Justin Rose began his 250th European Tour appearance by shooting a four-under-par first round to put himself in contention at the Qatar Masters.
The 2013 US Open winner started with two birdies in three holes and finished in the same manner to hit 67 in Doha, where he is three shots off the pace.
Englishman Oliver Fisher carded seven-under-par and heads Rafael Cabrera-Bello at the top of the leaderboard, with as many as 19 players at four under or better.
Paul Lawrie, Ernie Els (both five-under par), Matthew Fitzpatrick, who was the low amateur at the 2013 British Open, and Stephen Gallacher (both four-under par) are all in the chasing pack.
World number two Henrik Stenson (two under) and defending champion Sergio Garcia (three under) are also well positioned, while 14-year-old amateur Jakub Hrinda managed five-over-par on his Tour debut.
Joe Fish
