Gary Hurley makes strong start in Japan

Gary Hurley is the best of the Irish after the opening round at the ISPS Handa - Championship in Japan, with the Waterford native four shots off the lead jointly held by England's Andy Sullivan and Yeong-Su Kim of South Korea.

The 30-year-old carded a 67 which leaves on three under in a tie for 31st at Ishioka Golf Club after a round featuring just one bogey, while Tom McKibbin is four shots further back after a one-over 71.

Louth's Brendan Lawlor, who in 2020 made history as the first golfer with disabilities to play a DP World Tour event, carded an 81.

LEADERBOARD

At the top of the leaderboard, Sullivan carded eight birdies and a solitary bogey for a seven-under-par 63 which was matched by Kim.

Sweden's Alexander Bjork, Canada's Aaron Cockerill and South Africa's Deon Germishuys share third place on six under, with Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard two shots further back on an impressive return from a 10-week injury lay-off.

"I'm really pleased," four-time DP World Tour winner Sullivan said.

"As my playing partner Romain Langasque told me, 'Every flag out there is a right flag and you fade the ball so it's perfect for you today'. It was good fun playing with Brendan (Lawlor) and Romain, very relaxed vibe.

"Me and my coach have been working on going back to when I was playing my best, around 2015, 2016, so we've looked at swings from there and almost tried to mimic that.

"It's getting close, I feel confident with the irons. Driver is still taking a bit of work. On the whole the game is feeling good. It feels a lot more under control again, less of the erratic shots.

"It was also good to holiday in Thailand before this event. Went away, tried to get on the time zone, it was a nice relaxing time. Might need to do it more often if I'm