Shane Lowry is five shots off the lead after a solid opening round at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
The Offaly native carded a two-under 68 around the TPC River Highlands course on Thursday which leaves him tied for 32nd.
The event at TPC River Highlands is the PGA Tour’s final $20 million (€17.6m) signature event of the regular season. All 72 players in the field will see the weekend as there is no 36-hole cut.
Lowry began slowly with a bogey on the par-4 second. But that proved to be the only significant blemish as he bounced back to birdie the sixth.
The back nine was positive as he rolled in further birdies on 13 and 15 – the latter a 21-foot birdie putt.
Meanwhile, Eric Cole’s pitch-in eagle at the 13th hole helped him post a seven-under 63 and take the first-round lead.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, the 2024 winner of this event, posted a bogey-free 64 later on Thursday to join a tie for second with Ben Griffin, Bud Cauley, Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, Colombia’s Nico Echavarria and Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan.
Cole, 38, is in prime position for his first win on the PGA Tour after collecting 12 victories during his journeyman career on the Minor League Golf Tour.
Cole, who has four top-10s this year, played his way into the signature event by finishing atop the Aon Swing 5 points race for a period spanning the Myrtle Beach Classic through the Canadian Open.
Of the group tied for second, Echavarria, Griffin and Cauley went bogey-free in addition to Scheffler, who is still after his first win since January at the American Express.
The group at five under includes PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai and fellow Englishman Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland of Norway and Patrick Cantlay.
Additional reporting: Reuters