Rory McIlroy shot an opening round of five under par as he bids to defend the CJ Cup and win it for the second straight season.
The Holywood star began his day with three consecutive pars. Birdies followed at holes four, five and six to get McIlroy moving up the leaderboard, while a further three pars to close out his front nine had McIlroy sitting pretty on 3-under par at the midway point of his round.
Two more birdies followed for McIlroy on his back nine. These came at 12th and 15th, two of the three easiest holes on the course.
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That's as good as it got for the 33-year-old who made par on 16, 17 and 18 to finish his round on 5-under par having not made a single birdie for his round. McIlroy is currently tied for third and is just one shot off joint leaders Gary Woodland and Trey Mullinax
The Northern Irishman has been in sparkling form this year and has finished in the top five of his last four events. The 2022 FedEX Cup Champion can reclaim the World Number One spot from Scottie Scheffler with victory this week, an honour he has achieved on eight different occasions in the past.
Four-time major champion McIlroy has fond memories of the CJ Cup and is the defending champion having edged out Collin Morikawa by a single stroke last year. Last time out weekend rounds of 66 and 62 helped McIlroy secure victory. A similar weekend may be in store in order to defend his crown.
Fellow Irish star Shane Lowry has also made an excellent start to the tournament and currently sits in a tie for eleventh place. The recent winner at Wentworth shot 69 for an opening round score of 3-under par. Waterford native Seamus Power shot the same score and is also hovering just outside the top ten.
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