Volvo China Open 2017: Thursday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

French golfer Alexander Levy and Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal made a flying start to the Volvo China Open at the Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen on Thursday, storming well ahead of the chasing pack at the end of Day 1.

Levy sits in first despite scoring just three-under in his opening nine after birdies on the 13th, 15th and 17th. However, he burst into life on his final nine with six birdies—including four in a row between holes two and five—to finish on nine-under par:

Larrazabal scored an eight-under 64 for second in the table, a single shot behind the leader.

Here's a look at Thursday's leaderboard:

Position	Player	To Par	Day 1 Score
1	LEVY, Alexander	-9	63
2	LARRAZABAL, Pablo	-8	64
3	HANSON, Peter	-5	67
3	MORRISON, James	-5	67
3	JACQUELIN, Raphael	-5	67
3	COETZEE, George	-5	67
3	BURMESTER, Dean	-5	67
8	VAN ZYL, Jaco	-4	68
8	CAO, Yi	-4	68
8	CAMPILLO, Jorge	-4	68
8	LUITEN, Joost	-4	68

South African Dean Burmester, who sits third on the leaderboard after scoring a five-under 67, will be disappointed not to be alongside Levy and Larrazabel having messed up on the eighth. A double bogey in this five-par hole was the only blemish on a strong scorecard.

It was Lazarrabal who set the early tempo, scoring birdies on his first two holes as one of the first to tee off, and the Spaniard maintained his form throughout the day, scoring 32 on the front and back nines.

But it was U.S. golfer Ryan Dillon who made the headlines after hitting a hole-in-one on the par-three 13th. Dillon's achievement was tainted, however, by four bogeys and two double bogeys, giving him a five-over 77 scorecard for the day.

Elsewhere, a superb backspin shot from Jinho Choi earned him an eagle on the 15th:

Anthony Wall, a two-time European Tour winner, marked his 500th official European Tour event with a respectable one-under 71. Wall has become only the 11th Englishman in history to reach this milestone, per the European Tour.

One of the best shots of the day came from Joost Luiten, who reached the green from a bunker to score a birdie on the 15:

Having taken a five-shot and four-shot lead respectively over the competition, Levy and Lazarrabal find themselves locked in a head-to-head for the Volvo China Open. It should make for a fascinating final three days of the competition.