DP World Tour: Amgen Irish Open Tee Times Leaderboard
Joaquin Niemann produced a late birdie burst to card a -5 65 and lead the way after day one of the Amgen Irish Open.
The Chilean playing on a sponsors exemption, made four birdies in a row from the 14th to -5 and set the target at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, Ireland, Doonbeg on a day when the wind made scoring difficult.
The conditions also led to unavoidable delays and some players will have to return early on day two to complete their opening rounds.
Home hero and 2009 champion Shane Lowry was in the clubhouse after completing his -3 67 in the fading light and he sat two shots back alongside South African Shaun Norris.
Polish star, Adrian Meronk - the 2022 champion - Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner and Italian Renato Paratore were also at -3 with holes still to play.
Niemann who plays LIV, has played a limited DP World Tour schedule in 2026 but has three top tens in his last four DP World Tour starts, including a best Major finish of a T7 at the U.S. Open.
Since 2024 he has 9 wins on LIV...
And he revealed he was relishing the conditions on the County Clare coast as he looks for a second DP World Tour title after his win at the ISPS HANDA Australian pen in the 2024 season.
"It was a lot of fun out there," he said. "It's a really tricky course and a really fun golf course to play with. Especially with the Irish weather. Yeah, getting used to this weather and the rain so yeah, it was fun.
"It's definitely a good challenge. You've got to hit those tee shots and keep it under the wind, left-to-right wind, right-to-left wind.
"I was talking with my caddie, like every shot into the wind just times a hundred probably. So if it's a bad shot, it's a really bad shot. But if it's a good shot, it was so nice to see it. You know, it's just sexy, you know, hitting eight iron, seven iron from 120, 130 yards is fun."
He added: "I feel like there's so much I need to learn about my game and so much I need to improve. But I am just on that highway. I'm committed to get better and better every time. And I know I can. I know that there's a lot of room for improvement so, yeah, I'm happy where it is right now, but there's a lot to work on."
Meronk made six birdies and three bogeys in his first 15 holes, Steinlechner had an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys through 13 and Paratore had six holes to complete having made four birdies with a single dropped shot.
Race to Dubai Rankings leader Patrick Reed carded a -2 68 to sit alongside home hero Tom McKibbin, Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, Kiwi Kazuma Kobori, Frenchman Frederic Lacroix, Dane Niklas Nørgaard and Scot Connor Syme.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy was then in the group at -1 69 having completed his first round.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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