Rory McIlroy was glad to have been able to “hang in there” after battling blustery conditions at the Amgen Irish Open to sit four shots off the clubhouse lead following a one-under-par opening round.
Gusts of up to 35 miles per hour saw balls oscillating on greens, with Frenchman Frederic Lacroix seeing his blown off the putting surface at the 13th, but he had fortunately already marked so was able to replace it.
All of which made for slow going at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel in Doonbeg during Thursday’s first round.
As the day wore on, a course-record 65 from Chilean Joaquin Niemann looked increasingly good.
Having reached the turn at two under, Niemann had four successive birdies from the 14th to put him in contention for a 30,000 US dollar (£22,000) bonus for the lowest round of the week.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk, who has played 15 holes, Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner (through 13) and Renato Paratore (through 12) all later made a challenge for the top of the leaderboard at three under before play was suspended just ahead of 8pm.
Home favourite Shane Lowry, who won the event as a 22-year-old amateur in Baltray, kept himself in the mix, safely in the clubhouse at three under alongside South African Shaun Norris.
Long waits on many tee boxes were commonplace, but McIlroy, who won the event at the K Club last year, started with two birdies in his first four holes before getting to the turn in a two-under 34 – in three-and-a-half hours.
After missing a four-foot birdie chance at the first, he holed a 14-footer at the second, splashed out of a bunker to three feet at the par-five fourth for his second birdie, but missed from 10ft at the seventh for a third.
McIlroy found the fairway bunker on the 13th and a missed 10-foot putt saw him take a double-bogey hit before a fine approach to the 15th helped quickly pull a stroke back.
The world number two, though, could not make the most of what proved limited opportunities over the closing run, narrowly missing a lengthy birdie attempt on the 18th, and he will return on Friday morning hoping to improve along with the weather forecast.
“There were a couple of things that were tough today. Obviously the wind and the strength of the wind was one thing and then the pace of play,” McIlroy said.
“This course isn’t conducive to sort of letting you get in a flow. Especially the first two days with so many people in the field, there is a lot of stopping and starting.
“It’s hard when you are playing a round of golf and it takes six hours, it’s hard to get into the rhythm of things, but felt like I did a good job.
“After making the double bogey on 13, I was just trying to get those two shots back by the end of the day.”
McIlroy added: “I hung in there, shot under par, and at least don’t feel like I am out of the tournament. A good day tomorrow gets me right back in it.”
Lowry missed out on the FedEx Cup play-offs but is relishing the chance to make a challenge through the weekend back on home soil.
“I feel like I am doing a lot of things right on and off the course. I am very hopeful that that pays me off at some stage,” he said.
Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin – playing alongside European team captain Luke Donald and Alex Fitzpatrick – finished in a group at two under, having made a bogey on the final hole.
