Kaymer delights the crowds as he's in the mix in Munich

Tournament: BMW International Open Race to Dubai: Tournament 26 of 46 events Venue: Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany Prize fund: €2,000,000 Hashtag: #BMWInternationalOpen

The above image of Martin Kaymer must be credited to Getty Images . Round One Report Home favourite Martin Kaymer delighted the 15,500-strong crowd at the first day of the BMW International Open, sitting one stroke off the lead after a five under par round at Golfclub München Eichenried. The former World Number One and two-time Major Champion, teeing off from the tenth hole, made a bogey-free start to the tournament, carding four birdies on his front nine and making another gain on the ninth hole to move to five under par.  Kaymer joined Oliver Wilson in second place, one stroke behind Italy’s Andrea Pavan, who set the clubhouse target of six under par after a round of 66, which included five birdies and an eagle. Denmark’s Jeff Winther shares fourth place on four under par with former World Number One Lee Westwood, who managed to complete his round before darkness fell in Munich. The 24-time European Tour winner was part of the afternoon session which was affected by a three-hour delay due to lightning. Westwood’s birdie on the last hole saw him move one stroke ahead of a group of 16 golfers who share fifth on three under par, including defending champion Matt Wallace and 2018 Ryder Cup player Alex Noren. Noren is in one of 11 groups who will return to the course on Friday morning to complete their first rounds following the weather delay. The crowd was the highest-recorded for a Thursday in BMW International Open history, with many of the spectators attending dressed in traditional Bavarian lederhosen or dirndls in celebration of the region's Bank Holiday. Player Quotes Martin Kaymer: ““I didn’t make many major mistakes. I played solid – I didn’t play great, but I played solid. I put myself in good positions to give myself chances. I had three crucial putts today to keep momentum on my side. All in all, it was a solid day. “It’s a huge compliment to the golf course. The guy who was helping out with the architecture, I drove in a cart with him three months ago. He showed me the new greens and was really, really excited. They are fantastic. I really enjoyed putting, if you made a good putt it would go in. In the past you would need to hit it really close to have a chance, so this is good having confidence with the putter.” Andrea Pavan: “The start of the front nine isn’t easy. I gave myself some chances coming in, I’m just a little disappointed about what happened on the last, making a bogey on a par five. “The greens are playing a lot firmer than they have in the past. If we get some rain they might soften up. They are bouncing a little bit but are rolling very nicely. I like the changes.  “It’s nice being in this position. My first round scoring has been pretty poor this year. This puts me in a good spot, I just need to keep playing well and stick to the game plan.” Oliver Wilson: “I wasn’t too sure about what the weather would do this afternoon, so I was just doing my own thing. It was a fun round – I didn’t play particularly great but I scored lovely. I holed some nice putts, got off to a good start and it was kind of fun. It was nice to hit it straight, in play, give myself a few chances and took the ones I had. I got up and down a lot. It wasn’t an amazing round of golf, but I’m delighted with the score. You don’t get these kind of rounds that often.” Lee Westwood: “It was nice to get finished and birdie the last as well. I played really well today, so four under is pretty representative of the way I played. The delay didn’t really affect me, I came back out and the ball wasn’t going as far but the greens were still putting nicely. It’s always nice to get in to have the extra half-hour in bed in the morning.”

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