\n<\/p>\n
After starting with four pars, Lowry – who is without an individual victory since September 2022 – carded back-to-back birdies at the fifth and sixth holes.<\/p>\n
The former Open champion vaulted into a share of the lead with a run of five straight birdies from the par-four 11th before picking up a shot at the last to edge ahead of Nakajima. <\/p>\n
“It’s not that hard when you hit it in play out there, but you start missing fairways it becomes quite tricky, so I’m happy with that,” said Lowry. <\/p>\n
He added: “You need to shape it around the course, hit it in position off the tee and it’s all about your iron play. That’s one of my strengths and I took advantage of that today and managed to roll a few putts in on the back nine, which was nice.”<\/p>\n
Lowry added there was a “little bit” of Ryder Cup chat with playing partners Fleetwood and Donald. <\/p>\n
“We could hear the horns from the road, it was not as off-putting as the Bethpage [Black] crowd,” he said with a smile, referring to the hostile New York fans at last month’s Ryder Cup. <\/p>\n
Fleetwood mixed four birdies, an eagle and two bogeys to sit four shots back. <\/p>\n
Donald, who is playing his first tournament since his second Ryder Cup success as captain, carded five birdies and a bogey to match fellow Englishman Fleetwood and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman. <\/p>\n
Playing with McIlroy, US Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin opened with a 68 while McIlroy’s European team-mate Viktor Hovland signed for a 71. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n