Scotland's Marc Warren has equalled the lowest score of his European Tour career to set the pace in the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, as Masters champion Danny Willett enjoyed a welcome return to form.
Warren carded seven birdies and an eagle in a nine-under-par 63 at Saujana Golf and Country Club, which left him two shots ahead of Thai teenager Phachara Khongwatmai.
Willett, who has struggled for consistent form since claiming his first major title at Augusta National last year, was part of a six-strong group three shots back on six under, which included American Peter Uihlein and Hong Kong Open winner Sam Brazel.
Warren, who needed a strong finish to last season to keep his card, birdied four of his first six holes before making the most of a stroke of good luck to eagle the par-five eighth.
"I didn't hit a great tee shot on the eighth, I pulled it left and I was actually on the ninth fairway," admitted the 35-year-old.
"It was quite a long way up though so I managed to hit a five wood to about 15 feet and it was a nice bonus after that tee shot.
"My iron play was very good today and recently I have been making a lot of birdies but a lot of mistakes as well. It was nice to get around without a bogey."
Khongwatmai became the youngest ever winner of a professional tournament when he won the Singha Hua Hin Open on the ASEAN PGA Tour at the age of just 14 in 2013.
And the 17-year-old, who qualified for the Open for the second year running by finishing second in Singapore recently, continued to impress with eight birdies and a solitary bogey in his 65.
"I'm very happy," he said. "I didn't think I could shoot seven under. This course is a tough course. One or two under would be good and if I can make the cut, I'll be happy."
Just eight weeks before defending his Masters title, Willett carded six birdies in his first bogey-free round since last year's BMW PGA Championship.
"Around a golf course like this you need to be in the fairways to be able to get close to these flags and I rolled in a couple of putts," said Willett.
"It was relatively stress free for six under, which is always nice.
"We're just trying to get the confidence levels up to where they have been and start hitting some good golf shots again."
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