Graeme McDowell two off lead after strong opening round

Graeme McDowell made an excellent start to his bid for a second victory in the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic.

McDowell, who won the title in 2019 and was fourth last year, carded four birdies in a bogey-free 68 to trail leader Ben Martin by two shots.

"Yeah, obviously pretty happy with it," the former US Open champion said.

"Windy conditions for the second nine there. Actually thought we were going to catch a break, it felt like it was laying down there as we played kind of 15, 16 on the back nine, which was my first nine.

"I think this front nine is just a little bit more exposed and it blew really hard coming in there. All in all, really happy with that start.

"(It's) my fifth time here, I'm starting to feel reasonably comfortable down here in the strong winds and yeah, enjoyed it.

"Playing well in the wind's always been one of my strengths. Growing up in Ireland, even though I live in Florida full-time now and I like the sunshine, I still have retained the ability to play pretty well in the wind."

Former Masters champion Danny Willett is five shots off the pace after carding two birdies and one bogey in an opening 71.