Saturday 25 June 2016 11:57, UK
Raphael Jacquelin upstaged a star-studded line-up in Cologne as he made a long-awaited return to the top of the leaderboard at the BMW International Open.
Jacquelin defied sweltering temperatures to negotiate the Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof course in just 65 blows on the opening day, making seven birdies and keeping a bogey off his card to hit the front on seven under.
The smooth-swinging Frenchman went one shot lower than England's Oliver Fisher, while Henrik Stenson opened with a solid 68 but Masters champion Danny Willett paid the price for some wayward tee shots as he slumped to a 74, which leaves him struggling to make the cut.
Jacquelin hinted at a return to form last month when he notched his first top-10 finish for 11 months at the Nordea Masters, and he reeled off six birdies in a sparkling nine-hole stretch before picking up one further shot at the seventh - his 16th.
"I'm very pleased of course, as you can imagine," said Jacquelin, who collected the last of his four European Tour titles at the Open de Espana in 2013. I played solid pretty much all day long. It was a bit tough at the end but I managed to save some good pars.
"The wind was picking up again, so it was not easy at all. I tried to stay focused on the game and the way I was hitting the ball and did pretty well and very happy for that and leading - it's been a long time. It's a good feeling.
"It's been a long time, but it's difficult. I'm still practising hard and working hard on the game, and here we go, sometimes it pays. I'm just going to try to do the same the rest of the week."
Fisher was also understandably delighted with his flawless card and the 27-year-old's ball striking was particularly impressive as he missed only one green in regulation while clocking up six birdies.
The Englishman is in need of a strong second half of the year having missed the halfway cut in 10 of his 16 starts, leaving him languishing at 151st in the Race to Dubai.
"I'm very delighted. You've got to hit fairways and hit greens and I've done that today and played well. Anytime you go bogey-free for 18 holes is a good round," said Fisher.
Thorbjorn Olesen gave European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke a timely reminder of his talents as he fired a 67 which included five birdies in six holes on the back nine.
The young Dane shares third with Chile's Felipe Aguilar and South African Zander Lombard, with Stenson a further stroke adrift along with Bernd Wiesberger, Pablo Larrazabal and English veteran Ross McGowan.
Sergio Garcia, who endured yet another major near-miss at the US Open at the weekend, cruised to three under after 10 holes, but fatigue may have been a factor as he bogeyed the fifth and ninth to return a disappointing 71.
Willett has work to do to avoid an early exit after an error-strewn inward 40. The Sheffield ace was two under at the turn before he followed a bogey at the 10th with a double-bogey six at 14.
He got back under the card with two straight birdies, but a wild drive at the 17th cost him another double-bogey, and he dropped another shot at the last after another missed fairway to slip into a tie for 101st.
