Garcia claims Shanghai lead
Sergio Garcia has a slender one stroke lead after the opening round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai on Thursday.
The Spaniard fired an eight-under-par 64 at Lake Malaren Golf Club in China, enough to lead Byeong Hun An and Victor Dubuisson by one shot.
Garcia, who started on the tenth, took advantage of the soft greens and got off to a flyer with four birdies in his opening five holes, including a sumptuous two in the par three 12th.
While a bogey on the par three 17th set him back, Garcia played a flawless front nine, carding five more birdies on his way up to the top of the leaderboard.
"It was nice…I obviously played nicely," quipped the world number 11 on europeantour.com.
"Conditions were quite good, not much wind. A little bit of a drizzle but other than that it was good.
"The course is nice, I drove the ball very well and that gave me a lot of opportunities to hit some good iron shots. It was a nice round.
"I had a couple of nice birdies – three birdies in the first four on my front nine and then another three or four birdies on the first four or five on the back nine. It's the kind of round that you are looking for."
Behind the top three are Ross Fisher and Lucas Bjerregaard, tied for fourth on four under while Justin Rose, Paul Casey – who holed out from 150 yard for an eagle on the 14th – and veteran Thongchai Jaidee are all three strokes behind on five under.
Danny Willett, who is second on the Race to Dubai rankings behind this weeks' absentee Rory McIlroy, struggled to an opening round of 72.
Latest
-
NewsDarren Clarke urges Rory McIlroy to trust his talent in bid to end major drought
The two Northern Irishmen played a practice round together at Royal St George’s ahead of the Open.
-
NewsEagerly-anticipated Open set to get under way in the shadow of Covid-19
There was no Open at all in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic.
-
NewsBryson DeChambeau aiming to stay out of ‘diabolical’ rough at Royal St George’s
DeChambeau powered to a six-shot victory in the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, but has missed the cut in two of this three Open appearances to date.
-
NewsRory McIlroy moving on from missed cuts with new confidence for Open challenge
The Northern Irishman believes he has “figured out” something in his game over the last couple of days.
-
News‘It’s fun in some ways’ – Covid rules mean no Open house-share for Jordan Spieth
Since 2016 Spieth and several good friends and fellow golfers have stayed in the same property with their wives and a personal chef for Open week.
-
NewsBrooks Koepka reveals origin of feud with Bryson DeChambeau ahead of Open
Koepka held court at Royal St George’s on Tuesday.
-
NewsJon Rahm reveals club foot is reason for distinctive short backswing
Rahm, who is the favourite to win the Open Championship this week, says he has “physical limitations” which affect the way he plays all sports.
-
NewsTommy Fleetwood hopes to bring the Claret Jug ‘home’ after 29-year absence
The Southport golfer is aiming to become the first English golfer since Nick Faldo in 1992 at Muirfield to win the Open Championship.
-
Dave TindallThe Open Championship: Can Shane Lowry reproduce his Royal Portrush magic?
A look at how past winners have fared when defending the Claret Jug and whether 2019 hero Shane Lowry is a good bet to challenge again.
-
NewsDefending champion Shane Lowry admits the Open ‘bubble’ could work in his favour
Lowry had the Claret Jug in his possession until Monday morning after last year’s Open was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.