Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are among the early starters Royal County Down.
After a three-birdie finish to go -3 yesterday, McIlroy will be hoping to make a charge on day two.
Todd Clements -5 (66)
Sami Valimaki -4 (67)
Alejandro Del Rey -4 (67)
Rory McIlroy -3 (68)
Will Enefer -3 (68)
Marcus Armitage -3 (68)
Thriston Lawrence -3 (68)
Filippo Celli -3 (68)
Irish selection:
Shane Lowry +1 (72)
Max Kennedy +1 (72)
Simon Thornton +2 (73)
Pádraig Harrington +2 (73)
Gary Hurley +3 (74)
Séamus Power +3 (74)
Tom McKibbin +3 (74)
Rory McIlroy and 18-year-old amateur Sean Keeling aside, it was a slow opening round for the other Irish golfers involved yesterday. The 2016 Irish Open winner McIlroy finished Tied 4th for the day on three under, with Dublin amateur Keeling on an impressive one under.
Elsewhere, Shane Lowry fired a round of 72 to enter the clubhouse one over, with Padraig Harrington two over and Tom McKibbin carding a 74 to wrap up on three over. All three will be looking to improve today, as will other Irish stars like Seamus Power.
Live coverage has just begun over on RTÉ 2 although a handful of golfers are already out on the course already. Sky Sports Golf is also airing the Irish Open, but you can stay right up to speed with the entertainment here on the Independent.ie.
Before then, check back in with Independent.ie this evening as there will be a report on today’s golf along with reaction from Brian Keogh at Royal County Down.
A par on his final hole leaves the English golfer one ahead of Sami Valimaki of Finland and Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey, who are both on four under, with a group of five – that includes Rory McIlroy – back on three under.
The 28-year-old from Colchester is certainly making his mark on day one, birdies on 7 and 8 taking him into the outright lead with just one hole now remaining.
It has been a professional display today in really difficult conditions as Rory bounces back from back-to-back bogeys with two birdies on 16 and 17.
The 37-year-old adds another par on 17 and, looking to end on a positive note, gets himself on the green in two on the final hole.
He makes the birdie – his second today – to end the first round on one over. Lowry may not be playing his best golf but has stayed very much in the running and will be confident of making improvements tomorrow.
Finland’s Sami Valimaki, Marcus Armitage and Jordan Smith – both of England – are the latest players to play themselves into a score of three under.
That means there are seven golfers edging it ahead of the rest right now, while 29 are under par as the scoring improves as the day has gone on.
On the par-four 16th, McIlroy sends his tee shot 327 yards down the fairway and then sticks his second shot 3ft from the pin. That allows him to putt for birdie and go back below par with two remaining.
We’ve got four golfers on three under as Todd Clements is unable to hole his putt for par on 13. He joins Will Enefer, who’s in the clubhouse, Alejandro Del Rey and Filippo Celli in a tie for the lead.
Shane Lowry holes pars on 15 and 16, both par-fours, so it’s still two under for the Offaly man.
Unfortunately, Rory McIlroy has just bogeyed 15, his second dropped shot on the bounce, to drop to even par.
That bogey-free run has ended for the current leader, Todd Clements, who is back to four under after a five on the par-four second.
Spain’s Alejandro Del Rey and Filippo Celli of Italy have both got themselves up to three under with six and seven holes remaining respectively.
On 13, McIlroy sends his first shot 281 yards into the rough, but finds the green with his approach. He leaves his birdie putt two yards from the hole and tidies up for par.
But par-three 14th sees Rory send his par putt around the lip of the hole – meaning it’s a second bogey today.
There has been some significant movement at the top of the leaderboard. It’s five under for Todd Clements thanks to his latest birdie on 1.
Elsewhere, Thriston Lawrence has double-bogeyed 14 after an awful tee shot and he’s fallen to two under.
McIlroy hits a top-class pitch on 12 to set himself up for a routine birdie putt. He’s brought himself to within two shots of the leaders.
Lowry (+2) has putt for par on 14 and has just four holes to play.
27-year-old Thriston Lawrence has just sunk a 20-foot putt on 13 for his fifth birdie of the round, so he’s now joint-leader with Todd Clements.
England’s Todd Clements has jumped into a one-shot advantage at the summit of the leaderboard with a sublime eagle on 18, which is his halfway point.
Thriston Lawrence of South Africa (-2) has birdied 12 to leave him one behind Clements and tied for second with Will Enefer.
From the 11th tee, McIlroy drives into marram grass and then, with his second shot, sees the ball trickle into the bunker. However, he produces a fabulous shot from the sand to give himself an easy putt and take par.
Lowry pars the 10th and goes for birdie on the next but has to settle for a second consecutive par, which means he remains one over.