The Ryder Cup stars led alongside Frenchman Adrien Saddier, New Zealander Kazuma Kobori and South African Richard Sterne – the only player in the field who had also competed in the inaugural event in 2006.
Fleetwood, who won the tournament in 2017 and 2018, made eight birdies in a flawless round, while 2019 champion Lowry recorded nine birdies and one bogey.
“It’s Thursday. Obviously you can play your way out of it, you can’t win it, but 8 under is a really nice way to start,” Fleetwood said.
Saddier threatened to take a sole lead in the afternoon after nine birdies over his first 16 holes, but dropped a shot on the 17th.
Sterne made two eagles but also had the same number of bogeys, while Kobori made an eagle and six birdies in a flawless first-round effort.
There were seven players one shot further back; Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira produced 65s.
Ludvig Åberg made a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth, landing his tee shot a few feet from the pin.
However, he finished his shots on the fourth lap from the lead, along with Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy.
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