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Seamus Power and Shane Lowry after their first round. Ben Brady/INPHO
Irish Open

Power and Kearney leading Irish players at Mount Juliet, Lowry shoots first round 71

New Zealander Ryan Fox is the leader after his eight-under 64.

LAST UPDATE | Jun 30th 2022, 7:30 PM

SEAMUS POWER AND Niall Kearney are the leading Irish players on four-under after their first rounds at the Irish Open at Mount Juliet, with Shane Lowry three shots further back after his 71.

The pace is being set by New Zealander Ryan Fox who is eight-under after his 64, he is one shot ahead of French golfer Frederic Lacroix.

Power was in the marquee group with Lowry and Ryder Cup player Tyrrell Hatton as they teed off earlier this morning.

World number 36 Power was playing after a rapid rise in recent years and made his mark with a 68. Starting on the 10th, he was three-under for his front nine and picked up another shot with a birdie on the 2nd.

His first bogey of the day arrived on the 5th and another was registered on the par-five 8th, but the Waterford native grabbed birdies on the 7th and 9th to respond each time.

Dubliner Kearney enjoyed a terrific round and was five-under for a long time on the leaderboard. His brilliant front nine saw him reel off five birdies and reach the turn in 31. His back nine mainly featured pars and his only dropped shot of the day arrived on the 8th as he also finished with a 68.

Power and Kearney are both in a tie for 9th, while Cork’s John Murphy is two shots further back after his 70. Murphy’s only bogey of the day came on the 18th, he had notched three birdies prior to that on the 1st, 10th and 16th.

Padraig Harrington, playing in the later group, also shot a 70. Fresh off his US Senior Open win on Sunday, the Dubliner is now on two-under and joins Murphy in a tie for 58th. 

ryan-fox-acknowledges-the-crowd-after-finishing-his-round First round leader Ryan Fox. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Lowry, the highest-ranked player in the field, was level-par for much of his round with a bogey on the 12th and birdie on the 17th proving the only interruptions to a string of pars.

He made ground with birdies on the 6th and 7th before a bogey on the 8th meant he finished with a 71 — like Jonathan Caldwell.

shane-lowry-and-tyrell-hatton-after-finishing-their-round Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton after finishing their round. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

Hatton is one-over after his round, while another Ryder Cup player Thorbjorn Olesen is two-under after he fired a round of 70.

Of the rest of the Irish, Paul Dunne, Cormac Sharvin and amateur Mark Power are level-par, while Colm Campbell and David Higgins are five- and six-over respectively.

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