Leona Maguire six strokes adrift midway through Day 1 at Dromoland Castle

Leona Maguire is six strokes adrift midway through Day 1 after a patchy opening round at the KPMG Women's Irish Open in Dromoland Castle.

The home favourite is currently inside the top-20 on one-under, with the early pace being set by India's Diksha Dagar, who recorded an opening day 65.

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Beginning on the back nine, Maguire struggled to get going early on, reaching the turn in one-over par, with a single bogey on the par-3 17th.

A belated birdie streak on the way home lifted her to two-under par, before another dropped stroke on the penultimate hole saw her post an opening 71.

In a 10-strong Irish field, Aine Donegan posted a two-over round of 74, while Sara Byrne and Victoria Craig finished on two-over and four-over par respectively. Down's Beth Coulter is one over after a 73 on Thursday.

The 22-year old Dagar was best among the Thursday morning starters, posting a blemish free round of 65.

She is one clear of America's Gurleen Kaur and France's Emma Grechi.