European Open 2017: Richard McEvoy, Julian Suri Lead After Thursday Action

Richard McEvoy and Julian Suri finished the first day of the 2017 Porsche European Open at six-under, good enough for a share of the lead at Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg, Germany.

The duo sits one shot ahead of a group of players on five-under, headlined by defending champion Alexander Levy.

Here's a look at the leaderboard: 

Recap

McEvoy took the early lead with a clean round of six-under, playing mistake-free on the technical course.

The Englishman recorded two birdies on the front-nine and four on the back nine, where his excellent short game played out better.

As shared by the European Tour's official Twitter account, he did it without standing out from the tee:

Suri joined him at the top of the board later in the day, courtesy of a sublime run to close out the back nine. The American finished the front nine one-under but hit four birdies on the final five holes, positioning himself well for the coming days.

Behind those two, several top contenders sit within striking distance. Chief among them is Levy, who dropped two shots but played an excellent front nine, highlighted by four straight birdies.

The European Tour shared one of his best shots of the day:

The 26-year-old won the title last year in a play-off and already has a tournament win under his belt in 2017, winning his second Volvo China Open.

Further back, Jamie Donaldson and Felipe Aguilar had to settle for scores of three-under. The former didn't drop a single shot but made birdie just three times, and the latter endured an inconsistent day but seemed to find his form on the back nine.

Those two and Levy will like their chances of moving up on Friday, as they're among the favourites for the title in a field devoid of star power.