Denmark's Anders Hansen holds the lead after the first round of the Alstom Open de France in Paris.
The 42-year-old defied a niggling hand injury and the testing conditions at le Golf National to post a five-under-par 67, putting him one shot clear of local man Romain Wattel.
Hansen will undergo surgery in Zurich next week to try and overcome the long-standing hand problem, but showed he's a force to be reckoned with even without the corrective measures, mixing seven birdies and two bogeys at the venue that will host the 2018 Ryder Cup.
"I'm telling you, it's a great venue for The Ryder Cup," Hansen said. "The course is set up perfect for it. The spectators get such a good view and it's such a great finish to the round - I think it's going to be a great venue.
"It is a tough course - the greens are pretty firm and it's tight out there. There's hardly any wind, and you see the scores aren't that great.
"I played actually really solid from tee to green - I think I only missed two or three greens. I putted quite well, so just sort of all came together. At some stage it seemed a bit easy, but this course gets your attention and next thing you know, you're making bogeys."
Speaking about his hand Hansen added: "I'm having my operation on Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to get that out of the way and hopefully be ready for the end of the season. It's not far away, so I'm looking forward to get that done.
"I've had it for years and years and years - they are going in three different places and they are going to remove a cyst I have here and clean this up and hopefully there's a 50/50 chance it's going to be okay. The other thing is to take the whole bone out and cut it a bit, but that's a big operation and I would be out for six months, so we are hoping to do that and it's going to be good enough. It's just wear and tear from hitting too many golf balls."
Second-placed Wattel carded six birdies and two bogeys on the day and sunk a couple of monster putts on the greens.
"You are in front of the French crowds, so you want to be good, you want to play great golf and so there is pressure on me," said Wattel.
"I'm trying to play my best and just focus on the shot I have to play - that's the only thing I can do."
As many as nine players, including Germany's Martin Kaymer and Hansen's countryman Thomas Bjorn, lie just two shots back on three under, while the likes of Graeme McDowell and Miguel Angel Jimenez are three back after rounds of 69.
American Matt Kuchar opened with a 70, while Ian Poulter could only manage a two-over-par 73.
golf365.com