COLOGNE, Germany (AP) -Richard Finch birdied five of his first seven holes and led three others by two strokes Thursday in early action at the Mercedes Benz Championship.
Only one of them, James Kingston, finished his first round at 3-under 69.
Alexander Noren and David Frost shared second place at 3 under through 15 and 14 holes, respectively.
Finch, a 31-year-old Englishman, is the Irish Open champion.
Fred Couples started his day by making an eagle on his first hole, a 362-yard par-4, followed by a birdie on his second, a 426-yard par-4. He was at 3 under after four holes.
Defending champion Soren Hansen, seeking to become the first player to retain the title on the 7,289-yard Gut Larchenhof course, struggled at the start and had bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5 to be at 2 over after five.
Retief Goosen, the 2005 champion, had a double-bogey on the second hole for a 2-over 74. Four-time champion Bernhard Langer was at even par after six holes.
After hitting birdies in his first two holes, John Daly faded from the leaderboard by bogeying four of the next six holes for a 2 over after seven holes.
Apart from Hansen, three other European players are using the event to warm up for the Ryder Cup, which takes place next week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
The other three members of Europe's Ryder Cup team competing in Cologne are Graeme McDowell, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Robert Karlsson.
