Shane Lowry carded a disappointing one-under-par 70 in the opening round of the Cognizant Classic in Florida to sit eight shots off leader Austin Smotherman.
The Offaly man, starting on the back nine, birdied his first but dropped three shots and picked up just one more before the turn.
The former Open winner carded further birdies on the first and third holes and parred the remaining six to sign for a 70 at The Palm Beaches.
Waterford's Séamus Power, who also started on the back nine, was one shot further back after his even-par round where he managed two birdies and two bogeys, including a dropped shot at the last.
Smotherman fired a bogey-free 9-under 62, including six straight birdies in the middle of his round to take the lead.
Nico Echavarria of Colombia sits one back after a 63, while a six-man group featuring Taylor Moore, Jackson Suber, Kevin Roy, Daniel Berger, Norway's Kristoffer Reitan and Sweden's Pontus Nyholm rounded out the early chase pack with 4-under 67s.
Recent PGA Tour returnee Brooks Koepka never found much rhythm in his Florida return. He was 4-over for his last six holes, including a double bogey at the par-3 17th, and signed for a 3-over 74 that left him buried in a tie for 98th heading into Friday.
David Ford's card was the opposite of steady. After starting his round on the back nine, Ford took a disastrous quadruple bogey at the 17th that saw him take multiple shots while standing in water. He then erased the damage in a hurry by holing out for eagle on both the 2nd and 3rd holes to finish at 1-over 72 in a tie for 68th.
No players in this week's field are ranked top-25 in the world.
