Graeme McDowell and Paul Dunne were the best of a strong home charge at a moody Portstewart on Thursday, carding five-under 67s as tournament host Rory McIlroy endured a frustrating afternoon.
Defending champion McIlroy, playing in a star-studded group featuring Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama, could only look on as the Spanish rising star and the Japanese world number two carded rounds of 65 and 67 respectively.
McIlroy finished up with a level-par round that leaves him eight shots behind first-round leaders Daniel Im and Benjamin Hebert, and counted the cost of some more scratchy form on the greens that only yielded two birdies despite a number of chances.
"I'm pretty frustrated," the world No.4 admitted to RTÉ Sport. "The course was out there to shoot a really low score.
"When you're playing with Jon Rahm and Hideki and they're shooting seven under and five under, it felt like I was going backwards just shooting level par.
'It was one of those days' said Rory McIlroy after his opening 72 at the #IrishOpen pic.twitter.com/GhaQNBuFdV
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2017
"It was one of those days. I felt like I hit it pretty well, I just couldn't get anything going, no momentum.
"Hopefully I can get out there tomorrow morning and make some birdies and climb the leaderboard."
The big draw of the tournament, McIlroy found himself outshone by a number of fine Irish performances, led by McDowell and Dunne, while youngster Gavin Moynihan was among the last players on the course as he birdied the last to also finish on five under.
McDowell got home in style, shooting four-under on his back nine. It could have been even better had he given his birdie putt on the last a little extra gas, but the 37-year-old was solid as a rock around the tight Co Derry course.
'It was low-scoring, so you had to go and do something' - @Graeme_McDowell pic.twitter.com/WHQ4ZaVwgw
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2017
"I think the fact that conditions were as benign as they were and you knew you had to go out and make some birdies and sometimes too easy is nearly difficult," he told RTÉ.
"It’s hard to stay patient but I was happy the way I rolled it on the greens generally and I hit a lot of nice quality shots. All in all I’m happy enough with the start."
Dunne had a blemish-free round as he expertly navigated the tight links to set himself up for a weekend push.
Asked what pleased him most, Dunne replied: "Probably keeping the bogeys off the card, especially on the back nine, where I was really struggling off the tee to get the ball in the fairways.
"It was nice to scramble my way in. I think I've a good idea of the course, and the places to miss it off the tee and how to get round."
Paul Dunne, Michael Hoey and Jon Rahm reflect on a good day at he office #IrishOpen pic.twitter.com/H0aFPXG4DQ
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 6, 2017
Just behind their compatriots, Padraig Harrington sat alongside Michael Hoey and Shane Lowry on four-under. The Dubliner finished with a par after picking up a solitary bogey - on the par-three third.
"It’s okay as an opening round," was Harrington's verdict afterwards. "I played nice and average, had a few chances.
"If things had have gone my way I certainly could have made a few more under par but I think four under is an okay reflection of the day.
"The weather is perfect for [low scoring]. You’ve got four-par fives out there. I was expecting low scoring for sure.
"I knew I had to be patient myself with my own round because it wasn’t like I was holing too many putts to get under par quickly.
"There’s a little bit of pressure there when you start out there ‘cos six or seven under par is certainly very much on."
Lowry couldn't hide his joy at draining his final putt of the day, and hopes it proves the launchpad for a big weekend.
"I definitely feel like it’s the least I deserved out there. I felt like I played great.
"I don’t know if you saw the last putt I gave a little fist pump ‘cos I felt like I really needed or wanted to hole that putt because didn’t necessarily hole anything all day.
"I just struggled with a few reads and the pace of the greens was getting to me a little bit. Yeah, I played great, gave myself a lot of chances, I’m happy.
"I drove the ball well which is key around here and gave myself a lot of chances."
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Hoey has been toiling on the Challenge Tour since losing his full European Tour playing privileges, but he acknowledged that he'd been showing signs of form on the lower circuit in recent weeks.
"I've taken some of my good form from the Challenge Tour in here," he said. "I'm driving it well so I'm giving myself a lot of chances."
Of the remaining Irish players, David Higgins and Gary Hurley both shot 69, while Dermot McElroy (-2) and Colm Moriarty (-1) also broke par.
Former Open champion Darren Clarke had a nightmare finish to his round. The Dungannon man was two under with three to play but bogeyed 16 and endured a triple-bogey seven on 17 to drop to two over.
