Rory McIlroy produced a brilliant late birdie burst to stay within four strokes of the lead after a low-scoring opening round at the Genesis Scottish Open.

McIlroy birdied each of his last three holes to card a two-under 68 at the Renaissance Club, as four players shared the early lead at the event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.

Ryder Cup team-mate Sepp Straka carded a six-under 64 to top the leaderboard alongside Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria and Victor Perez, with Scotland’s Calum Hill and England’s Marco Penge among the quartet a stroke back in tied-fifth.

Viktor Hovland and former US Open champion Wyndham Clark were in the group two off the lead and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a three-under 67, as 32 players were separated by just three strokes after the opening day.

McIlroy was joined on two under by defending champion Robert MacIntyre and two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, who will look to defend his title at The Open next week, while US Open champion JJ Spaun and Tommy Fleetwood both posted level-par 70s.

Joint-leader Knapp, who is making his first appearance at the Scottish Open, said: “I definitely can’t complain! Got a few putts to fall early.

“Got one to fall, which I wasn’t expecting to go in. So it’s always nice when you can have something like that to get the round started.”

How McIlroy made strong finish to opening day

McIlroy – the 2023 champion – made a three-putt bogey at the par-four first and followed a long-range two-putt birdie at the par-five third with a dropped shot at the fifth, where he holed from eight feet to limit the damage to a bogey.

The Masters champion responded by making a close-range birdie at the ‘stadium hole’ par-three sixth, although was over par for the tournament when a run of pars was ended when he found the fairway bunker off the tee and bogeyed the 15th.

McIlroy started his swashbuckling finish by tapping in at the par-five 16th, having come close with his eagle attempt, then followed a 25-foot birdie at the par-four 17th by rolling in from 20 feet for another at the par-four last.

The leading three players – not already exempt – who make the cut this week will qualify for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.

“I definitely finished the round better than I started it. It felt like it was a bit of a slow start,” said McIlroy.

“I think when you come back over here, links greens, they’re a lot slower than what we’re used to. So 3-putt on 1, and then did well, but then 3-putt 2nd as well. So that got me off and running. Then I felt like I played some good golf after that.

“Obviously finished great. I struggled a bit in left-to-right wind. Right-to-left winds I was okay with. But seemed like the holes I got myself in trouble was when the wind was to the left. Something to try to work on over the next three days.”

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