Golf:Ireland's Peter Lawrie leads the first round of the Sicilian Open at the Verdura Golf Resort following a superb eight under par, 64. The Dubliner's card included nine birdies and just a single blemish, a bogey at the par four, 13th.

Lawrie, who celebrated his 38th birthday last week, birdied five of the first nine holes and when he recorded a sixth on the 11th, he trailed the early leader Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen (65), by just a single stroke. He recovered from the bogey on 13 to dip under regulation figures on 14, 16 and 17.

It was a good day for Irish players in general as Shane Lowry, christened a new set of clubs – his original set was stolen at the airport in Napoli en route to the tournament – with a five under par, 67. Simon Thornton was two shots further back (69) while Paul McGinley and Gary Murphy both shot one under the card, 71s.