The Australian is searching for his first win on the Champions Tour and his five-under 66 gave him a share of the lead with Germany's Alex Cejka and Rob Labritz.

They have a one-shot lead over David Toms, Kirk Triplett and South Africans Retief Goosen and David Frost at Las Colinas Country Club.

Hensby sandwiched his round with birdies at the par-4 1st and par-5 18th, finishing with seven in all to counteract two bogeys.

"Last year I played the first round here and didn't play too well and then played good the second round," Hensby said.

"But no, I think the greens are so good and if you drive it in play you get a lot of birdie chances."

Cejka poured in six birdies and limited himself to one bogey, but he was happiest with some crucial par saves that kept him afloat.

"I had a couple 6-footers, I want to say two, three 6-footers for par that I made that kept my momentum going," Cejka said.

"You miss one or two of those, you're back to 1 under instead of being three- or four-under, so that was the key."

"Last year I played the first round here and didn't play too well and then played good the second round But no, I think the greens are so good and if you drive it in play you get a lot of birdie chances." - Mark Hensby.

The only co-leader to stay bogey-free was Labritz, who got onto the Tour in 2021 via the qualifying school.

"I'm living the dream right now," Labritz said. "I'm working my tail off to make myself better at golf every day, whether it be in the gym, whether it be what I think, what I eat, what I don't drink.

"I'm just trying to be the best player that I can be, and I actually have the opportunity to do that now. I'm not going to leave any stone unturned."

Scott Parel, the defending champion, was part of a massive tie for eighth at three-under 68 that also featured Bob Estes, Australians Rod Pampling and Stuart Appleby and South Korea's Y.E. Yang.