After Shane Lowry won the opening Rolex Series event in Abu Dhabi last week, the European Tour is in Dubai this time around for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
In a field headlined by the likes of Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau, the victorious Lowry showed no signs of a hangover in his opening round of 69.
A level par outward nine that included two dropped shots was improved on coming in, with the Offaly man birdieing the 13th and the last two holes to finish just outside the top 30.
Compatriot Paul Dunne (tied for 44th), who missed the cut in his first 2019 outing last week, faced some trouble on the front nine. Having carded three bogeys in that difficult opening period, he rallied on holes 10, 14, 16 and 17 to finish -2, though a six on the par five 13th will leave a sour taste.
The field is led by five-time European Tour winner Matthew Fitzpatrick, who birdied six holes on the back nine to post the marker of seven under heading into Friday.
There are no fewer than eight players in the chasing pack on six under however, including the aforementioned star duo of Garcia and DeChambeau.
A bunched field sees a further nine players poised to challenge on five under, featuring the popular English paring of Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, alongside defending champion Haotong Li of China.