Paul Dunne finished strong and birdied his last two holes to open with a level par 73 in the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco.
The Greystones professional lies in a share of 35th after the first round at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat.
2012 champion Michael Hoey carded a three-over 76 to end the day tied 88th leaving work to do ahead to todays second round.
At the top of the leaderboard it was as tight as the famously unforgiving fairways at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam as four players shared the lead on three under par.
Three-time European Tour winner Grégory Havret and Gary Stal led a significant French charge in Rabat and they were tied at the top alongside Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard and Englishman James Morrison.
Despite benign conditions at the regal Moroccan venue, only 34 players managed to register an under par score, with former Ryder Cup player Edoardo Molinari – one of two players to card a bogey-free round on day one – and multiple European Tour winners Grégory Bourdy and Alex Levy among those leading the chasing pack on two under.
While Stal, Havret and Morrison all have European Tour victories under their belts, Bjerregaard is the only leader searching for a maiden title – having come agonisingly close at the 2015 UBS Hong Kong Open only to lose out to Major winner and last week’s Masters Tournament runner-up Justin Rose.
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