Wade Ormsby moved into the first round lead at the BMW International Open courtesy of an impressive 8-under par 64, as Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson and Tommy Fleetwood also posted strong opening rounds in Munich.

Ormsby carded his best round in almost two years as he got off to a strong start to reach the turn in 6-under. Two more birdies on the way home, including one at the ninth – his last – edged the Australian one stroke clear of Belgium’s Thomas Detry.

“I kept on hitting it where I wanted to and I holed some putts. I had a pretty hot putter early on and that got me going and I kept on hitting it down the barrel. So to hang in there and finish it off, it was nice,” Ormsby said.

“This place has always dished out pretty low scores, so every time you come here, you know it and you’ve got to get on with it. I said at the start of the week to my caddie, Richard, ‘I think two-under nines for the whole week is going to be my goal’, because I’ve always struggled around here going low enough.”

Fresh off his first Major appearance at the U.S. Open where he missed the cut posting 75 in his two rounds, Ormsby isn’t getting ahead of himself after his impressive bounce-back.

“I had to reassess after about five or six holes because it was going so well. It’s just nice to start the tournament well and get off to the right foot. I’ve been working pretty hard on the golf swing.

“The air is really good here at the moment, the ball is going a long way. So I’ll just keep pressing and keep trying to do what I’m doing and keep moving forward I guess.”

With Detry one shot back in second, the South Australian is two shots clear of an experienced collection of seasoned winners.

Masters Champion Garcia, Thorbjørn Olesen and Joost Luiten – who all signed for six under 66s – have 22 European Tour titles between them, while Open Champion Henrik Stenson and Tommy Fleetwood are among the 12 players a shot further back on five under.