Cameron Young secured a two-shot lead after round one of the Hero World Challenge with defending champion Scottie Scheffler three back in his first competitive outing since September.
Young carded a blemish-free, eight under 64 in the unofficial PGA Tour tournament in the Bahamas, which Scheffler won last year by three stokes from Sepp Straka to scoop $1m (£800,000).
Scheffler - who last played at the Presidents Cup in Montreal a little over two months ago - shot a five-under 67 at the Tiger Woods-hosted event as he experimented with a new saw putting grip.
The world No 1 birdied three of his last five holes to sit in a five-way share of third place, with Justin Thomas Young's nearest challenger on six under after six gains on his back nine, including four in a row.
Why has Scheffler tinkered with putting grip?
Scheffler is seeking his ninth worldwide title of a stellar 2024, after seven wins on the PGA Tour - Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, The Masters, RBC Heritage, Memorial Tournament, Travelers Championship, Tour Championship - as well as Olympic gold in Paris.
The 28-year-old said of his saw grip: "I am always looking for little ways to improve. We figured this is a good week to try things out.
"I think there are some benefits for me in my putting stroke - that grip works versus my older grip, so I am doing a little bit of testing. That is how I would describe it.
"The longer putts I did with my old grip as I have a better feel for the speed. The closer I get to the hole I can do more with the other grip.
"I haven't had enough time to totally get used to it speed-wise and my touch from long range has been pretty good and that's something I probably want to change very much."
Europeans Åberg and MacIntyre make solid starts
Sweden's Ludvig Åberg and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre lead the European charge in Albany on five under and four under respectively, with Austria's Straka at three under, England's Aaron Rai at one under and France's Matthieu Pavon at two over.
The Hero World Challenge is a 20-man, no-cut event and while it does not offer FedExCup points it does hand out world ranking points as it is officially recognised by the OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking).
Live PGA Tour Golf
Leader, Young, who is yet to win a PGA Tour event, registered five birdies on his front nine and then three more coming home.
Young's fellow American Nick Dunlap was on seven under after 15 holes but then bogeyed 16, following a missed par putt from inside five feet, and then double-bogeyed 18 after he was wayward off the tee and forced to take a drop.
Watch round two of the Hero World Challenge, in The Bahamas, live on Sky Sports Golf from 6.30pm on Friday. Coverage continues across the weekend on Sky Sports and with NOW.
