Four players set the pace at the top of a cosmopolitan leaderboard after the opening round of the BMW International in Munich.
German legend in contention after opening round
Four players set the pace at the top of a cosmopolitan leaderboard after the opening round of the BMW International in Munich.
More players kept themselves in the tournament than played themselves out of it, with over half the field shooting par or better to lie within six shots of the lead.
Argentine Rafa Echenique, South Africa's Anton Haig, Mardan Mamat of Singapore and veteran Australian Peter O'Malley all carded rounds of 66 to lead a bunch of five players by a single stroke.
One of those, Englishman David Lynn, made it to seven under par before a seven at the sixth halted his momentum, a closing birdie wiping out another dropped shot at his penultimate hole.
The double-bogey was all the more remarkable for the fact that he was putting from just off the green for an eagle, only to see the ball disappear off the other side and into the water.
"I felt like putting a noose round my neck and hanging myself up," said the Stoke golfer, who has won just once in 263 events.
"I wanted to chip the ball, but there was no grass under the ball, so I had to putt through 20 feet of fringe and just hit it too hard."
Several big names are within striking distance of the lead including Order of Merit leader Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose three-under-par 69 was matched by Retief Goosen, Henrik Stenson, Irish Open winner Richard Finch and David Howell.
British duo Colin Montgomerie and Paul Casey are a stroke further back alongside local hero Bernhard Langer, who is bidding to win this event for the first time.
Paul Casey reached five under par, but double-bogeyed the 16th after his pitch spun back in the water and three-putted the par-five last for another bogey.
Former Open champion John Daly fell back from four under to level par after double bogeys on the 14th and 16th.
"Pretty much sums up the way things have been," said the American.
