MUNICH -- Haotong Li shot 10-under 62 to lead after the first round of the BMW International Open on Thursday as the European tour continued to allow players from the breakaway Saudi-backed LIV series to compete.
Li tied the course record, finishing the round with his second eagle of the day on the par-5 ninth hole after a big approach shot left him a 4-foot putt. "It's just been an incredible day for me.
I didn't expect that because I spent a couple of weeks off in Dubai, which was hot, didn't practice much," Li said. "It's just helped me mentally cool down a little bit.
Low expectations, no expectations, just play golf and enjoy every shot." The Chinese player leads by 1 stroke from Daan Huizing and two from third-place Nicolai von Dellingshausen .
Li was also tied for the first-round lead at his last tournament, the European Open, before fading to finish tied for 18th.
Former major winners Sergio Garcia , Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer were among the players signed to LIV to tee off Thursday in the first European tour event to start since the PGA Tour said June 9 it would suspend any of its players who join LIV.
Kaymer was the best of the LIV players Thursday, finishing as one of six players tied for fourth at 6 under, 4 strokes behind Li.
Oosthuizen was at 2 under and Garcia 1 over.
Germany's Maximilian Kieffer delighted the home crowd with an albatross on the par-5 11th, finding the pin with a 211-yard approach shot out of the rough, and ended the day at 4 under. "It came off great, looked good in the air.
I didn't see it but when you heard the people behind the green, you knew it was in.