Irish Open, first round leaderboard
-5 J Niemann (Chile); -3 S Lowry (Ire), S Norris (SA), A Meronk (Pol, 15*), M Steinlechner (Austria, 13*), R Paratore (Ita, 12*); -2 K Kobori, (NZ), R Cabrera (Spa), T McKibbin (NI), P Reed (US), C Syme (Sco), N Noergaard (Den), F Lacroix (Fra), J Skov Olesen (Den, 17*), R Langasque (Fra, 16*), D Law (Sco, 12*)
Selected others: -1 E Ferguson (Sco), A Sullivan (Eng), N Hoejgaard (Den), R McIlroy (NI); Level J Rahm (Spa); +1 P Harrington (Ire); +2 R MacIntyre (Sco); +3 L Donald (Eng); +5 S Garcia (Spa), B Koepka (US); +8 T Hatton (Eng)
*denotes number of holes played in uncompleted rounds
Rory McIlroy said his first round at the Irish Open at Doonbeg on Thursday may have been the longest of his career as he ended a wind-ravaged day one sitting four shots behind leader Joaquin Niemann.
McIlroy’s opening one-under-par 69 took in excess of six hours as he and the rest of the field battled the high winds and sporadic showers which battered the Trump International Golf Links in County Clare.
The world number two posted birdies at the second and fourth holes, double-bogeyed the 13th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker, but then picked up a shot at the 15th.
Back-to-back Masters champion McIlroy is aiming to defend the title he won at the K Club last year and secure a third Irish Open crown of his career, having triumphed at the same venue in 2016.
Victory this week would mean he draws level with European greats Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie on three Irish Open successes.
“I can’t recall a round of golf that has taken that long before. We’ve had some rounds that have taken five and a half hours or maybe five and three quarters, but over six hours might be a first for me,” McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.
“It was tough conditions, very windy, it was hard to get into any sort of rhythm out there. It was kind of stop-start, so I felt like shooting under par wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but at the end of the day I’m only four shots behind and not in a bad spot going into the next three days.
“It was tough, but you kind of just got the hang of it, you just kept the ball as close to the ground as possible and just made as many pars as you could.
“You were hitting into the wind on average three or four clubs more than you usually would. I had 138 yards to the last green there and hit my full seven iron. I usually hit my seven iron in warm, dry conditions 190 yards.”
