A world-class field descended on the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club as Saudi Arabia hosted its first ever golf tournament on the European Tour.
The Kingdom became the 48th country to host a European Tour event and brought plenty of high-profile players from around the world for the inaugural Saudi International powered by SBIA.
Those attending King Abdullah Economic City included four of the world's top five players, the 2016 Open Championship winner and the last two champions of the Masters Tournament and here is a summary of how they performed in their first rounds.
Patrick Reed - three under
The European Tour member produced the best round of the 'Big Seven' as he carded a three-under-par 67. He got off to a rapid start with a birdie at the tenth - his first - before finishing his first nine holes with back-to-back birdies. The American bogeyed the third to drop back to two under, but almost hit back immediately only to push his birdie putt right of the cup. Reed was back to three under when he holed a tricky 12-footer at the fifth before hitting the pin from the bunker at the next but could only par the hole.
Bryson DeChambeau - two under
Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner DeChambeau, who is aiming to become the first American to win successive regular European Tour events since Fred Couples in 1995, found himself one over par through 10 holes as the World Number Five struggled to maintain the form which saw him win in the United Arab Emirates last week. However, he turned it round in his final six holes with birdies at the 14th, 16th and last to give him an outside chance of breaking the 24 year record.
Dustin Johnson - two under
The World Number Three worked his way to the same mark as United States Ryder Cup team-mate DeChambeau despite not hitting top gear. The American opened his account with a birdie at the second before picking up another shot at the fourth, only to give it straight back at the next. Johnson missed birdie chances at the ninth and tenth, but made it third time lucky by moving to two under at the 11th. He bogeyed the next, but hit back immediately at the 13th before missing two more chances to improve his score at the 15th and 17th.
Henrik Stenson - two under
The Swede led the stellar group of World Number One Justin Rose and World Number Two Brooks Koepka to reach two-under-par. The 2016 Open Championship winner carded a flawless opening nine holes which saw birdies at the 11th and 18th before blotting his card with a bogey at the third. The 42 year old claimed that shot back at the seventh to give himself a chance to post a low score in calmer conditions on Friday morning.
Brooks Koepka - one under
The four-time European Tour winner started strongly in Saudi Arabia and looked set to post a low score in favourable conditions on Thursday morning, birdieing the 13th, 14th and second to reach three under. However, putts started to avoid the hole and back-to-back bogeys from the sixth pushed the American down the leaderboard with an uphill battle to get back into contention.
Sergio Garcia - one under
The Spaniard endured a roller coaster round at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club and reached the turn at level par after mixing bogeys at the third and ninth with a terrific eagle at the fourth. Birdies at the 10th and 13th pushed him up to two under but dropped another shot at the 17th.
Justin Rose - level par
World Number One Rose endured a mixed day as he carded a 70 on his opening round in Saudi Arabia. The Englishman has made 26 top-ten finishes in his last 35 events worldwide, but will need a huge shift up the leaderboard in the second round if he is to preserve that record. Birdies at the 13th and 15th started his first round in positive fashion but they were cancelled out by bogeys at the 18th and third. A gain from six foot at the fourth moved Rose up to one under before saving par at the next with a fine chip to close range. However, he carded his third dropped shot at the sixth as the putter was not on its usual hot form.
