DOONBEG, Ireland — Joaquín Niemann made four straight birdies from the 14th hole through the 17th on Thursday and shot a 5-under 65 to take the first-round lead at the Irish Open.
Wind at Trump International Golf Links slowed play enough that the round could not be completed before darkness, The Associated Press reported. The cliffside course on the Atlantic coast is hosting the Irish Open for the first time. Niemann’s lead was two shots over everyone who finished. Shane Lowry and Shaun Norris of South Africa both shot 67. Three more players, Adrian Meronk, Maximilian Steinlechner, and Renato Paratore, were also 3 under with holes left to play and were scheduled to return Friday morning to finish.
At the par-4 12th, Niemann three-putted for his only bogey of the round, according to Golf Today. Two holes later, he hit his tee shot to 3 feet at the par-3 14th. At the 17th, a wedge to 2 feet finished the run. None of the four birdie putts was longer than 7 feet, the AP reported. Niemann found Doonbeg tricky and fun to play, especially in Irish weather.
“You got to hit those tee shots and keep it under the wind, left-to-right wind, right-to-left wind,” Niemann said after the round, according to the AP. “Every shot into the wind, just times 100 probably. So if it’s a bad shot, it’s a really bad shot. But if it’s a good shot, it was so nice to see it.”
Niemann holds the LIV Golf League record with nine victories. In August, he won LIV Golf New York for his second title of 2026. He came to Doonbeg with three top-10 finishes in his previous four DP World Tour starts, including a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open, according to Golf Today.
On Tuesday, two days before the first round, LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey with more than $500 million in debt, the AP reported. Jon Rahm led the filing’s list of unsecured claims at nearly $7.5 million. The league said it intends to come out of bankruptcy and relaunch as early as 2027.
Rahm, who won the Irish Open in 2017 and 2019, opened with an even-par 70. He played in a group with Lowry and Patrick Reed, according to pairings published by Golf Monthly. Lowry and Rahm faced the worst of the wind, along with defending champion Rory McIlroy, the AP reported.
Lowry, the 2009 Irish Open champion, made four birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, including a birdie after driving the green at the par-4 sixth, according to Golf Today. Coming home, he played the back nine without a bogey, made his only birdie of the side at the 14th, and saved par on the 17th with a 10-foot putt. He finished in fading light. Lowry did not think his group would get the round in.
“I felt like I did a solid job of making pars and trying to get to the clubhouse as quick as I could,” Lowry said. “I honestly didn’t think we were going to get finished. That’s probably the longest round of golf I ever played, in a three-ball, anyway. I’m happy with my score.”
Rory McIlroy Opens Irish Open Title Defense With 69
Last year, McIlroy won the Irish Open in a playoff at The K Club. He also won it in 2016. Through 12 holes Thursday, he had not made a bogey. At the par-4 13th, his tee shot rolled into a bunker. His first shot out hit the lip and came back into the sand. He tried the same shot again, and that one hit below the lip and skipped out onto the fairway. The hole cost him a double bogey.
The double was his only hole over par. He made one more birdie coming in and shot 69, four shots behind Niemann.
“I was just trying to get those two shots back by the end of the day,” McIlroy said. “Didn’t quite do that, but I think finishing under par for the day was a reasonable effort.”
McIlroy played alongside Brooks Koepka and Robert MacIntyre. Koepka, a five-time major champion, was making his first start in a month. His opening tee shot went into the high grass, and after playing another shot from the fairway, he made a triple bogey on the first hole. Koepka shot 75, and MacIntyre shot 72.
With 138 players in the field and conditions as severe as they were, rounds took about six hours. At times, two threesomes were waiting on the same tee, according to the AP. McIlroy said the stopping and starting comes with so many players in the field over the first two days.
“This course isn’t conducive to letting you get in a flow,” McIlroy explained. “Especially the first two days with so many people in the field, there’s a lot of stopping and starting. Look, it’s hard when you’re playing a round of golf and it takes six hours. It’s hard to get into the rhythm of things.”
Thomas Detry Holes Albatross On The Par-5 10th
From about 230 yards out, Thomas Detry made an albatross on the par-5 10th. He hit from the rough with the wind at his back, and the ball landed about 30 yards short of the green and rolled on and into the cup, the AP reported. Golf Today listed the shot as an 8-iron from 227 yards and the fourth albatross on the DP World Tour this season. Detry played his last six holes in 5 over and shot 74.
Among the players still on the course when play stopped, Meronk had gone through 15 holes with six birdies and three bogeys, according to Golf Today. Steinlechner was through 13 holes, and Paratore was through 12.
Reed, who leads McIlroy in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, shot 68. Tom McKibbin also shot 68 while playing with Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, who had a 73. Reed and McKibbin were two of eight players who finished at 2 under on the Golf Today leaderboard.
The Irish Open, which carries a $6 million purse, runs through Sunday. Golf Channel’s published schedule has second-round coverage on the network from noon to 1 p.m. CT Friday. Third-round coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. CT Saturday on CNBC, and final-round coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. CT Sunday on CNBC.
