Rory McIlroy has carded a nine-over-par 80 in the first round at the Irish Open to leave himself facing an uphill battle to make the cut at Royal County Down.
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The world number one, who missed the cut at the last two Irish Open tournaments, posted five bogeys in his first nine holes and dropped a further four shots in his second nine.
Ireland's Padraig Harrington, the 2007 winner, shares the lead with Maximilian Kieffer of Germany on four-under-par, with Soren Hansen one shot behind.
Meanwhile England's Danny Willett, Argentinian Emiliano Grillo and Dane Soren Kjeldsen are two off the pace after carding rounds of 69, and English trio Luke Donald, Matt Ford and Chris Wood are among seven players on one-under.
