Li Haotong shares the lead with Joakim Lagergren after the first round of the Porsche European Open thanks to his lightning-fast start on Thursday morning.
Early starter Li opened his first round with three straight birdies before going on to sign for a five-under-par 67 which contained three further birdies and a solitary bogey.
Lagergren, meanwhile, holed his pitch for an eagle at the 15th before closing his round with a bounce-back birdie to join Li at the summit.
Wil Besseling was alone in third on four under after mixing seven birdies with a double-bogey and a bogey in his 68.
Last week’s winner, Victor Perez, was in the large group another shot back in a tie for fourth, one stroke ahead of defending champion Marcus Armitage.
South Africans Richard Sterne and Justin Walters are three shots behind the leaders after carding two-under-par 70s.
China’s Li began his round with a birdie from 11 feet at the 1st before sending his tee shot at the short 2nd to a similar distance and rolling in the putt.
The 26-year-old’s putting masterclass continued at the 3rd as he made it three birdies in a row from around 13 feet.
A run of five straight pars followed before Li got his next birdie – a tap-in at the 9th which took him to the turn in 30 shots.
Another birdie on the 15th was followed by a dropped shot at the next hole, but Li got up and down for a birdie at the last to finish the day on five under par.
After seeing his first birdie of the day at the 9th cancelled out by a bogey on the 10th, Lagergren made three birdies in four holes from the 11th to move into contention.
He then holed his pitch from 102 yards at the 15th for a stunning eagle to join leader Li on five under.
A bogey on the 17th threatened to keep him off the summit but he made a closing birdie to grab a share of the lead.
– Report from DP World Tour website
