COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Soren Hansen's 7-under-par 65 Thursday put him in the lead after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Germany, one stroke ahead of Chris Wood.
Ross Fisher, Scott Strange, David Drysdale and James Kingston all shot 5-under 67s to share third.
Hansen, a Dane whose last win on the European Tour was at this event in 2007, birdied Nos. 3, 7 and 9, then eagled the par-5 No. 13 to pull within one shot of Wood at minus-5. He pulled into a tie with the 21-year-old Englishman with a birdie at No. 15, then sank a 22-foot putt on No. 17 for a birdie that gave him the lead.
Hansen missed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
Wood birdied the third and sixth holes, as well as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 15th.
Former British Open champion Paul Lawrie was at 4-under 68 and was joined in seventh place by Simon Dyson and Francesco Molinari. Nick Dougherty and Soren Kjeldsen headline a group of 10 players tied at minus-3.
