OLIVIA MEHAFFEY was the best placed of the Irish competitors after day one of the Irish Open.

The 25-year-old Down native registered an opening 69, leaving her three under par, four shots off India’s Diksha Dagar, who finished the day on top of the leaderboard.

Gurleen Kaur of USA and France’s Emma Grechi are tied for second on six-under-par.

Leona Maguire was the best-placed of the other Irish players.

The Cavan native is tied for 33rd on one-under par.

Meath amateur Kate Lanigan trailed Maguire by just a single shot after shooting a 72, while Beth Coulter and Emma Fleming are a further shot back.

Aine Donegan and Sara Byrne are among a group of players tied for 84th on two over par, while Victoria Craig and Olivia Costello are on four over, with Aideen Walsh a further two shots behind.

Elsewhere, at the European Masters Round 1 DP World Tour, Padraig Harrington is tied for 32nd after posting a 67.

Irish duo Tom McKibbin and John Murphy trail the 52-year-old Dubliner by a single shot.

Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick boosted his hopes of playing at the Ryder Cup by grabbing a share of the lead.

The former US Open winner carded a bogey-free 63 that left him at seven under par alongside Eddie Pepperell, John Axelsen, Nacho Elvira, Gavin Green and Masahiro Kawamura.

Ludvig Aberg, Scott Jamieson and Yannik Paul were a further shot off the lead in the final qualifying event for the European Ryder Cup team.

Fitzpatrick needs to finish tied seventh or better to qualify via the World Points List, while German player Paul will make the team via the European Points List with a win.

You can view the Irish Open leaderboard here and the European Masters leaderboard here.

Additional reporting by AFP