Staff WriterThe BMW International Open delivered a scorcher on Thursday, and it wasn’t just the Munich sun turning up the heat.
England’s Marco Penge threw his hat into the ring with a topsy-turvy five-under-par 67 to share the first-round lead, part of a five-man pile-up atop the leaderboard that proves the final European Swing event on the Race to Dubai won’t be short on drama.
It was a round that had more twists than a Bavarian pretzel. Penge’s card featured eight birdies, a bogey, and a clumsy double at the par-five 18th – his ninth hole of the day – that might have derailed a lesser man.
But the 25-year-old from Worthing showed grit and a decent set of brass ones to claw his way back with four birdies on the back nine.
Fresh off his maiden professional win at the Hainan Classic earlier this year, Penge looked every bit the part of a player coming into his own.
Marco Penge: I obviously had a great start, starting birdie-birdie on ten and 11. I felt pretty in control of my game. When I birdied 16, parred 17, I thought I’ve got some good chances coming up, especially with 18 being one of the easiest holes on the course, but seven there didn’t help the day, but it’s one of those things. Hit it in the water off the tee and made a bit of a mess of it, but played great on the back nine, it was really steady.
But he wasn’t lonely up there for long.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green was the first to match his 67, producing a clinical round with just one blemish. The 30-year-old looked sharp from tee to green and remains one of the more mercurial talents in the field – capable of brilliance, occasionally cursed by chaos. Not today, though.
Gavin Green: I had a pretty good day off the tee and pretty good irons on the tough holes. Made it a little easier on myself, hit the fairways, hit the greens. Two-putted, made a few putts early on which kind of kickstarted the round. Had a couple wedge shots in the middle that were horrendous, but it’s a give-and-take kind of game.
China’s Wenyi Ding, meanwhile, took the scenic route. After coughing up back-to-back bogeys on the turn, the 19-year-old phenom closed with four birdies over his final five holes to earn a share of the top spot and remind everyone why he’s on so many radar screens.
As the shadows lengthened over Golfclub München Eichenried, two more joined the summit party. Playing partners Ugo Coussaud and Darius van Driel, from France and the Netherlands respectively, both birdied the ninth – their final hole of the day – to complete the quintet.
Coussaud’s bogey-free lap was particularly tidy, suggesting the Frenchman might have more to say as the BMW International Open unfolds.
Ugo Coussaud: It’s been a long time since I had another very good run. It started not great actually, but I made a few good putts and haven’t dropped a shot today. So that’s good. Putting was very solid, made a few and actually it was nice.
I don’t know about the others but I made a few good putts, made a wedge on the 11th, my second hole. Made a few other ones, solid between five and ten feet. It’s easier when you make putts.
Just one shot behind the leaders is a six-strong chasing pack that reads like a continental breakfast of Tour regulars: England’s Nathan Kimsey, Richard Mansell and Jordan Smith, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson, Japan’s Yuto Katsuragawa, and David Ravetto of France. Each carded four-under 68s and kept their noses clean enough to be within striking distance heading into Friday.
And for those of a philanthropic persuasion, there was good news too. Round one of the BMW International Open saw 16 eagles posted, adding €16,000 to BMW’s Eagles for Education initiative – a tidy sum for a noble cause.
So, day one in Munich brought birdies, eagles, and enough leaderboard congestion to give a traffic warden a panic attack.
As the week wears on and the temperature – both literal and metaphorical – continues to rise, expect the BMW International Open to keep serving up fireworks. After all, if the first round is anything to go by, we’re in for one hell of a ride.
