Czech Masters 2017: Callum Shinkwin Tops Thursday Leaderboard After Round 1

Callum Shinkwin made a successful return to golf following a five-week break on Thursday as he carded a six-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the 2017 Czech Masters.

English compatriot James Heath is one of three players tied for second place, with South African Dylan Frittelli and Sweden's Pontus Widegren also a single shot off the leader following the first day of competition.

Lower down the leaderboard, Julian Suri made early progress in Prague and sits two strokes off Shinkwin after the first day of action, looking to follow up his maiden European Tour victory at the recent Made in Denmark tournament.

The English duo of Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick stood out as some of the bigger names in contention, but a Day 1 score of 70 leaves them off the pace after Thursday's opening round. 

Here's how the 2017 Czech Masters leaderboard looked at the close of Thursday's action, provided courtesy of Sky Sports Golf: 

Visit the official European Tour website to view the leaderboard in full.

Recap

Shinkwin's lowest-scoring opening round of the year began in positive fashion with a birdie on the first. Although he gave that shot back with a bogey on the third, the Watford native made gains on the fourth, fifth, ninth, 10th and 13th to lead by one.

A bogey on the 449-yard 14th hole saw Shinkwin briefly lose his lead before he showed great poise to finish the first day strong and regain his one-stroke cushion by saving shots on the 16th and 18th, including a 20-foot putt on the final hole.

Frittelli was similarly impressive and might have ended Day 1 as the leader himself. The South African star notched six birdies across his opening 15 holes before a double bogey on the par-three 16th meant he dropped away.

Sitting just behind Frittelli, Heath and Widegren is joint-third-placed Chris Hanson, who celebrated a fine day's work after his bogey on the 15th stood as the only blemish in an otherwise seamless 68:

England was the most heavily represented nation among players near the leaderboard's summit after one day of action, boasting no fewer than eight of the top 26 players following the first round.  

Among those sat Eddie Pepperell, joint-13th on Thursday after carding 69 to mark a fine start to the contest, and he was at six under par after only eight holes, having started his tournament on the 10th:  

That fortune couldn't last, though, and Pepperell went around his back nine in three over to balance the odds slightly, notching two double bogeys to balance out his eagle on the 12th hole earlier in the day.  

Only three strokes separate the top 26 in the Czech Masters leaderboard after the opening day's action, meaning Shinkwin faces an uphill battle in his efforts to remain on top for the remainder of the weekend.