Nick Dougherty leads by a single stroke after the opening round of the Trophée Hassan II.
The Englishman reached the turn at level-par but came home in just 30 strokes thanks to an eagle and five birdies which saw him close on seven-under.
Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Scot Stephen Gallacher, Italian Francesco Molinari, India's S S P Chowrasia, Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez and Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti are all one shot further back.
Dougherty commented: "I've been struggling so much I'm just trying to build some confidence and hit as many good shots as I can.
"Thomas Bjorn gave me quite a bit of help yesterday on the range, which meant the world to me obviously, but it's a work in progress.
"Anything under par I would have been happy with, so I was delighted with that. I think seven-under is a really, really good score round there.
"I putted fabulously and I'm delighted with my short game in general, but it's the long game that's concerning me. I've been battling with that for a long time now."
Elsewhere, Darren Clarke opened with a three-under-par 70, while his fellow Irishman Paul McGinley posted a 76 in his first outing since undergoing a sixth knee operation at the tail end of last year.
"I'm lacking that competitive edge," the latter stated. "The knee is absolutely fine. I didn't feel it at all, and although it's a bit swollen now, it's not giving me any pain.
"My round got away from me at the eighth and ninth when I missed a two-foot putt and then hit one in the water. I played much better than my score suggests but my putting was terrible."