‘‘I’m obviously very pleased,’’ said the 44-year-old.

‘‘If some people think I am past it then good luck to them, but I am here because I want to be and because I want to have fun.’’

An example of that came on the very first tee when a mobile phone went off.

‘‘A few years ago I would have gone over and bitten his head off. I’m such a nice guy now!’’

Unflustered, he rolled in 20-foot putts for eagle on the second and birdie on the fourth and then had the unexpected bonus of a 45-footer on the 17th.

‘‘This is one of the great courses in the world, but there is a fear factor to it,’’ he added.

‘‘It’s a severe test, and you have to respect it.

‘‘When you don’t have much local knowledge you have to make some calculated guesses about the wind and the bounces. It keeps us on our toes.

‘‘I was scrambling a bit at the end. But it’s a long time since I’ve felt a bit of pressure in my swing, and I hung in there.’’

His only bogey came on the tricky short 11th as it did for Els but even that was not a relief because he went from bunker to bunker and came out of the second one to two feet.

Els grabbed nine birdies on greens he said are ‘‘the best I’ve ever seen’’, but it saddens him that modern technology has made such courses as Royal Melbourne play so much shorter.

‘‘Surely they can put a handbrake on technology,’’ said the South African star.

‘‘Either that or they’ve got to lengthen courses like they have at Augusta.

‘‘The way (Alister) McKenzie designed it back in the 1920s and the way it is playing now, they are two totally different courses.’’

Els and playing partner Michael Campbell, who began his search for a third successive win in the event with a 68, hit wedges into the 442-yard 18th.

Campbell said: ‘‘I’m carrying shots two clubs further now. Technology has made the course a bit obsolete.’’

Pilkington, who finished fifth in the driving distance category last season, hit two of 344 and 330 yards in the last group of the day.

‘‘I feel I’m improving all the time,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m really pleased to keep a bogey off my card because it was tricky out there, with the wind and the firm and fast greens.’’

World number five Els gave some of the credit for his score to his Yorkshire-born caddie Ricky Roberts.

‘‘He felt the ball was too far forward in my stance when I was putting, so I moved it back and I felt a lot more solid.

‘‘But it’s a big help to walk on to a course you really enjoy playing. Half the battle is won already, I think.’’

Els started with a two-putt birdie on the back nine and after what was to prove his only bogey of the day on the 147-yard next he added three more birdies in the next five holes.

Switching to the outward half he then added further birdies on the first, third, fourth, fifth and ninth.

Campbell’s compatriot David Smail had the rare feat of back-to-back eagles, making three on the second and then holing in one at the 176-yard third. He finished with a 69.

American John Daly, newest member of the European tour, had a 71 and Greg Norman a 69 but Els’s position at the top of the leaderboard was not quite secure as the day neared its close.

Alongside Faldo were former Ryder Cup team-mate Barry Lane, Australians Adam Scott and Peter Lonard and New Zealand amateur Eddie Lee.

Lane’s success in the early 1990s came with a tiny ladies’ putter, and from a distance it looks as if he is back using it.

But while his hands are in the same position, the putter actually extends into his stomach.

The 41-year-old from Berkshire said: ‘‘When you get into your forties you can anchor it in your belly. I’ve got five of them and I put it between number two and number three!

‘‘This is only my second event back after two months off, so to birdie the first four holes was a bit of a shock to the system. I lost my focus for a bit - then got it back.’’