Aaron Rai gets off to a flying start in the Irish Open

The 27-year-old bagged eight birdies across the 18 holes yesterday, slipping up only twice with two bogeys – which came in the 12th and 16th holes.

Rai is part of six-strong group on six under, including fellow Englishmen Dale Whitnell and Jordan Smith, with Scotland’s David Law and Ewen Ferguson another stroke back.

Staffordshire’s Robert Rock sits joint 37th after round one with a score of three under.

He made a disappointing start with a bogey on the very first hole, but he recovered and only suffered one more bogey in the remaining holes, coming at the eighth.

It took Rock until the ninth hole to record his first birdie, before an impressive back nine saw him rack up another four.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox is setting the pace and sits top of the leaderboard after the first day.

Fox fired eight birdies, including seven in his last 11 holes, to card a flawless opening 64 at Mount Juliet and enjoy a one-shot lead over Frederic Lacroix, Jorge Campillo, Fabrizio Zanotti and Marcel Schneider. Fox, who lost a play-off for the 2018 Irish Open to Scotland’s Russell Knox, won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in February, finished runner-up in the Soudal Open and Dutch Open and was third in the BMW International on Sunday.

“I’m more surprised, to be honest, than anything else,” the world number 56 said. “I’ve been fighting it on the range the last couple of days and a 64 certainly didn’t look likely early in the round.

“I made a couple of birdies but I was scrapping away and hit a great wedge on my eighth hole (the 17th) and made a few putts as well. So just one of those days that shows how important patience is in a round of golf.

“After six holes I felt like two under would have been a great score. And then the last 10 holes, I felt like I could have shot anything, to be honest.

“I really like this course, even though it kicked my ass last year. And I feel like if you hit some good shots, you can score and if you hit bad shots, you get penalised. And I think that’s the sign of a good golf course.

“I feel really comfortable with where my game’s at, which probably hasn’t happened for a few years out here now, and it’s obviously a recipe for success. I’ve gotten close a few times the last few weeks. It’d certainly be nice to get another one over the line.”