Houston - PGA Tour rookie Kyle Reifers, boosted by a successful strategy on the par-fives, charged two shots clear in the opening round of the New Orleans Classic in Avondale, Louisiana, on Thursday.
The 23-year-old American made the most of near-perfect conditions at the Tournament Players Club of Louisiana, surging to the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under-par 64.
Reifers, who earned his PGA Tour card by tying for 29th at the 2006 qualifying tournament, reeled off birdies at the second, sixth, seventh and ninth to reach the turn in four-under 32.
He picked up four more shots on the back nine to complete a blemish-free display, finishing two ahead of Tour veteran Mark Calcavecchia.
Tim Petrovic, the 2005 winner, fired a five-birdie 67 to share third place with fellow Americans Lucas Glover and rookies Tom Johnson and Jason Schultz.
"I managed my ball really well," Reifers told reporters after setting a course record at the TPC Louisiana with birdies on three of the four par-fives.
"I had a different approach today with the way I was going to approach the par-fives and kind of stuck with my game plan.
"I played them a little more conservatively, but played my angles a lot better. I gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie and rolled a few in."
The Ohio native's best finish this season in six PGA Tour starts was a tie for 12th at last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational but he feels he has played better than his results suggest.
"I just haven't really got much out of my rounds," said Reifers, who spectacularly won last year's Chattanooga Classic in a playoff after making his debut appearance on the minor Nationwide Tour.
"But I can feel my game coming around and you'll just have these days where hopefully you can finish them off and run.
"It's a great way to start and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the week. I'm pretty confident in the way my game is right now."
Paraguay's Carlos Franco, champion in 1999 and 2000, opened with a 68 to lie joint-seventh with Americans Kevin Sutherland, Joey Sindelar, Charley Hoffman, Duffy Waldorf, Darron Stiles and rookies Steve Wheatcroft and Chris Stroud.
Swede Fredrik Jacobson, making only his second PGA Tour appearance of the year after being sidelined with a wrist injury, was among a group of 17 bunched on 69.
Level with Jacobson was compatriot Richard S. Johnson, PGA Tour veteran Lee Janzen and David Toms, winner of the 2001 New Orleans Classic.
Chris Couch, who clinched last year's title at nearby English Turn Golf & Country Club, returned a 72 while fellow American Boo Weekley, surprise winner of the Heritage Classic on Monday, double-bogeyed the last for a 77.
Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles.