KLM Open 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Ben Evans leads the field after the first day of the 2016 KLM Open at The Dutch in Spijk, the Netherlands, shooting a round of six-under 65 on Thursday to surge ahead of the pack. 

A host of players sit one shot back, including Bernd Wiesberger and Joakim Lagergren, while several top contenders such as Tommy Fleetwood carded an opening round of four under.

Here's a look at the current leaderboard:

Pos	Player	To Par	Round 1 Score
1	Ben Evans	-6	65
T2	Mikko Korhonen	-5	66
T2	Bernd Wiesberger	-5	66
T2	Byeong Hun An	-5	66
T2	Peter Hanson	-5	66
T2	Joakim Lagergren	-5	66
T2	Chris Hanson	-5	66
T2	Nino Bertasio	-5	66
T2	Rowin Caron (AM)	-5	66
T10	David Horsey	-4	67

For the full leaderboard, visit the European Tour's official website.

Recap

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Evans once again seems primed to finish the season in strong form and secure his spot on the tour.

The Englishman only dropped a single shot, on the 17th, and that bogey came at the end of a run of four straight birdies. Evans tackled the back nine hard, hitting five of his seven birdies. He was nearly perfect on his scrambles (5-of-6) and converted his lone sand save.

He took the early lead over a handful of players, including Peter Hanson, one of many to finish with a score of five under. Hanson eagled the sixth to put himself in a prime position for a run at the leaderboard, but two bogeys on the back nine brought his score down.

Namesake Chris Hanson also finished five under, a score he was delighted with:

Wiesberger played solid, safe golf to finish five under on Thursday and put himself in excellent position heading into Round 2. The Austrian's short game saved the day, as he had some trouble finding the green in regulation.

Plenty of top players put on a clinic in the approach game. Former winner and local favourite Joost Luiten pulled off this shot, via the European Tour on Twitter:

Luiten was flawless on Thursday but only finished with a score of two under, remaining in the race for the title.

Belgium Nicolas Colsaerts could do no better than par, but he did steal the show with a fantastic approach shot as well:

The first day of the 2016 KLM Open saw a new concept introduced by the European Tour, one that has a chance to increase in popularity quickly. A massive stand was added to the 14th hole, and fans got to take on the professionals during tournament play in a contest to get the ball closest to the pin.

With prizes on offer, plenty of amateurs tried their luck. Here's what that looked like:

Per the European Tour's official website, four-time European Tour winner Raphael Jacquelin loved it:

"

I think it’s a great idea and something we should be trying to do more of in golf.

Golf is unique because it is the only sport where professionals and amateurs can compete at the same time. We do it in a pro-am or with friends and family every other week, but this will add a little bit extra to that idea. I am looking forward to seeing how it works.

Everyone knows about the famous 16th in Arizona where they have the stadium par three and that is an amazing hole. But this is a little different to that because we are letting someone from the crowd join us so it could be even better.

"

The fans will get another chance to measure their skills against the professionals on Saturday.