LAST UPDATE | 12 Sep
RORY McILROY IS well in contention at the Irish Open, shooting a three-under par 68 on the opening day of action at Royal County Down.
McIlroy shot six birdies and three bogeys across his opening round to sit just two shots off leader Todd Clements, who carded a five-under 66.
England’s Clements is a shot clear of Finland’s Sami Välimäki and Alejandro Del Rey of Spain after registering five birdies before closing with an eagle on the par-five 18th to shoot to the top of the leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy with a great escape shot on the 11th, getting out of the bunked and to within a few inches of the hole. He remains two shots off the lead on -1.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 12, 2024
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“Any time you can shoot three under around this place you have to be happy,” said McIlroy.
“The conditions were pretty tough early on and then the wind seemed to settle a little bit those last few holes and it was nice to take advantage of that and play them the way I did.
“Giving those shots away on 14 and 15, to get more than both of them back on the last three holes was a great way to finish and gives me plenty of momentum going into Friday morning.”
Shane Lowry finished on one-over, carding three bogeys and two birdies to finish on 72.
However Pádraig Harrington and Seamus Power, who were both among the early starters, find themselves at the wrong end of the leaderboard.
Despite an eagle three at the par-five 1st, Harrington had to be content with a two-over par 73, while Power had five bogeys on the way in before signing for a three-over 74.
☘️🦅 The eagle has landed for @padraig_h 👏#AmgenIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/QEhtwsDT9H
— Amgen Irish Open (@IrishOpen_) September 12, 2024
A late double-bogey saw Gary Hurley also finish on three-over, while amateur Sean Keeling made an impressive start to card a one-under 70.
A host of players are on two-under par, including 2015 champion Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark.
English duo Daniel Brown and Oliver Wilson also opened their tournaments with rounds of two-under 69, as did Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen, and China’s Ashun Wu.
Conor Purcell and amateur Max Kennedy finished on one-over, while Simon Thornton is two-over.
Tom McKibbin a shot further back on three-over, with Mark Power on four-over.
Additional reporting from – © AFP 2024
