Tom Lewis signalled a welcome return to form by firing a sparkling 63 in the first round of the Lyoness Open.

The Englishman rose to prominence by winning the Portugal Masters in only his third start as a professional two years ago, but has since struggled to follow up that success, failing to register even one top-ten finish.

A flawless nine-birdie 63 at the Diamond Country Club on Thursday has given him a two-shot lead in Atzenbrugg, however.

"It's a great start," said Lewis. "I had some good fortune around the 17th and 18th, which was my front nine, and that made the back nine more relaxed. I holed a lot of putts, which was really the only difference between today and the rest of the year.

"This year's been tough but I've been very close and shown a lot of good stuff. Today it all came together and if I can have three more rounds like that I'll be alright.

"I always seem to throw in a double bogey in a round or a tournament and it pushes me out of contention. I've got to try to limit the mistakes and not get too down on myself, and I've been working hard on that with a lot of people. I've got a lot of support from friends and family, and good coaches, so with a bit of talent I've got no excuses.

"We travel so much and there's so many different places, grasses, time differences - it can get to a lot of players. Some weeks you're feeling great and some weeks you're not. I need to turn the great weeks into really great weeks, and the not so great weeks I need to grind it out.

"I've got high expectations and not very much patience. Because I've struggled the last year or so I've lowered my expectations, which has been a good thing and has got my confidence back up. Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow and make a few birdies early on. If I mistake a few mistakes - which I will this week - I just need to not get down on myself and I'll be fine."

Dutchman Joost Luiten follows on seven under, two shots back, with France's Alexander Levy alongside English trio Graeme Storm, Simon Dyson and Richard McEvoy on six under.

"It always feels good to have a great score in the first round," said Luiten, who started his round with four consecutive birdies. "I was four under after four and that keeps the round going. I hit a lot of fairways and greens and the putter was my best friend today.

"The course is starting to dry out but you don't get any roll on the ball. The greens are very good so you can really make some putts. The weather was perfect today and there was no wind, which was good because when it's windy it's a very tough golf course.

"I played well two years ago which was my first and only time here. I finished third, so I know I can play well on this course and I showed it again today.

"It doesn't matter who's the favourite, you just have to go out and shoot as low a score as possible."

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, the oldest winner in European Tour history, is part of a five-man group on five under, four shots back.

Golf 365