By:
Conor Martin
Ireland’s Shane Lowry has got his Canadian Open off to a strong start, recording an impressive 64 in his opening round.
By the time he had finished his round, he found himself tied for fifth and six under. However, Lowry has the top spot in his sights; he’s only three shots off the lead.
At the top of the leaderboard, Thorbjoern Olesen and Cristobal Del Solar both have a share of the lead.
Birdies aplenty for Shane Lowry in Canadian Open
Lowry has never won the Canadian Open but finished runner-up in 2019. He could be on course for his Canadian Open title, having picked up a good share of birdies in his first round, racking up seven in total.
Four of his birdies came in his first six holes, including an excellent putt on the fifth hole that he sank from 20 feet.
Lowry was unlucky not to get a hole in one on the 11th hole but dusted himself down off the minor disappointment to finish with a birdie.
He was striking the ball well with his clubs, with his only error coming on the 13th hole when a poor drive led to him picking up a bogey.
His good form with the putter would do him a big favour as he closed out his opening round with a par and a birdie after just missing out on the chance to score an eagle.
The Offaly man demonstrated his ability to putt from long and short distances on the green. His seven birdies were knocked in at the following distances: 9ft, 8.6ft, 20.8ft, 4.9ft, 15.1ft, the four-inch putt-in, and the final hole was rounded off by a putt from eight inches out.
Lowry will now be hoping for a similar performance in his second round as he ramps up his bid for a first Canadian Open.
Off to a nice start @RBCCanadianOpen ☘️ pic.twitter.com/ZmI3gT71Vr
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) June 5, 2025
McIlroy far from his best in opening round
Things weren’t so rosy in the opening round for Lowry’s good friend and 2025 Masters winner, Rory McIlroy, who had a frustrating round at TPC Toronto.
McIlroy was far from his best and posted a disappointing one over and sits outside the top 100 going into the second round.
Despite his display, the Northern Irishman remained upbeat when reflecting on his first round:
“I actually felt like I played okay.
“There was a couple of shots in there, it was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well.
“I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging.
“Hit some good iron shots. Missed a couple of greens and didn’t get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes.
“Overall, I’m actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance.
Waterford’s Séamus Power also had a round to forget as his competition ended just nine holes in when he withdrew thanks to injury.
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