The 28-year-old Australian, who's been searching for his first European Tour title after previous success on the China Golf Tour, finished with six birdies and a bogey on Thursday.

"I got off to a solid start and tried to keep things moving forward," Antcliff enthused.

Antcliff won the Order of Merit title on the China Golf Tour in 2019 to earn his place on the European Tour and had his best finish earlier this season as he finished second at the Canary Islands Championship.

"I'm just trying to stay patient, it's all the cliches – patience, taking it one shot at a time, staying present, that's what I tried to do today, really," he said.

"Fairways, greens, hole a couple of putts. Take opportunities when you get them."

He produced the goods on the inward nine after turning in 35, almost holing out from 172 yards on the 17th, leaving himself a tap-in from less than six inches to take the lead.

But Stenson produced a flawless round to match him as he seeks his first European Tour win since his 2016 Open victory.

"I hit some really good shots, on nine in particular, those two good ones. There were a couple of swings I'm not overly happy with – my commitment – I've been working hard on the swing, I need to keep on working hard," he said.

Nine players were one shot back tied for third, including former Masters champ Danny Willett.