And the Shaw Hill tournament professional thanked the person who brought him into the world - his dad Roger.
After delivering a five-under-par 67 Dougherty, 24 on the eve of the PGA's flagship event, said: "I'd not been playing with much consistency and he came down and helped to sort me out.
"We went back to some of the things we worked on when he taught me the game. So if I don't win this week I'll blame him!"
He was joined at the top of the leaderboard by fellow Englishmen Luke Donald and Paul Casey and South African Andrew McLardy.
But Dougherty, who last week dropped out of the top 10 in the Ryder Cup rankings list for the first time this year, was not in the frame until he racked up five birdies on the tougher back nine.
And he saved the best to the last, getting up and down from a greenside bunker.
Casey finished his round with a real flourish, birdying the par five 17th and eagling the long last hole.
But McLardy enjoyed a slice of good fortune when he overhit his 40 foot birdie putt at the 16th and watched it jump into the air before disappearing into the cup. Macclesfield's Jamie Donaldson, who has endured an indifferent season, finally got into the groove with a 69.
That was the matched by Carden Park's Garry Houston but fellow past M.E.N. Manchester Open champion Jon Cheetham, from Mobberley, was eight shots behind him. A 72 kept Birchwood-attached Phil Archer in the hunt.
Holder Angel Cabrera of Argentina, Ireland's Peter Lawrie, England's David Howell and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin shared fifth place while Ernie Els, who masterminded the remodelling of the West Course, was on 69.
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