3 days ago
Shane Lowry three shots off Canadian Open lead as Rory McIlroy falters
Rory McIlroy faces a battle to make the cut today at the Canadian Open as Offaly's Shane Lowry remains three shots off the lead after an impressive first round.
Seamus Power was forced to withdraw from the event after nine holes, with the Waterford man suffering from a recurring back injury.
Thorbjørn Olesen and Cristobal Del Solar are setting the early pace at TPC Toronto, both shooting a 61 to go nine under par in the first round.
The Holywood man is getting to grips with a new driver ahead of the US Open next week, shooting one over thanks to two late bogeys to finish off the round.
The first tournament since his disappointing showing in the PGA Championship, he will need to familiarise himself with his new equipment if he is to succeed here.
He told ASAP Sports that: "I actually felt like I played OK."
"There was a couple of shots in there, it was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging."
"The one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left. Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit,"
"It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you."
He remains outside the top 100 with a few shots to make up if he is to make the cut.
Shane Lowry is right in the mix, shooting six-under to tie for fifth in the early stages.
He bookended his round with birdies, with five more coming his way interrupted by a bogey on the 13th after a wayward drive.
McIlroy tees off at 5:55pm, with Ludwig Aberg and Luke Clanton in his group, while Lowry gets going alongside Robert MacIntyre and Corey Conners at 12:40pm.
