Shane Lowry is in contention once again on the PGA Tour after he opened his RBC Canadian Open campaign with a sublime round of 64 in Toronto.
Lowry lies in a share of fifth place on six-under-par at TPC Toronto, three shots behind Thiorbjorn Olesen and Cristobal Del Solar.
The Offaly man made a quick start with four birdies in his first six holes before adding another at the 8th to turn in 30.
The pick of the bunch coming on the fifth when he rolled in a birdie from 20-feet. Lowry’s putting was on song on Thursday which was a welcome change from last week’s Memorial Tournament as he held almost 50-feet of birdie putts on the front nine.
On the 200-yard par-3 11th the 2019 Open champion almost had another PGA Tour hole in one but tapped in for birdie before his only bogey of the day came on 13 after a poor drive.
Lowry’s putter came to his aid again late in the day, holing from 21-feet for a crucial par on 17 which allowed him to two-putt from 30-feet for birdie on 18.
It was another stellar performance from Lowry with the longer clubs, ranking 6th in strokes gained approach while a strokes gained putting ranking of 42nd doesn’t back up how well he performed on the greens.
The same cannot be said for Rory McIlroy whose sluggish performances since winning the career grand slam at the Masters in April continued with a one-over 71 which leaves him outside the top-100.
There were bright sparks for the Hollywood man who recovered from bogeys on 12 and 17 with three birdies in a row around the turn before he bogeyed his last two holes.
After admitting pre-tournament that he has been struggling to get back into the groove since winning the green jacket, McIlroy was upbeat about his opening round as he looks to find some form ahead of next week’s US Open.
“I actually felt like I played okay,” McIlroy said. “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.
“Hit some good iron shots. Missed a couple of greens and didn’t get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes.
“Overall, I’m actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance.
“Yeah, overall I’m still trying to work on some things, but yeah, I’m okay with where everything is.”
Meanwhile, Seamus Power withdrew during his opening round.
