On the Courses Thursday’s other pro golf events

Mercedes Benz Championship

COLOGNE, Germany — Soren Hansen of Denmark has shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Chris Wood of England after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Hansen had five birdies and an eagle on the 13th Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over Wood. Hansen won the event at the Gut Laerchenhof course two years ago. David Drysdale of Scotland, Ross Fisher of England, James Kingston of South Africa and Scott Strange of Australia were at 5-under. The two highest-ranked golfers in the field of 78 — No. 6 Henrik Stenson and No. 10 Lee Westwood — were in a group of 15 at 70. Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, who is without a top-10 finish since June last year, bogeyed the second and finished the day at 72.

Korea Open

SEOUL, South Korea — Australia’s Michael Wright and four South Koreans each shot a 67 for a share of the lead after Thursday’s opening round of the Korea Open. Wright finished the round at 4 under, along with Kim Dae-hyun, Kang Kyung-sool, Park Boo-won and Kim Dae-sub at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club just south of Seoul. Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa shot a 1-under 70 and sits in a tie for 12th place. Danny Lee and Rory McIlroy shared 27th.

Associated Press