With a bag emblazoned with the words “Ignite” and “Get hot” 46-year-old Faldo did just that in the heat of the Thai capital and out-scored playing partner and defending champion Ernie Els by five strokes.

Seven weeks on from his last tournament appearance Faldo said: “I don’t think I was expecting that, but Ernie’s putting on the front nine brought me to life.”

The six-time major winner, without a solo victory since the 1997 Nissan Open in America, came home in a six under 30 to establish an early one-stroke lead over Ian Poulter.

Thomas Bjorn matched Faldo's front nine 30 to be joint second with Poulter, but Colin Montgomerie was only one over at the turn and Rose four over following double bogey sevens at both the fifth and seventh.

Both Faldo and Poulter have the Ryder Cup at the top of their targets this year, Poulter seeking a debut after just missing out last time and Faldo wanting to extend his record number of caps to 12.

“Nothing has happened so far and I’ve got all the hard work to do now,” stated Faldo, who decided not to campaign for the captaincy and instead go for another place on the team.

“To do it I’ve got to do some really good stuff – as simple as that.”

An immediate incentive this week is to improve his world ranking so that he can qualify for the Accenture world match play championship in California in a month’s time. He is currently 81st and needs to make the top 64 to have a shot at the million-dollar first prize and equivalent Ryder Cup points.

“You’ve got to get into those big ones,” he added.

To prepare for the £1m (€1.45m) event he spent four weeks on the nearby holiday island of Phuket – “to get some rest, but also to do some physical work and some swing practice. I did a lot of it not on the course, but using my reflection in windows”.

Faldo bogeyed his second hole, the 412-yard 11th, but picked up birdies on the two back nine par fives to turn in 35 and from the second made six birdies in seven holes to take over at the top.

Not that he knew it. The leaderboards around the Alpine Golf and Sports Club were not in operation even as he came to the end of his round.

Els had a real rollercoaster ride, mixing three birdies with four bogeys before adding three more birdies in the last six holes to revive his hopes.

Winner of the Sony Open in Hawaii two weeks ago the South African is seeking the 50th individual win of his professional career and said: “I can play a lot better than that.

“I didn’t make too bad a start, but I didn’t quite have my rhythm on the driver.” He was an inch from out of bounds with it at the long 17th, where he did well to drop only one shot, birdied the 569-yard fifth from the trees and nearly went in the water at the 555-yard seventh, but birdied that as well.

Poulter did not even know if he could play when he woke up with what he thought was either a dislodged rib or a pulled muscle.

It came on top of a chest infection he has had for two weeks and the 28-year-old from Milton Keynes said: “I was in agony, but my physio is travelling with me and I was on the massage table for 45 minutes.

“The pain has gone away now – and hopefully won’t come back.”

His playing partners Lee Westwood and Ian Woosnam could do no better than level par 72s, but Open champion Ben Curtis, paired with Faldo and Els, hit back from a scrappy two over after eight to finish with a four under 68.