HSBC Golf Championship 2017: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Henrik Stenson stormed into a two-shot lead as the 2017 HSBC Golf Championship got underway on Thursday, with the Swede overcoming any post-holiday rustiness. 

Stenson carded an impressive eight-under 64 on the opening day of his first tournament outing of 2017, telling Sky Sports (h/t Press Association, via ESPN.co.uk) the lack of practice may have served him well after all:

"

It must be that lack of practice that does it. Lack of sleep, lack of practice, but I'm obviously delighted with that score. I think I scored a bit better than I played, but I kept it under control somewhat, hit a couple of close iron shots and made the putts. Wasn't too much stress out there after all.

I was working on my putting, some short game, hit a couple of buckets last week and then flew to Sweden [on Monday].

I was there for the sports awards, came down here on Tuesday morning, so very limited preparations. That might be the way forward.

"

Martin Kaymer, Oliver Fisher, Marc Warren and Kiradech Aphibarnrat trail the world No. 4 by two shots apiece and are tied for second place heading into Day 2.

Read on for a roundup of Day 1 from the 2017 HSBC Golf Championship, as Stenson ended Thursday's action at the perch, complete with a look at the leaderboard's top 10.

Position	Player	Day 1	To Par
1	Henrik Stenson	64	-8
T2	Martin Kaymer	66	-6
T2	Oliver Fisher	66	-6
T2	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	66	-6
T2	Marc Warren	66	-6
T6	Julien Quesne	67	-5
T6	Tyrrell Hatton	67	-5
T6	Rafa Cabrera-Bello	67	-5
T6	Tommy Fleetwood	67	-5
T10	Lee Westwood	68	-4

Visit the official European Tour website for a look at the leaderboard in full.

Recap

Preparation proved to be of little importance to Stenson on Thursday as he made a seamless return to the European Tour with a table-topping 64 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Course.

Starting on the back nine, the Gothenburg native opened his tournament with six birdies over his first nine holes, completing a bogey-free day's work, per the European Tour:

Just three pars across his first nine holes on Day 1 showed Stenson wasn't looking to play it safe in Abu Dhabi as he continued his search for a maiden career victory in this competition.

Kaymer's hopes of challenging for the title remain strong, however, as he rests just a couple of shots off the pace set by Stenson and is once again enjoying himself at the HSBC Championship, a competition that appeals to his strengths:

The German began strongly with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th, bookending his Day 1 escapades with three successive birdies between the seventh and ninth—having started his day on the course's back nine.

Warren is one of the three other players currently joint-second after he impressed across both halves of the course, although BBC Sport Scotland's Kenny Crawford highlighted he wasn't the only Scot who impressed:

The Europeans advertised a stellar standard of play by and large, with Thailand's Aphibarnrat the only non-European who managed to make the top eight after Thursday's opener.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Tommy Fleetwood and France's Julien Quesne were among those who dazzled, and their scores of five-under were enough to seem them go level in sixth place along with England's Tyrrell Hatton. Taking to social media after Day 1, the 25-year-old was upbeat following Thursday's performance:

Stenson will look to remain loose and limber if he's to maintain the pace set on Thursday, and a win in Abu Dhabi after more than a month away from golf would provide him with a dream start to 2017.

That being said, the field remains wide open after the first day of the competition, and a host of battle-hardened pros are stuck close to the Swede's heels heading into Friday's second round.