World number three Vijay Singh and little-known American Chad Campbell made dream starts to the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth today.
Singh won four of the first five holes against German Alex Cejka, while Campbell was four-up after six on Swede Fredrik Jacobson.
The only other European in the 12-strong field was also behind early on, Open runner-up Thomas Bjorn falling two down to Masters runner-up Len Mattiace when he three-putted from only 15 feet at the seventh and bogeyed the eighth as well.
In the other match Australian Stephen Leaney and South African Tim Clark, battling for the right to face holder Ernie Els in tomorrow's quarter-finals, were level after 12 of their 36 holes.
Singh began by chipping in from 30 feet, then holed from around 35 feet at the short second for what turned out to be another winning birdie.
Cejka, last man into the 12-man field following the withdrawal of six Americans led by world number one Tiger Woods, was inside Singh both times, but missed from 25 feet at the first and 20 feet on the next.
He could only blame himself for losing the third and fifth, however, three-putting both times. Singh's failure to get up and down from sand on the seventh narrowed the gap back to three, but the Fijian, out in 33, then won the 11th after his opponent missed the green with a sand-wedge.
Campbell made birdie putts eight and six feet on the second and third, then struck a seven-iron to seven feet for a spectacular eagle on the fourth.
Jacobson bogeyed the sixth and then Campbell, runner-up in the US PGA in August, made up for double-bogeying the seventh by hitting a massive drive and wedge to four feet at the 452-yard ninth.
The Swede was only six feet away, but missed the putt and fell four down again.
A first prize of £1million, the second biggest ever offered for a golf tournament, was on offer.
Els was one of four seeds given a first day bye. Open champion Ben Curtis was waiting for either Campbell or Jacobson, Masters champion Mike Weir for Mattiace or Bjorn and US PGA winner Shaun Micheel for Singh or Cejka.