England’s Danny Willett overcame a neck injury to join playing partner Rafa Cabrera-Bello in shooting an eight-under-par 64 to share a two-shot lead on the opening day of the BMW International Open in Cologne on Thursday.
Willett had been forced out of Wednesday’s Pro-Am as he struggled with a neck injury picked up while sleeping in Manchester Airport on Tuesday awaiting a flight to Cologne.
The 26-year-old then underwent extensive treatment to take his place on the same Gut Larcenhof course where he broke through two years ago to claim a maiden Tour title.
“I’ve had some terrible flights since taking two-and-a-half days to get back from the US Open, so that’s how I guess I picked up the injury, but a round like this helps,” he said.
“Also I was at Manchester Airport on Tuesday trying to catch up on some sleep when our flight was eventually canceled,” he said.
“But the physio guys on the Tour have been great and with the weather pretty warm out here, the neck hasn’t felt all that bad,” he said.
Cabrera-Bello, who like Willett did not drop a shot, had the encouragement of his younger sister, Emma, who is a fellow professional who competed on the Ladies European Tour from 2008 to last year.
“It’s great having my sister here as she enjoys coming out a few times in the year to watch me play,” he said.
“She’s stopped playing full-time and is now a full-time student, but we play a lot of social golf together and we both try to help each other,” Cabrera-Bello added.
Seven players share third place on six-under-par, including the England pair of Graeme Storm and Andy Sullivan, along with Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey, France’s Gary Stal, Denmark’s Anders Hansen, Argentina’s Emilano Grillo and Spain’s Alvaro Quiros.
Reigning US Open champion Martin Kaymer struggled on the greens and, also with crowd expectations, in his return to competition since his eight-shot Pinehurst triumph shooting a one-under-par 71.
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