Chasing his first European Tour victory since the 2001 English Open, O'Malley shot a bogey-free round of six birdies.

South Africa's Anton Haig, Singapore's Mardan Mamat and Rafa Echenique of Argentina share the first-round lead.

English pair Mark Foster and David Lynn lead the European charge on five under, with Scot Colin Montgomerie two under.

The veteran shot five birdies and three bogeys to lay alongside England's Paul Casey, while Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Retief Goosen of South Africa are well placed on three under.

The always unpredictable John Daly carded 72 after five topsy-turvy holes from the 13th - two double bogeys, a bogey and two birdies.

"I just got some bad breaks. What can you do?" Daly said. "I am hitting better than I am scoring."

Daly still holds the tournament record for lowest score with his 2001 winning total of 27-under-par 261, but since then, organizers have thickened the Munich Eichenried rough to toughen up the course.

The BMW International Open kicks off a series of lucrative events that includes the British Open, the PGA Championship and runs through the Ryder Cup 19-21 September.

"This is the time of year where you really want to be playing good golf and that's what I've sort of set my goal for throughout the year," O'Malley said.

Source: BBC