LAST UPDATE | 9 Jun 2023

RORY MCILROY IS four shots off the lead after his eventful opening round at the Canadian Open.

The defending champion, whose build-up to the tournament saw him fielding questions about the shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, is one-under after a round of 71 that included five birdies and four bogeys.

McIlroy, the world number three, is seeking a hat-trick of victories at the Canadian Open following triumphs in 2019 and 2022, with the tournament having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.

You can follow the Canadian Open leaderboard here

England’s Aaron Rai, American pair Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower, and home hope Corey Conners jointly hold the clubhouse lead midway through the first round.

The quartet carded five-under 67s at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club.

Matt Fitzpatrick is one shot behind. A week before his US Open defence, Fitzpatrick began his bid for a third career PGA Tour title in steady fashion.

The 28-year-old, having started on the back nine, rolled in five birdies before a bogey on his penultimate hole of the day – the 352 par-four eighth – left him one shot behind the early leaders.

His countryman Rai had looked in all sorts of trouble after dropping four shots in three successive holes from the third to slump to three over, but he turned things around in remarkable fashion.

After recording birdies on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn on one over, the 28-year-old from Wolverhampton then picked up further shots on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th – where he came close to making a hole in one – 16th and 18th to move to five under.

Shane Lowry, in action in the later group, shot an even-par 72. The Offaly man birdied on the second but a double-bogey and bogey on holes four and five respectively pegged him back. A mixed back nine — birdies on the 10th, 13th, 16th and 18th, and dropped shots on the 11th and 15th — saw him move into a large group tied for 70th position.