Tommy Fleetwood rode a wave of home support to the top of the leaderboard in pursuit of a first major title in the 151st Open Championship.
Roared on by a partisan crowd at Royal Liverpool, the 32-year-old from Southport carded an opening 66 to share the clubhouse lead with South African amateur Christo Lamprecht and Emiliano Grillo on five under par.
France's Antoine Rozner and Spain's Adrian Otaegui were a shot behind, with former champion Stewart Cink - who denied Tom Watson a fairytale victory at Turnberry in 2009 - on three under alongside US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Alex Noren.