Lowry shows signs of life; Hoey wins

Vaughn Taylor

Shane Lowry broke 70 for only the second time in 11 rounds since his US Open runner up finish when he opened with a one under 69 in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.

The world No 31 bogeyed the first at TPC River Highlands but then added 15 pars and two birdies to card a 69, ending the day tied for 47th and five behind Vaughn Taylor, Andrew Loupe and Jerry Kelly, who shot 64s.

Detailed scores

Pádraig Harrington, looking for a good week to head to the Olympics on a high, was superb from tee to green but holed little until he made a seven footer for birdie at the 18th, posting a level par 70 to share 73rd.

Matt Fitzpatrick. Picture: Getty Images

Hoey beats Dixon, now faces Southgate in Paul Lawrie Match Play

European Tour — Michael Hoey beat David Dixon 4 and 3 and now faces Mathew Southgate for a place in the last 16 of the Paul Lawrie Match Play at Archerfield.

Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Wood underlined their Ryder Cup credentials in the first round of the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play.

The English duo, who both currently occupy automatic spots in Darren Clarke’s European team with under four weeks until the qualification campaign comes to an end, eased into the second round of the knock-out competition at Archerfield on Scotland’s east coast.

Fitzpatrick had arguably the toughest first round examination of them all as he went up against Clarke’s vice captain, Thomas Bjørn, but the 21 year old British Masters and Nordea Masters champion produced some of his best golf of the year to take down the Dane 4&3, while Wood overcame Australian Brett Rumford by the same margin.

With 32 matches spread across Archerfield, there were some brilliant displays of golf throughout the day. The tournament host, Paul Lawrie, overcame Lucas Bjerregaard 4&2, while Lawrie’s countryman Richie Ramsay took the scalp of David Howell on the 18th to win 1-up.

First round results

1. Haydn Porteous (RSA) bt John Parry (ENG) 19th hole
2. David Horsey (ENG) bt Sébastien Gros (FRA) 6 & 4
3. James Morrison (ENG) bt Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 6 & 5
4. Graeme Storm (ENG) bt Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 2 & 1
5. Simon Khan (ENG) bt Pablo Larrazábal (ESP) 2 & 1
6. Oliver Fisher (ENG) bt Peter Uihlein (USA) 22nd hole
7. Johan Carlsson (SWE) bt Morten Ørum Madsen (DEN) 2 & 1
8. Robert Rock (ENG) bt Gary Stal (FRA) 3 & 2
9. Marc Warren (SCO) bt Jorge Campillo (ESP) 3 & 2
10. Magnus Carlsson (SWE)  bt Chase Koepka (USA) 4 & 3
11. Matthew Southgate (ENG) bt Kristoffer Broberg (SWE) 19th hole
12. Michael Hoey (NIR) bt David Drysdale (SCO) 4 & 3
13. Richie Ramsay (SCO) bt David Howell (ENG) 1 UP
14. Roope Kakko (FIN) bt Grégory Havret (FRA) 20th hole
15. Chris Paisley (ENG) bt Benjamin Hebert (FRA) 2 & 1
16. Prom Meesawat (THA) bt David Lipsky (USA) 1 UP
17. Richard Green (AUS) bt Lee Slattery (ENG) 3 & 2
18. Paul Lawrie (SCO) bt Lucas Bjerregaard (DEN) 4 & 2
19. Eduardo De La Riva (ESP) bt Calum Shinkwin (ENG) 19th hole
20. Alejandro Cañizares (ESP) bt Mike Lorenzo Vera (FRA) 19th hole
21. Mikko Ilonen (FIN) bt Jin Jeong (KOR) 3 & 2
22. Maximilian Kieffer (GER) bt Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 3 & 2
23. Nacho Elvira (ESP) bt Oliver Wilson (ENG) 2 & 1
24. Craig Lee (SCO) bt Raphaël Jacquelin (FRA) 3 & 2
25. Richard Bland (ENG) bt Joakim Lagergren (SWE)    2&1
26. Anthony Wall (ENG) bt Robert Dinwiddie (ENG)     3 & 2
27. Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) bt Thomas Bjørn (DEN) 4 & 3
28. Matt Ford (ENG) bt Pelle Edberg (SWE)     3 & 2
29. Chris Wood (ENG) bt Brett  Rumford (AUS) 4 & 3
30. Daniel Brooks (ENG) bt Gareth Wright (WAL) 4 & 3
31. Alex Noren (SWE) bt Scott Jamieson (SCO) 5 & 4
32. Renato Paratore (ITA) bt Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 7 & 6    

Second Round Draw

1. 08:00 AM: Marc Warren (SCO) vs Magnus Carlsson (SWE)
2. 08:10 AM: Haydn Porteous (RSA) vs David Horsey (ENG)
3. 08:20 AM: M Southgate (ENG) vs Michael Hoey (NIR)
4. 08:30 AM: James Morrison (ENG) vs Graeme Storm (ENG)
5. 08:40 AM Richie Ramsay (SCO) vs Roope Kakko (FIN)
6. 08:50 AM Simon Khan (ENG) vs Oliver Fisher (ENG)
7. 09:00 AM Chris Paisley (ENG) vs Prom Meesawat (THA)
8. 09:10 AM Johan Carlsson (SWE)   vs Robert Rock (ENG)
9. 09:25 AM Richard Bland (ENG) vs Anthony Wall (ENG)
10. 09:35 AM Richard Green (AUS) vs Paul Lawrie (SCO)
11. 09:45 AM M Fitzpatrick (ENG) vs Matt Ford (ENG)
12. 09:55 AM E De La Riva (ESP) vs Alejandro Cañizares (ESP)
13. 10:05 AM Chris Wood (ENG) vs Daniel Brooks (ENG)
14. 10:15 AM Mikko Ilonen (FIN) vs Maximilian Kieffer (GER)
15. 10:25 AM Alex Noren (SWE) vs Renato Paratore (ITA)
16. 10:35 AM Nacho Elvira (ESP) vs Craig Lee (SCO)

*Round 3 – Approximate starting Times 13:55 to 15:05