First round of Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland underway at Killarney
Rory McIlroy finally got back to his stunning form at the Irish Open, presented by Discover Ireland, in Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, Ireland. He opened up his front nine with visible aplomb, carding three birdies before making the turn. His back nine
turned out to be less impressive with a bogey on the 11th and a dreadful double-bogey at par-four, 18th to reduce his lead to a one-under, 71.
McIlroy was playing for the first time on home turf after his stellar eight-shot victory at the US Open at Congressional last month and his fans were hoping that the young Irishman would bounce back after his lackluster bid at the Open Championship at Sandwich.
No fewer than five players are tied for an early lead at the event, including Irishman Colm Moriarty, Englishman Ross Fisher, Australian Richard Green, Swede Niklas Lemke, and Dane Soren Hansen, with their aggregate scores of four-under, 67. Hansen has still
to tee off for his last three holes and will be hoping to edge past the rest of the players contending for the first round summit.
Fisher, one of the seasoned Englishman on the field, responded with impressive bogey-free round on the first day, carding four birdies. Fisher has not posted a single win on the tour this season and his best finish came at BMW International Open and Volvo
World Match Play Championship where he settled for a joint ninth.
Graeme McDowell, last year’s US Open winner has still not recovered from his sloppy form and ended up with a first round score of one-over, 72. The Irishman, who failed to make the cut at the Open Championship, was hoping to turn a corner at his home turf
but fell in for three bogeys and managed only two birdies to close his disappointing day. McDowell has also not won a single event on tour this year with his best result coming on the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January.
Three players have closed their respective rounds with three-under, 68, including Graeme Storm, David Horsey, and John Perry, trailing the leaders by one shot.
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