Rafa up and running again in Munich


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Rafa Cabrera-Bello continued his affinity with the BMW International Open, firing nine birdies in a seven under par 65 to share the opening round lead with Englishman Daniel Gaunt and Denmark’s Lasse Jensen in Munich.

The Spaniard, a two-time winner on The European Tour, lost in a play-off to Fabrizio Zanotti in Cologne 12 months ago and also finished third in 2010 at Golfclub München Eichenried, venue for this year’s tournament. He moved into contention once again courtesy of a flawless five under par back nine of 31, extending his recent run of fine form, having recorded two top five finishes in his last three appearances, including second place in the Lyoness Open presented by Greenfinity two weeks ago.

He is joined at the top of the leaderboard by Jensen, who recorded the lowest round of his European Tour career, posting seven birdies in a ten-hole stretch in his bogey-free round, while Gaunt, who is also chasing a maiden European Tour title, sank a 25ft birdie putt on the last to make it a three-way tie.

One shot back is Englishman Andrew Johnston, who closed with three consecutive birdies - almost chipping in for eagle on the last - for a six under par round of 66.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who at World Number Seven is the leading ranked player in the field, is two shots off the pace after an eventful round of 67 which included a triple bogey seven on the 16th hole, followed by four consecutive birdies on his back nine, having starting from the tenth tee.

Stenson’s playing partner Martin Kaymer, who is looking to win on home soil for a second time, opened with a level par round of 72 and is seven shots back.

Key player quotes

Rafa Cabrera-Bello – 65 (-7)

“I've also played good on this course before.  In 2010 I finished third and  I've had other decent performances here, as well.  I also missed the cut a few times, but it's still a course that I like.

“BMW does a fantastic job every year.  The set-up and the atmosphere on this tournament is very, very special. It's only Thursday, and it felt like a weekend almost with really big crowds out there.  It's nice, and it helps you get in the zone and it worked for me today.”

Lasse Jensen – 65 (-7)

“I found a little bit of my game in Austria I was up there in the top ten before the last day and then I fell back to tied 32nd.  But there were a lot of good stuff in it.  I felt it was a good week and my game is improving and I feel that's why there was a 65 today. Today I just felt comfortable out there, and I was not in a rush or anything.  It was just a lovely day on the golf course.”

Daniel Gaunt – 65 (-7)

“I'm not going to say too much about that (sharing the lead) because I was at the top in Morocco and I didn't even make the cut.  I'm not going to take anything for granted.  I've got a good caddie on the bag now and he's keeping me in the present, which is something I don't do when I'm having a good score.  Usually I get way ahead of myself and start chasing and start thinking about other holes before I've hit a shot.  It was a good team effort today.”

Andrew Johnston – 66 (-6)

“It was a good finish.  I played the par five before that.  I had six yards in and I played a horrendous third shot, and I was a bit frustrated at not making birdie there. I just said, be patient, keep doing what you're doing, hit the middle of the green.  I holed a couple of good putts on 16, 17, and then nearly holed the bunker shot on 18.  So happy days.”

Henrik Stenson – 67 (-5)

“There were a lot of things going on there.  I got off to a pretty good start, birdied 11 and 12.  I didn't do too much wrong on 16 and wounded up with triple, so that was kind of interesting.

“But I guess the patient practice at the U.S. Open was paying off.  So I was still hanging in there, mentality.  I tried to just keep on going, birdied 18 and 1 at the turn and got it back to red figures and wrapped up with a nice string of birdies on five, six, seven and eight. 

“I was in a good position to finish with five in a row, but I think the wind switched a little bit and I was kind in between clubs and went with the longer club and ended up way in the grandstand.  I had a chance to make birdie anyway, and I would take five I guess, after being up in the chalets.”

