Wu Ashun hit a bogey-free 64 on his way to the clubhouse lead at seven-under par after the first day of action at the KLM Open.
Wu, a two-time winner on the European Tour, hit birdies on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th to propel himself into contention before another birdie at the 18th left him one shot ahead of Chris Wood who finished on six-under.
The Englishman hit six birdies in the morning to edge clear of the crowd at the top of the board with eight players left just one shot off the lead at The Dutch.
The world no. 95 — looking for his first European Tour victory since the BMW PGA Championship more than two years ago — started strongly with three consecutive birdies from the 13th, before gaining a further shot at the third.
A brilliant approach at the 7th gave him a share of the lead before a final hole birdie on the 9th edged the Englishman to the top of the leaderboard.
Wood spent most of the day chasing Renato Paratore‘s total, the Italian having raced ahead as part of the first group on the course.
Paratore hit birdies on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th to reach the turn in 31, but had a quieter back nine, despite a birdie on the 9th, to finish on five under — one of 12 golfers to card a round of 66.
His compatriot Andrea Pavan is among them having also finished two shots back on leader Wu after a strong back nine, while Frenchman Benjamin Hebert dropped a shot at the last to slip to five-under.
English pair Aaron Rai and Matthew Southgate both also finished well to end on five-under alongside Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen, Australian Jason Scrivener and American Kevin Stadler.