Hero Indian Open 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Daniel Im's seven-under-par round of 65 saw him top the leaderboard after the first day of action at the 2016 Hero Indian Open in New Delhi, India.

The American's Thursday card was free of bogeys, and seven birdies saw him claim a one-shot lead to Thailand's Prom Meesawat and Spanish duo Jorge Campillo and Nacho Elvira in second.

A group of five players sit on five under par, including South Korea's Jeunghun Wang.

Here is how the leaderboard looks after Day 1:

#	Nat	Player	Score	R1
1	USA	Daniel Im	-7	65
T2	ESP	Jorge Campillo	-6	66
T2	ESP	Nacho Elvira	-6	66
T2	THA	Prom Meesawat	-6	66
T5	IND	S.S.P. Chawrasia	-5	67
T5	FRA	Raphael Jacquelin	-5	67
T5	IND	Sanjay Kumar	-5	67
T5	AUS	Terry Pilkadaris	-5	67
T5	KOR	Jeunghun Wang	-5	67
T10	IND	Honey Baisoya	-4	68

For the full leaderboard check out the European Tour website.

Thursday Recap

Starting at the 10th, Im made birdies on his opening two holes and picked up another shot at the par-four 15th to reach the turn in 33.

He went birdie-birdie again at one and two and then chipped in at the par-three seventh to move to six under par.

A final birdie at the ninth topped off a brilliant round from Im and marked him out as the man to catch early on at Delhi Golf Club.

Campillo very nearly did catch him, finding shots at one, five, six, 10, 11 and 17 before setting up a brilliant birdie chance to tie for the lead at the last.

However, the 29-year-old did not get enough on his five-foot putt at 18 and left it agonisingly short, per the European Tour:

However, he will undoubtedly be happy with an excellent day's work, as will compatriot Elvira, whose 66 came courtesy of seven birdies and just one bogey at the 10th.

Like Im and Campillo, Wang's 67 was another bogey-less round, and he was clearly delighted to have made such a good start to the week:

In contrast, Raphael Jacquelin's 67 was something of a rollercoaster: The Frenchman's front nine alone included two eagles—one an ace at the fifth—a birdie and three bogeys.

Another bogey at 10 saw Jacquelin drop to one under before birdies at 11, 12, 14 and 18 put him back in contention near the top of the leaderboard.

Home favourite and defending champion Anirban Lahiri had a mixed opening 13 holes to his round as four birdies were cancelled out by four bogeys.

However, he found his rhythm with four consecutive birdies from the sixth to finish off his round in some style and post a 68, per the Asian Tour:

"

[Video] Birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie finish for @anirbangolf in the opening round of the @HIO_2016 https://t.co/p6ZGyPXn35

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 17, 2016"

Two-time major winner Padraig Harrington disappointingly finished with a bogey on the par-four ninth but remains just under par having shot a 71.

Meanwhile, last week's winner in Thailand, Scott Hend, is seven shots back after Thursday's action having carded a level-par 72.

It is very tight at the top after Day 1, and with low-scoring a genuine possibility through the weekend, Im will have to remain on top form if he is to triumph come Sunday.