Dublin: Fresh from his recent triumph at the PGA Championship, Indian-origin British golfer Aaron Rai carded an opening round of one-over 73 at the Memorial Tournament to be placed tied 33rd alongside 10 other players here.
The overall conditions were difficult on the first day as only 22 players managed to break par and another 10 ended even-par. Majority of the field recorded above-par rounds to begin the week.
Also at tied 33rd are Indian-American Akshay Bhatia, Indo-Canadian Sudarshan Yellamaraju, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and World No. 3 Cameron Young.
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Leading the field are Wyndham Clark, JJ Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood and Ryan Gerard who carded five-under 67 each.
Rory McIlroy, a six-time Major winner who is looking for a second major in 2026, shot one-under 71 and was tied 13th, five shots behind the four co-leaders.
Rai began his first round on the front-nine and made birdies on the fourth and seventh holes before dropping shots on the eighth and ninth with consecutive bogeys to be even-par at the turn of the round.
On the back-nine, Rai made a birdie on the 11th hole before bogeys on the 12th and 17th saw him settle for a round of one-over 73.
