Qatar Masters 2017: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Bradley Dredge tops the Thursday leaderboard with an eight-under 64 scorecard after the opening round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2017.

Finland's Mikko Korhonen scored 65 to finish impressively in second for the day, but arguably the biggest story was the success of two other British players, Graeme McDowell and Nathan Kimsey.

Former U.S. Open champion McDowell, ranked No. 91 in the world after a difficult few years, scored a six-under 66 despite a slow start.

Kimsey putted three consecutive birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes to rise suddenly into joint third, alongside McDowell and Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat on 66.

Here's a look at the leaderboard:

Pos	Player	To Par	Thursday Score
1	DREDGE, Bradley	-8	64
2	KORHONEN, Mikko	-7	65
T3	APHIBARNRAT, Kiradech	-6	66
T3	KIMSEY, Nathan	-6	66
T3	MCDOWELL, Graeme	-6	66
T6	DETRY, Thomas	-5	67
T6	DUNNE, Paul	-5	67
T6	DYSON, Simon	-5	67
T6	ELVIRA, Nacho	-5	67
T6	JACQUELIN, Raphael	-5	67
T6	KNAPPE, Alexander	-5	67
T6	LAGERGREN, Joakim	-5	67
T6	VAN ZYL, Jaco	-5	67

Recap

McDowell, who cited distractions of family life for his dip in form, was outspoken prior to the tournament about his desire to climb back up the rankings. "I'm still very, very motivated and I still want it badly enough to do whatever it takes," he said, per Phil Casey for the Belfast Telegraph.

It didn't take long for him to put those words into action on Thursday. McDowell started with a brilliant run of six birdies from his final nine holes, ultimately finishing just two shots shy of the top of the leaderboard.

The European Tour were quick to highlight his strong opening on Twitter:

Englishman Kimsey scored seven birdies across the day, including three back-to-back. His only blemish was a bogey on the eighth, making him one of just 15 players to score over par on this hole.

Kimsey's rise hasn't gone unnoticed:

But the day's real winner was Dredge, the only player to achieve eight birdies during a perfect start for the Welshman. He birdied the 16th with arguably the shot of round, which was tweeted by the European Tour:

Further down the leaderboard, Thomas Aiken had to settle for a scorecard of 68 and 14th position following a double bogey on the 14th. He scored a six on the par-four 15th, undermining an otherwise fine day.

As one of only 13 players to score six or higher on a single hole, Aiken will rue the missed opportunity. Par would have seem him end the round in joint third, and the South African should have done better considering he was on a run of three consecutive birdies at the time.

Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn made a relatively unassuming start, hitting par on all-but four of the holes and ending the day four under on 68.