Very highly placed in opening course (4)
I believe the answer is:
soup
'opening course' is the definition.
'soup' can be an answer for 'course' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'opening' bit.
'very highly placed' is the wordplay.
'very' becomes 'so' (both can mean 'extremely').
'highly placed' becomes 'up'.
'so'+'up'='SOUP'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for soup that I've seen before include "Eskimo people" , "See 19" , "Opus (anag) - typical starter" , "Mulligatawny or borscht?" , "Liquid - course" .)