SHANE LOWRY FIRED three birdies down the stretch to head up the home challenge on the opening morning of the Amgen Irish Open at the K Club.
Lowry, who was named on the European Ryder Cup team earlier this week, had four birdies and just a single bogey on his card for an opening round of three-under par 69.
The Clara native sits three shots adrift of Spain’s Nacho Elvira, Romain Langasque of France and Danish star Thorbjørn Olesen, who all finished the day top of the leaderboard on six-under par.
Bernd Wiesberger, Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier and Zander Lombard all sit a shot off on five-under par.
Rory McIlroy bogeyed two of his last three holes for an opening round of one-under par 71, while Pádraig Harrington carded an opening round of two-over par 74.
Of the other Irish players, Seamus Power is currently even par, while Tom McKibbin finished on one under, and Alex Maguire is two under.
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Other notable players in action today included Brooks Koepka (one-under) and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald (two-over), while Tyrrell Hatton (two-under).
Teeing off on the 10th, Lowry found himself on the back foot early on when he missed a three-footer for par on 14.
That would prove to be his only dropped shot of the day, however, as he cancelled it out with a superb eagle putt on the par-five 18th, leaving himself with the simplest of tap-ins for birdie.
Another birdie followed at the par-five fourth following a sublime up-and-down from the greenside bunker, before another birdie at the sixth moved him to two-under for the day.
With a packed gallery willing him on, Lowry rolled in a 13-footer for a closing birdie at the last to sign for a round of three-under.
A closing birdie for Shane Lowry gets a big roar from the home support, and moves him within two of the lead
Follow all the action at the K Club live on @RTE2 and @RTEplayer
“I played pretty nice,” he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
“I was one-over thru eight, but I had to remind myself that I was hitting the ball well and I was giving myself chances, I just made a sloppy bogey on one hole.
“Other than that, I obviously finished nice, but I feel like I played really nice today, gave myself some nice chances, hit the ball well, and I holed a couple of putts at the end, which was really nice.”
'I gave myself some chances, hit the ball well'
A satisfied Shane Lowry reflects on an opening round of 69 at the Irish Open
Our live coverage from the K Club resumes @RTE2 and @RTEplayer at 4pm
Meanwhile, world number two McIlroy — runner-up here last year — was left to wonder what might have been after two dropped shots late on.
The Masters champion got off to a flyer with a monster 33-foot birdie on the 11th, his second hole of the day, and followed that up with another birdie on 13.
McIlroy took full advantage of the par-fives, with birdies at 16, 18, and again at the fourth, but an out-of-bounds drive on 2 saw him drop another shot.
Bogeys at the seventh and the eighth further sapped his momentum, before a birdie putt at the last cruelly lipped out.
Rory McIlroy's putt on the second hole of his first round at the Amgen Irish Open is a thing of beauty
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Lowry leads the home challenge after fast start at the Irish Open
LAST UPDATE | 4 Sep 2025
Updated at 20.58
SHANE LOWRY FIRED three birdies down the stretch to head up the home challenge on the opening morning of the Amgen Irish Open at the K Club.
Lowry, who was named on the European Ryder Cup team earlier this week, had four birdies and just a single bogey on his card for an opening round of three-under par 69.
The Clara native sits three shots adrift of Spain’s Nacho Elvira, Romain Langasque of France and Danish star Thorbjørn Olesen, who all finished the day top of the leaderboard on six-under par.
Bernd Wiesberger, Daniel Brown, Adrien Saddier and Zander Lombard all sit a shot off on five-under par.
Rory McIlroy bogeyed two of his last three holes for an opening round of one-under par 71, while Pádraig Harrington carded an opening round of two-over par 74.
Of the other Irish players, Seamus Power is currently even par, while Tom McKibbin finished on one under, and Alex Maguire is two under.
Other notable players in action today included Brooks Koepka (one-under) and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald (two-over), while Tyrrell Hatton (two-under).
Teeing off on the 10th, Lowry found himself on the back foot early on when he missed a three-footer for par on 14.
That would prove to be his only dropped shot of the day, however, as he cancelled it out with a superb eagle putt on the par-five 18th, leaving himself with the simplest of tap-ins for birdie.
Another birdie followed at the par-five fourth following a sublime up-and-down from the greenside bunker, before another birdie at the sixth moved him to two-under for the day.
With a packed gallery willing him on, Lowry rolled in a 13-footer for a closing birdie at the last to sign for a round of three-under.
“I played pretty nice,” he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
“I was one-over thru eight, but I had to remind myself that I was hitting the ball well and I was giving myself chances, I just made a sloppy bogey on one hole.
“Other than that, I obviously finished nice, but I feel like I played really nice today, gave myself some nice chances, hit the ball well, and I holed a couple of putts at the end, which was really nice.”
Meanwhile, world number two McIlroy — runner-up here last year — was left to wonder what might have been after two dropped shots late on.
The Masters champion got off to a flyer with a monster 33-foot birdie on the 11th, his second hole of the day, and followed that up with another birdie on 13.
McIlroy took full advantage of the par-fives, with birdies at 16, 18, and again at the fourth, but an out-of-bounds drive on 2 saw him drop another shot.
Bogeys at the seventh and the eighth further sapped his momentum, before a birdie putt at the last cruelly lipped out.
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Golf Irish Open K Club Padraig Harrington Rory McIlroy Shane Lowry