Shane Lowry leads the home challenge after the opening round of the Amgen Irish Open at a rain-sodden K Club.
After a three-under par opening round of 69, the 2009 champion sits three strokes adrift of the leading trio of Thorbjorn Olesen, Nacho Elvira and Romain Langasque.
Five birdies on the back nine saw Elvira set the pace midway through Thursday at the Kildare venue.
The Spaniard played a bogey-free round, having started on the 10th hole, with his strong finish seeing him race from the middle of the pack to the top of the pile on six under par after a round of 66.
Olesen - seeking to become the second successive Dane to win the Irish Open after his absent countryman Rasmus Hojgaard - recovered from an early double-bogey at the par-3 third to rattle in eight birdies over the course of a flawless final 15 holes.
France's Langasque registered seven birdies, with just one dropped stroke, en route to his own round of 66.
Zander Lombard still has the chance to make it a quartet of leaders after Round 1, the South African at five-under and in the middle of the fairway at his final hole (the ninth) when bad light called a halt to proceedings on Thursday.
Also one stroke back from the leaders are Adrien Saddier, Bernd Wiesberger and Daniel Brown, who posted opening rounds of 67.
There were briefly a pair of Spanish Elviras at the head of the field, with Manuel - nine years Nacho's junior - reaching six under thru 11 before bogeys at the fifth and seventh.
Lowry fared best of the 11-strong Irish contingent on the opening day, though Laytown's Alex Maguire has a chance to match him on three-under when he completes his final hole on the resumption of play.
Beginning on the back nine, Lowry made a sluggish start, a cold putter leaving him on one-over after eight holes, a three-putt on 15 yielding his only bogey of the day.
However, a superb bunker shot to gimme range resulted in a birdie at the par-5 18th and further birdies on the fourth, sixth and ninth holes, the latter after draining a 14-footer, saw him reach three-under and tied-12th.
A closing birdie for Shane Lowry gets a big roar from the home support, and moves him within two of the lead
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 4, 2025
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"I played pretty nice," he told RTÉ Sport after his round.
"I was one over through eight but I had to remind myself I was hitting the ball well and giving myself chances.
"I just made a sloppy bogey on one hole [the 15th]. Other than that I finished nice but I feel like I played really nice today.
"Gave myself some chances, hit the ball well and holed a couple of putts at the end, which is really nice."
The weather was mixed on course, with passing heavy showers, which Offaly man Lowry felt made the course challenging.
"It was a beautiful morning, a bit chilly, typical September morning in Ireland," he continued.
"The course was very soft and it was very hard to get the ball close to the hole. Spin control was really difficult and there was a lot of back pins.
"That's probably why the scoring is not ridiculously low but I'm pretty happy with my three under."
Lowry concluded the round two shots better off than playing partner Brooks Koepka, whose round followed a different trajectory. The five-time major winner overcame a wobble around the turn to post a one-under par 71 in his first round at an Irish Open.
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, is also at one-under after a frustrating finish to his round, with bogeys on two of his final three holes seeing him tumble out of the top-10 late in his round.
The Masters champion, who won his sole Irish Open at this venue back in 2016, recorded four birdies on his outward nine to reach three-under par but was undermined by a sloppy closing stretch.
After the round, McIlroy expressed his frustration at being put on the clock early in his round, leaving him a little "rushed" for the last 12 holes.
The 24-year old Maguire, who usually plies his trade on the Challenge Tour, briefly held the tag of leading Irish player after reaching four-under par thru 15 before pushing his drive into the water at the seventh, resulting in a double-bogey.
Maguire, who recorded six birdies on Thursday, concludes his round tomorrow from the middle of the fairway at the ninth.
Tom McKibbin matched McIlroy's 71 thanks to three birdies in five holes from 11 to 15.
Seamus Power reached three-under par after 10 holes before a stuttering back nine saw him slip back to even par. He's joined on even par by Dubliner Robert Moran, who earned his place after finishing as leading Irishman at the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle.
2007 winner Padraig Harrington endured a tough day on the greens on the way to a two-over par 74, the three-time major champion registering just one birdie on the par-5 18th.
Amateur John Doyle is also on two-over par, having enjoyed a dream start with birdies on his opening two holes. Three bogeys on the trot late in his round saw him fall back into black numbers, while Mark Power is also at two-over after a colourful first round.
Conor Purcell posted a forgettable round of 76, while Max Kennedy is two strokes further back on six over after an opening 78.
Watch the Amgen Irish Open with RTÉ Sport. Live coverage on Thursday and Friday available on RTÉ2, with Saturday and Sunday on RTÉ One. All four days live on RTÉ Player
