BMW International Open 2017: Wade Ormsby Takes Slim Early Lead

Wade Ormsby finished atop the leaderboard at the 2017 BMW International Open on Thursday, carding an eight-under 64.

He's one shot ahead of Thomas Detry on seven under, while Masters champion Sergio Garcia is among three players who carded 66.

Tommy Fleetwood, Henrik Stenson and 10 other players finished on five under. The full leaderboard can be found at the European Tour's official website.

Thursday Recap

The birdies flowed freely on Thursday for much of the field, and for none was that more true than Ormsby.

He got off to an electric start as he made six birdies in his first nine holes on his way to carding an unblemished round.

The Australian rattled off five birdies between the 11th and the 16th, the only exception being a par at the 14th, and he finished his first nine with one last gain at the 18th to turn in 30.

Ormsby had a much quieter back nine by comparison as he made his only gains at the sixth and the ninth, though he narrowly missed out on an eagle on both occasions.

The European Tour's official Twitter feed hailed his efforts:

Per the Tour's website, he was delighted with his round:

"I had a fast start out there, turned in 30 on the front nine, and then kind of kept it going on the back. A bit steadier on the back but very happy. I guess the back nine is probably a little a bit trickier than the front, so I thought I could kind of press on from there, but the first three holes 'round the front you've got to keep it going, and I hit some good shots there."

Detry recovered superbly from an opening bogey at the first, making back-to-back birdies immediately after. He made another two at the fifth and sixth before finishing off a breathless front nine with another gain to go out in 32.

The Belgian added a final birdie at the 12th before hitting an eagle on the following hole.

A steady round from Garcia saw him go out and in on 33. After picking up shots on the 11th, 16th and 18th, he grabbed another at the fifth courtesy of a superb approach with his wedge:

He scored a fifth birdie on the next hole before making a final gain at the eighth:

With so many players so close together after an excellent opening round in Munich, it's wide open ahead of Friday's cut.