Four players share the early clubhouse lead at the BMW International Open thanks to rounds of six under par on day one in Cologne.
The early pacesetters made the most of some good scoring conditions at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof, with both Graeme Storm and Anders Hansen signing for bogey free 66s.
Gary Stal and Andy Sullivan are alongside that pair in a tie for the lead, with the highlight of Frenchman Stal’s round an eagle at the ninth, thanks to a holed five iron approach.
Big crowds awaited the early starters, with home favourites Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem drawing particularly strong support.
Although neither player found their best form, they both finished the day in the red, with Siem going one better than his playing partner Kaymer, thanks to a two under par round of 70.
Elsewhere, Romain Wattel continued his consistent form with round of 67, which leaves the Frenchman in a group at five under par, alongside Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Spainish pair Nacho Elvira and Jorge Campillo.
Sergio Garcia travelled to Germany in fine form, thanks to a runner-up finish last week on the PGA Tour.
He had a mixed day on Thursday, carding four birdies and three bogeys en route to a one under par 71.
World Number Two Henrik Stenson is playing alongside Victor Dubuisson and Bernd Wiesberger over the first two rounds, and the Swede got his round off to the perfect start with a birdie at the first, but remains in the early stages of his opening 18 holes.
