Ivan Cantero boosted his chances of securing his DP World Tour card for 2025 with an opening 66 to hold a one-shot lead at the Genesis Championship.
The final tournament of the Back 9 will determine who will retain their playing rights for next year, with the top 114 after the event slated to keep their card.
The Spaniard began the week on the bubble in 117th place, but he rolled in seven birdies and dropped a solitary shot to set the pace at six under par at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
Home duo Byeong Hun An and Hongtaek Kim, Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, South Africa's Casey Jarvis, Scotland's Scott Jamieson, Swede Jonas Blixt and Englishman Richard Mansell sit one adrift, with a further ten players at four under. Play was suspended with six players, including Blixt, yet to complete their opening rounds.
"Obviously I need a good week or I am out of the the main Tour, but I have one more week, one more chance and my game is in good condition," Cantero said.
"I hit good drivers and with this course, if you are in good position, it is possible to have a good score.
"Today I made putts and the last couple of weeks I missed a lot of putts and my confidence was down all the time, and now I am confident with my putting and my driver.
"Of course playing with Pablo (Larrazábal) is always good, he gave me a lot of advice on the golf course and I am very happy."
Cantero needed a fast start in Incheon and he obliged with a stunning approach to three feet at the first to immediately get into the red numbers.
He was two under through three when taking advantage of the par-five third and continued his momentum with back-to-back birdies from the sixth.
The World Number 454 reached the turn in 31 thanks to a fifth birdie at the ninth and when he followed that up with an 11-foot effort at the tenth, he was at six under.
Cantero blotted his scorecard when he dropped his only shot at the 16th, but he responded in style by landing his tee-shot at the par-three 17th within six feet to return to six under and set the clubhouse lead.
Jarvis enjoyed a roller coaster first round by recording eight birdies and three bogeys, An mixed seven gains and two dropped shots, while Aphibarnrat and Kim both picked up six shots with a bogey.
Mansell was flawless in his 67 with five birdies and Jamieson carded three gains and a dropped shot before a birdie-eagle finish catapulted him into contention. Blixt had registered six birdies and a bogey before teeing off at the penultimate hole when play was halted.
Defending champion Larrazábal and fellow Spaniards Alejandro Del Rey and Manuel Elvira were at four under alongside Korean pair Tom Kim and Seunghyuk Kim, New Zealand's Daniel Hillier, Italian Renato Paratore, Dane Søren Kjeldsen, Germany's Marcel Schneider and Englishman Todd Clements.
