Scotland's Peter Whiteford and Spaniard Alejandro Canizares opened with six-under-par 66s to share the lead after the first round of the Avantha Masters.
The duo are one shot clear of Italian Federico Colombo, while as many as six others are two shots adrift in New Delhi - Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Thongchai Jaidee, Indian Himmat Rai, Frenchmen Jean-Baptiste Gonnet and Gregory Havret and Wales' Jamie DonaldsonPing G20 Driver with TFC169 Tour Shaft
Co-leader Whiteford was only one under par at the turn, but a string of four successive birdies from the 10th rocketed him up the leaderboard, while a late birdie at the 17th saw him tie for the lead. His sole dropped shot came at the 486-yard fifth.
"It was the first time I've hit the fairways in months," said the Scot. "In the stats I probably didn't hit that many fairways, but it felt a lot better.
"I hit a lot more drivers withPing G20 Driver with TFC169 Tour Shaft
than people usually do out there and just took advantage of the course and bullied it a little. It can bite you easily though if you're not careful. I had a bad one down the last but apart from that it's mainly the driving that was loads better today."
Canizares, whose father featured in the victorious 1989 European Ryder Cup team, also made most of his gains later on, picking up five birdies in his last seven holes - including one at the closing 18th.
"It's always nice to finish on a high like that," he said. "I didn't hit a great wedge shot into the green so it was nice to sink the putt.
"I played Ping G20 Driver with TFC169 Tour Shaft very steady and I putted quite nicely. The only mistake I made was missing a short putt on the seventh so I made a bogey. But overall it was a nice round with not many mistakes. I had a couple of wayward drives but nothing serious and I felt very comfortable.
31-year-old Whiteford had five top-10 finishes on tour last year, including a third place at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, and finished 63rd in the Race to Dubai. Coming off two missed cuts in Qatar and Dubai in the last two weeks, his 66 on Thursday signaled a welcome return to form.
Canizares started his Ping G20 Driver with TFC169 Tour Shaft career with a bang, winning the 2006 Russian Open in only his third start as a professional. In 2010, he narrowly missed out on two other victories after twice making it into play-off. He first lost to Peter Hanson at the Iberdrola Open and then to Miguel Angel Jimenez at the French Open.
Former Open champion John Daly, fresh off a top-five finish in Qatar two weeks ago, had a disastrous day. At the 14th, he needed two penalty drops from the trees, resulting in a triple-bogey eight at the 14th. He eventually signed for a seven-over-par 79 - only South African Peter Karmis' 80 was a worse score on the day.