Irish in action:
Paul Dunne: -3 F
Padraig Harrington: E F
Darren Clarke: +1 F
Graeme McDowell: E F
Shane Lowry: +1 F
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Paul Dunne
Amateur Paul Dunne made a rip-roaring start with four birdies in his first nine holes. He went to the turn at four under after birdie putts of 12 feet and five feet kick-started his round. The 22-year-old - who was mistaken for two-time major winner Jordan Spieth on the range this morning as he wears the same make of apparel - picked up another shot at the par-five fifth and then, having hacked his approach out of the rough at the ninth, holed from 45ft to turn in 32. He dropped a shot at 11 but made a solid end to his round to finish a three-under. A brilliant round.
Shane Lowry
The Offaly man made bogeys at the first and fourth holes but fought back brilliantly with birdies at seven, nine, 10 and 13 and 14 to sit at three under. Everything fell apart at the par-four 17th, however, as a quadruple-bogey left him one over par, which was his final score. It was an error from the tee which cost Lowry, sending his drive out of bounds, and found more trouble again before escaping with an eight.
Graeme McDowell
G-Mac started his round with nine straight pars before finding his groove with birdies at 10 and 11. He dropped one at 12 however and close with a bogey on the 18th to finish level par. McDowell's form had been on an upward curve heading into the Open, but it has been a challenging year for him after falling 40 places in the world rankings.
Darren Clarke
In what is his 24th appearance in the Open, Clarke picked up shots at the first and third holes before losing one at seven. A bogey on the 11th dropped him back to level par but the Dungannon man rallied for a birdie on the 12th. Further bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes left him with a one-over 73 for the day.
Padraig Harrington
Could he win a third Claret Jug? Harrington's travails since his three Major wins are well-known, and his many fans will have enjoyed great his Honda classic win earlier this year. The Dubliner had a solid round finishing up on level par with a round of 72. the 43-year-old had bogeys at the third, 11th and 17th but also birdies at five, six and 12.
"I won't how much damage level-par has done until tomorrow," he told RTÉ Sport. "I'm happy enough with my game. I fought hard through that score.
"Clearly, if all those guys with fives, sixes and sevens [under par] move forward tomorrow and get a decent day it would be hard to catch up."
