Rory McIlroy birdied his final three holes to shoot 3-under 68 and sit two strokes off the first-round lead.
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NEWCASTLE,NorthernIreland—RoryMcIlroybirdiedhisfinalthreeholestoshoot3-under68andsittwostrokesoffthefirst-roundleadattheIrishOpenonThursday.
TheNo.3-rankedMcIlroyisattemptingtowinhishometournamentforthesecondtime—eightyearsafterthefirst—andisplayingatRoyalCountyDownGolfClub,acoursethatisashortdrivefromhischildhoodhomeofHolywoodinNorthernIrelandandwhereheusedtoplaywithhisfriends.
“It’samajorchampionship-calibergolfcourse,”McIlroysaid.“It’sjustunfortunatethatwedon’thavetheinfrastructurearoundthegolfcoursetohostsomethinglikeanOpenbecauseifwedid,itdefinitelywouldbeabletohostanOpenChampionship.”
ToughwindsandsomerainmadefordifficultconditionsandNo.291-rankedToddClementsofEnglanddealtwithitthebest,makingfivebirdiesanda15-footerforeagleatthe18th—hisninthhole—fora66andaone-strokelead.
“Isaidtomycaddiewalkingoff,‘That’soneofthebestroundsI’veplayedinmylife,”Clementss
