BMW Masters 2015: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Sergio Garcia topped the leaderboard the 2015 BMW Masters on Thursday after kicking the competition off with a magnificent eight-under 64 in Shanghai.

He holds a one-shot lead over Byeong-Hun An and Victor Dubuisson. Lurking behind them are plenty of contenders as Ross Fisher and Lucas Bjerregaard finished on six under for the day, while Paul Casey, Thongchai Jaidee and Justin Rose are a further shot behind.

Here is how the top of the leaderboard looks after Day 1:

Pos	Player	Day 1 Score	To Par
1	Sergio Garcia	64	-8
T2	Byeong-Hun An	65	-7
T2	Victor Dubuisson	65	-7
T4	Lucas Bjerregaard	66	-6
T4	Ross Fisher	66	-6
T6	Paul Casey	67	-5
T6	Thongchai Jaidee	67	-5
T6	Justin Rose	67	-5
T9	Eddie Pepperell	68	-4
T9	Francesco Molinari	68	-4

The full leaderboard can be accessed at the European Tour's official website.

Thursday Recap

Garcia flew out of the traps as he set down a marker for the rest of the field on Thursday.

Starting from the 10th, the Spaniard birdied four of his first five holes. His approach to set up his birdie at the 14th was exquisite, as the European Tour's official Twitter feed shows:

A bogey at the 17th proved to be the only blemish in an otherwise perfect round as Garcia continued to pick up shots.

The 35-year-old earned his sixth birdie at the par-three fourth:

Two more at the sixth and seventh ensured Garcia took the overnight lead into Day 2. The European Tour shared his final scorecard:

Dubuisson and An carded unblemished rounds as they notched seven birdies apiece, each notably picking up three consecutively during his round.

Casey got off to a strong start as he kicked off with birdies at the 10th and 11th before taking the lead with a superb eagle at the 14th:

The Englishman picked up three more shots in his final nine holes, but bogeys at the 18th and the fifth saw him surpassed by his rivals.

The competition also holds great importance for Danny Willett, as a finish of 28th or higher in Shanghai will see him leapfrog Rory McIlroy and put him in pole position for the Race to Dubai, according to the European Tour.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Unfortunately for the 28-year-old, a mixed round saw him finish tied for 48th after finishing the round in a par 72—picking up four birdies only to cancel them out.

There are still three days left for Willett to claw his way up the leaderboard, though, and at this early stage even one or two birdies can see players climb several places.

At the top, Garcia will be a strong candidate to win the competition if he can maintain his strong performance level into the weekend.

However, there are several players immediately behind him, while the likes of Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Matthew Fitzpatrick are also still in contention on four under, so there could well be plenty of movement over the next three days.