Shane Lowry begins Canadian Open bid with flawless 69

Shane Lowry’s first round 69 left him four shots off the clubhouse lead on Thursday, in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open.

The Offaly man enjoyed a flawless round, with his three birdies arriving on the final three holes; the par-5 16th, par-4 17th and par-5 18th at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario.

Following his missed cut at the British Open Championship last weekend, and his drop to a world ranking of 79, it was a much improved performance from Lowry.

However it is Seamus Power who leads the Irish charge - with his 68 leaving him a stroke ahead of Lowry on four under par.

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Power’s round leaves him three shots behind joint clubhouse leaders Hudson Swafford - who two-putted on the 18th - and Brandon Hagy. They share the lad with three compatriots - Keavin Chappell, Matt Every and Ollie Schneiderjeans.

They are a shot ahead of a large group on six under which includes two-time Major winner Bubba Watson, with Dustin Johnson a stroke furher back.

Fresh from finishing runner-up at last weekend’s British Open, Matt Kuchar overcame some dizzy spells to finish one under par.

The 39-year-old had at one point been cruising at four under par, before suffering from a “couple of spells where I got a little bit of dizzy and I feel weak”, to finish with an opening round of 71.

He told the PGA Tour that the spells had nothing to do with him travelling back from Royal Birkdale.

“I don’t know where it came from,” Kuchar told reporters. “I’ve had plenty of time to get over the travel. Hopefully it’s just something that passes real quick.”

Starting on the back nine, Graeme McDowell finished two over par, with bogeys on the fifth, sixth, 11th and 14th holes. His only birdies arrived on the 13th and 15th. The Portrush native is 119th in the PGA Tour’s Fedex Cup standings.

Meanwhile Irish amateur Paul McBride finished two under par on day one of the Porsche European Open, on the 7,582 yard Green Eagle Golf Course in Hamburg.

The 21-year-old Malahide native hit birdies on the ninth, 11th, 17th and 18th holes; leaving him four shots behind joint leaders American Julian Suri and England’s Richard McEvoy. Paul Dunne hit a double bogey on the par-3 fifth on his way to a round of 74, while the third Irishman in the field Michael Hoey finished his round at seven over par.