Casey Leads After Porsche European Open First Round

English veteran Paul Casey holds a one-shot lead after the first round of the Porsche European Open, as he carded a stunning 66 to open his week’s account in Germany.

Paul Casey, who was part of the European Ryder Cup team at Golf National in Paris last year, shot seven birdies and a bogey in his first round at Green Eagle Golf Course, to hold his first European Tour first-round lead since 2006.

The Englishman had five birdies in eight holes on the back nine, including making the most of the par-5s, as he gained shots on the field at three of the four on the back nine.

He takes a one-shot lead into the second round over Austria’s Matthias Schwab, who carded a 67 around Green Eagle on Thursday morning.

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The Austrian’s round included an eagle three at the par-5 15th, before a bogey-birdie finish on the final two holes, as he goes looking for his first European Tour victory.

Three men sit two shots back from overnight leader Casey, with England’s Ben Stow and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre alongside the leading home hope, Max Rottluff, at -4.

The German had an eventful first round at Green Eagle, with his 68 featuring an eagle 2 at the par-4 7th, along with five other birdies and four bogeys. Like Rottluff, the two Brits made the most of the easier conditions in the morning session in Germany, with Stow also having an eagle on his first-round scorecard.

Three men are in a tie for 6th place after the first day, with Alexander Björk being one of them. The Swede was the only player in the top ten to card a bogey-free round on Thursday.

Also three shots back from the lead after day one are Englishman Ben Evans, who birdied his final hole of the day, and France’s Lucas Herbert. A further shot back from that trio sits another group of four, all carding two-under-par rounds of 70 on the first day at Green Eagle.

They include D+D Real Czech Masters champion Thomas Pieters, whose round featured a double-bogey on the 4th, but the Belgian recovered to finish the day at -2. He is joined by Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, Norway’s Kristian Krogh Johannessen and Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo.

Aberdeen Investment Standards Scottish Open winner Bernd Wiesberger is among the big group at -1, along with the likes of three-time major champion Padraig Harrington and another of the home favourites, Bernd Ritthammer.

Only 22 men shot under-par on the opening day of the European Open week, with a further 14 players managing a level-par round of 72 on Thursday. That group includes German amateur Marc Hammer, England’s Ross Fisher, and South African Zander Lombard.

Among those at +1 is Xander Schauffele. Although the World No.9 did have not all his own way at Green Eagle on Thursday, the American did show his class with this lovely chip-in.

There are some big names further down the leaderboard, including the likes of the American duo of Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar, who both carded opening rounds of 74.

2018 European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn and New Zealander Michael Campbell are among those outside the top 100 after the first day’s play in Hamburg, as is 2018 European Open winner Richard McEvoy, whose title defense got off to a woeful start, carding a 77 on Thursday.

The first two groups will get Friday’s play started at 07:30 local time (UTC+2), with overnight leader Paul Casey getting his second round going just half an hour later, alongside Patrick Reed and the reigning champion.

Leaderboard:

• 1 (-6): Paul Casey (ENG)
• 2 (-5): Matthias Schwab (AUT)
• T3 (-4): Ben Stow (ENG), Robert MacIntyre (SCO), Max Rottluff (GER)
• T6 (-3): Alexander Björk (SWE), Lucas Herbert (FRA), Ben Evans (ENG)
• T9 (-2): Thomas Pieters (BEL), Pablo Larrazabal (ESP), Kristian Krogh Johannessen (NOR), Pedro Figueiredo (POR)
• T13 (-1): Bernd Wiesberger (AUT), Bernd Ritthammer (GER), Guido Migliozzi (ITA), Lasse Jensen (DEN), Ashley Chesters (ENG), Adam Bland (AUS), Padraig Harrington (IRL), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Nacho Elvira (ESP), Emilio Cuartero Blanco (ESP)

Selected Others:

• T23 (E): Marc Hammer (A, GER), Ross Fisher (ENG), Zander Lombard (RSA)
• T37 (+1): Xander Schauffele (USA), Alvaro Quiros (ESP)
• T49 (+2): Andy Sullivan (ENG), Patrick Reed (USA), Lucas Bjerregard (DEN), Matt Kuchar (USA)
• T76 (+3): Lorenzo Gagli (ITA), Trevor Immelman (RSA), Max Schmitt (GER)
• T93 (+4): Adrian Otaegui (ESP), Ryan Fox (NZL), Marc Warren (SCO)
• T106 (+5): Thomas Bjørn (DEN), Richard McEvoy (ENG)
• T123 (+6): Michael Campbell (NZL)