World number one Annika Sorenstam put her nightmare at the British Open behind her as she shot 67 to lead the Compaq Open at Vasatorp in Sweden.
Sorenstam, who missed the cut at Turnberry, had an immaculate round to share the lead with fellow Swede Sophie Gustafson on five under par.
The highlight of Sorenstam's round was a delightful 20-yard chip for an eagle three at the 11th as she headed towards a record third title at Vastatorp.
Gustafson currently occupies the final automatic selection spot for the Solheim Cup, so a good finish here is imperative to cement her place in the team.
British success
Wales' Becky Morgan and England's Johanna Head finished just one shot off the lead after opening rounds of four under par 68.
Morgan is only in her second season as a professional had four birdies in an unblemished round of 68 and afterwards she put it all down to her number 11 wood.
"Everything was an 11 wood today," she said, "I was hitting it so well that every time I had a shot between 155 and 180 yards then I used the club to either hit it soft or hard."
Laura Davies shot an erratic round of 70 to stay in contention.
Davies is currently eighth in the Solheim rankings and is another who is hoping to play her way into the guaranteed top seven.
She said: "No-one can rely on a wild card. I hope to get one, but we all know the rules - if you're not in the top seven there is no-one to blame but yourself."
Selected first round scores from the Ladies European Tour, Compaq Open, Vasatorp, Sweden (Gbr and Irl unless stated):
67 Annika Sorenstam (Swe), Sophie Gustafson (Swe)
68 Becky Morgan, Johanna Head
69 Lora Fairclough, Marike Zelsmann (Ned), Paula Marti (Spa), Liselotte
Neumann (Swe), Jane Leary (Aus)
70 Joanne Mills (Aus), Kirsty Taylor, Loraine Lambert (Aus), Eva-Lotta
Stromlid (Swe), Caroline Hall, Samantha Head, Ana Belen Sanchez (Spa), Trish
Johnson, Nadina Taylor (Aus), Catrin Nilsmark (Swe), Laura Davies, Carin Koch
(Swe)