LAST UPDATE | 7 Sep 2023
SHANE LOWRY IS three shots off the lead after his first round at the Horizon Irish Open at the K Club.
The Offaly man is tied for 13th place on four under, along with the high-flying Mark Power, while Rory McIlroy sits a shot back on three under.
Power’s story is a brilliant one: the Kilkenny native played in the Walker Cup last weekend, and turned professional in recent days. He eagled on the 18th to cap a memorable day in Straffan, Co. Kildare.
India’s Shubhankar Sharma leads the field on seven under, having just finished his opening round with a sizzling 65.
Thomas Bjorn, Jordan Smith and Ross Fisher are a shot back, having all carded 66. Kristian Krogh Johannessen and Daan Huizing, yet to finish their rounds, are also on six under par.
Lowry’s round of 68 included seven birdies, including holes one, three and four. Yet he dropped shots on the seventh, ninth and 14th holes.
“Take away everything else that’s in the next few weeks, this is a big week for me, ” Lowry said. “I want to go out there and play well and give myself a chance to win this tournament.
“It’s only 45 minutes to an hour from where I’m from in Clara. I want the people to be getting on their buses on Sunday morning to come and watch me try and win this tournament.
“That’s all I want this week. It’s nothing to do with the Ryder Cup or Wentworth next week or anything.
“This tournament for me is huge. I feel at home here. I live in Florida and I miss home a lot when I’m away. It’s nice to be back.”
McIlroy’s 69 featured five birdies, including one at the par 5 18th hole, and he dropped shots on holes seven and 10.
“I think the two birdies in the last two holes sort of glossed over what was a pretty average day,” McIlroy said. “Didn’t really feel great with anything.
“It’s hard to say I’m rusty when I’ve only had a week off but I just haven’t had a chance to practice much and I just hit a few loose shots out there.
“Managed my game well and scraped it around in three under which is nice and sort of gets me in the tournament.
“I’m hitting good shots but it’s all about knowing your patterns and where you’re missing it and where to aim and where not to aim and just being a little unsure over a couple of shots.”
Among the other Irish competitors in Straffan, Tom McKibbin is level par, while Padraig Harrington and John Murphy both shot one-over 73s.
Conor Purcell is two-over, with amateur Alex Maguire and Jonathan Caldwell four-over.
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