Austin Smotherman and Harrison Endycott shot nine-under 62s in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Thursday to claim a share of the lead.

America's Smotherman, 28, started like a house on fire, following his opening par with six birdies from his next eight holes. He then finished in similar fashion, with three birdies from his final four holes while going bogey-free.

Australia's Endycott, 26, took a different route to his 62, collecting eagles on the par-five seventh and 17th holes. After starting his back-nine with back-to-back bogeys, he steadied the ship with four consecutive birdies in an action-packed round.

That pairing is one stroke clear of the chasing pack, with India's Arjun Atwal joining Americans Adam Schenk, Scott Brown, Denny McCarthy and Robby Shelton at eight under.

Justin Lower started on the back-nine and had five birdies from his first eight holes on his way to a bogey-free 64 and a tie for eighth, where he is joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry. One further back, Ireland's Seamus Power headlines the group at six under with Australia's Aaron Baddeley, South Africa's M.J. Daffue and China's Zecheng Dou.

Scotland's Russell Knox, Austria's Matthias Schwab and France's Martin Trainer are part of a 25-player group four strokes off the lead at five under.

Kim Seong-hyeon, who entered the tournament as the highest ranked member of the field in the early-season FedEx Cup standings (18th) is well in the mix at four under, and fan-favourite John Daly shot an even-par 71.