HSBC Champions 2015: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
Branden Grace of South Africa claimed the outright lead during the first round of the 2015 HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, shooting a nine-under par round of 63 on Thursday.
It was a highly competitive day of golf as the top names in the world battled; Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth both featured, ending Thursday with scorecards of four-under, tying for 16th with a host of stars.
Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson were in fine fettle during their opening rounds. The Brit hit a 67, but Johnson eclipsed his efforts and stormed to a seven-under 65 to position himself two off the lead.
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Here is the leaderboard after the first round at the Sheshan Golf Club:
| 1 | Branden Grace | -9 | 63 |
| T2 | Kevin Kisner | -8 | 64 |
| T2 | Steven Bowditch | -8 | 64 |
| T2 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -8 | 64 |
| T5 | Danny Willett | -7 | 65 |
| T5 | Patrick Reed | -7 | 65 |
| T5 | Dustin Johnson | -7 | 65 |
| 8 | Haotong Li | -6 | 66 |
For the full leaderboard check out the European Tour website.
Thursday Recap
The foggy conditions in Shanghai didn't affect the high quality of golf on show, as South African Grace shone. He was bogey-free during his round, going one shot clear at the top of the board.
Grace strung together a number of birdies throughout Thursday, carding five on the back nine. He then picked up further shots on the second, fifth, seventh and ninth holes in a hot streak of form.
The European Tour shared footage of Grace's efforts at the final hole as he posted a birdie:
American Kevin Kisner, Australian Steven Bowditch and Norway's Thorbjorn Olesen all had excellent days out on the course and sit one shot behind Grace on the leaderboard.
Kisner posted eight birdies throughout his round of 64, as Bowditch and Olesen putted consistently.
The crowd were enthused by the effort of Haotong Li, as the home favourite travelled around the course beautifully, scoring a six-under 66.
Li is currently eighth on the board, only three shots off the lead.
McIlroy continued his good performance from the Turkish Airlines Open last week, carding a round of 68. The Northern Irishman was steady throughout, if not spectacular, but a double bogey on the 15th was a notable blip.
Six birdies kept McIlroy in strong contention, but he will be disappointed the double bogey left him five off the pace.
Spieth showed encouraging signs as he made his way around the course, but two early slips saw him topple down the leaderboard.
The American prodigy struggled as he started on the back nine, posting two bogies along with three birdie putts. Three birdies on the front nine left the superstar on four-under for the day, keeping him in touch with the leaders.
Bubba Watson matched his compatriot's effort of 68, carding three birdies as he avoided bogey throughout.
There were also pleasing efforts from Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia, who both equalled the performances of McIlroy and Spieth, carding rounds of 68 to tie for 16th position.
The top players in China are promising this will be one of golf's great competitions this year, as many ticked along nicely in the opening exchanges.
Eyes are always on McIlroy and Spieth to provide the magic moments, but with seven players within three shots of Grace, Friday's round promises to be very interesting.
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