Amateur Carolina Melgrati fired an opening 65 to sit in a four-way tie for the lead alongside three male professionals on day one of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.
The Italian opened her round with back-to-back birdies before dropping her first shot of the day at the 8th.
But a back nine of 30, which contained an eagle and four birdies, saw Melgrati join Craig Howie, Matthieu Pavon and Santiago Tarrio at the summit on seven under par.
Scotland’s Howie and Frenchman Pavon each made seven birdies and no bogeys in their first rounds, while Spaniard Tarrio carded eight birdies – including four in a row from the 14th – and a solitary bogey.
Swedish pair Linn Grant and Kristoffer Broberg were another shot further back in a tie for fifth alongside England’s Liz Young and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond.
Jacques Kruyswijk and Zander Lombard are the best-placed South Africans (T27) after carding three-under-par 69s.
Melgrati was delighted with her day’s work, saying: “It is probably a result of working hard and it is paying off.
“I’m just trying to focus on hitting fairways and hitting greens and then making putts. When it works it’s great, when it doesn’t you just have to go back and practise it some more.
“I didn’t feel a difference between the front and back nine, but I just tried to stick to my processes – nothing really changed in my mind.
“It is crazy! It is so great. As soon as I got the invitation, I said yes, I’m playing because it is great to compete with professional golfers. It is amazing and that is also my dream, so it is coming true.”
– Report from DP World Tour website
