a bogey-free round.
Former winners Ernie Els of South Africa and Paul Lawrie of Scotland were in a bunch of nine players a further shot down after carding bogey-free 67s.
Australia's Brett Rumford is among a large group, including defending champion Sergio Garcia, four shots back from Fisher, while compatriot Richard Green is a further stroke behind at two-under par.
Cabrera-Bello had won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2012, but has gone winless since then.
"Just played good. Really the only serious bogey chance was on 11 that I holed a long putt for par. But besides that, it was always trying to subtract instead of saving par," said the Spaniard
A clutch of eight players, which includes England's Justin Rose, were tied for fourth after posting 68s.
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