The former Ryder Cup captain claimed three birdies and an eagle in his opening six holes to share the early lead with former professional footballer Jean Pierre Sallat on four under par.
Torrance (51) began his round at the tenth and made his first advance when he eagled the 495-yard par-five 11th.
He dropped a shot at the treacherous 154-yard par-three 12th but then bounced back with consecutive birdies at 14, 15 and 16.
Sallat, 50, once played professional football for Bordeaux and Le Havre and he displayed remarkable skill with a smaller ball by starting with four birdies in his opening six holes.
The French rookie started with a fine birdie two on La Moye’s tough 160-yard par-three first hole and then picked up another birdie on the 168-yard third.
He went on to par the 416-yard fourth before collecting birdie threes on the fifth and the sixth.
Peter Holt held the lead after the first round of the concurrent pro-am event.
Holt teamed up with Scotland’s Craig Maltman to post an eleven-under-par 61 and lead by one shot from Richard Upton.