Complete first round scores from the BMW International Open (par 72)

65 D Gaunt (Eng) , L Jensen (Den) , R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) ,
 66 A Johnston (Eng) ,
 67 J Morrison  (Eng) , K Aphibarnrat (Tha) , T Fleetwood  (Eng) , H Stenson (Swe) , V Riu  (Fra) ,
 68 K Phelan (Irl) , J Quesne  (Fra) , E Molinari  (Ita) , R Goosen (RSA) , F Fritsch  (Ger) , T Van Der Walt (RSA) , T Jaidee (Tha) , M Schneider (Ger) , A Hortal  (Esp) , P Lawrie (Sco) , J Lagergren (Swe) ,
 69 J Carlsson (Swe) , A Hansen (Den) , M Hoey  (Nir) , O Farr (Wal) , E Pepperell (Eng) , G Mulroy (RSA) , E Espana (Fra) , D Howell (Eng) , C Del Moral (Esp) , J Campillo (Esp) , P Hanson (Swe) , M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) , A Pavan (Ita) , D McGrane (Irl) , C Paisley  (Eng) , B Dredge (Wal) , T Fisher Jnr (RSA) ,
 70 R Santos  (Por) , G Stal  (Fra) , D Clarke (Nir) , M Carlsson  (Swe) , A Cañizares  (Esp) , R Karlberg  (Swe) , C Lloyd (Eng) , D Horsey (Eng) , P Larrazábal (Esp) , J Van Zyl (RSA) , M Ford (Eng) , A Kirstein (Ger) , A Wall (Eng) , P Maddy (Eng) , P Oriol (Esp) , P Lawrie (Irl) , N Fasth (Swe) ,
 71 M Nixon (Eng) , M Korhonen (Fin) , L Bjerregaard  (Den) , B Ritthammer (Ger) , C Lee (Sco) , T Hatton (Eng) , G Green  (Mas) , M Crespi  (Ita) , H Otto (RSA) , J Singh (Ind) , M Madsen  (Den) , R Fisher (Eng) , N Colsaerts  (Bel) , A Velasco (Esp) , M Siem  (Ger) , C Doak (Sco) , T Olesen (Den) , G Havret  (Fra) , R Kakko  (Fin) , F Zanotti (Par) , B Wiesberger  (Aut) , T Bjørn (Den) , S Wakefield (Eng) , S Benson (Eng) , I Garrido (Esp) , O Fisher  (Eng) , D Drysdale (Sco) , J Roos (RSA) , K Broberg (Swe) ,
 72 S Kapur (Ind) , M Kaymer (Ger) , S Lowry  (Irl) , J Luiten (Ned) , S Henry  (Sco) , R Jacquelin (Fra) , J Edfors (Swe) , M Kieffer (Ger) , D Brooks (Eng) , V Dubuisson  (Fra) , B Hebert  (Fra) , R Dinwiddie  (Eng) , W Ormsby (Aus) , R Bland (Eng) , D Woltman (USA) ,
 73 E De La Riva  (Esp) , T Levet (Fra) , S Jamieson  (Sco) , J Scrivener (Aus) , M Lampert (Ger) , S Kjeldsen (Den) , R McEvoy  (Eng) , P Edberg (Swe) , B Virto Astudillo (Esp) , C Wood  (Eng) , C Villegas (Col) , T Lewis (Eng) , A Dodt (Aus) , J Hahn (USA) ,
 74 A Tadini (Ita) , N Dougherty  (Eng) , M Lundberg (Swe) , D Fichardt (RSA) , J Parry (Eng) , F Aguilar (Chi) , D Foos (Ger) , L Slattery (Eng) , M Tullo (Chi) , C Bouniol (Fra) , A Quiros  (Esp) ,
 75 J Kruger (RSA) , G Bourdy (Fra) , D Lipsky (USA) , J Lando Casanova  (Fra) , M Fitzpatrick  (Eng) , R Echenique (Arg) , A Otaegui  (Esp) , S Jäger (Ger) , S Hutsby  (Eng) , M Manassero (Ita) , S Hend (Aus) , T Murray (Eng) , J Kunzenbacher (Ger) , R Gonzalez (Arg) , M Bremner (RSA) , M Rottluff (am) (Ger) ,
 76 S Hansen (Den) , M Foster (Eng) , R Green (Aus) , O Wilson (Eng) , J Barnes (Eng) , J Walters (RSA) , Y Paul (am) (Ger) ,
 77 P Mejow (Ger) , G Storm  (Eng) , Y Yang (Kor) ,
 79 R Finch  (Eng) , R Karlsson (Swe) , J Garcia Pinto (Esp) ,
 80 T Pieters  (Bel) ,
 81 J Jeong (Kor) , B Evans  (Eng) , J Palmer (Eng) ,

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