Gary Hurley has work to do if he is to make the cut at the Soudal Open on the DP World Tour.
The West Waterford golfer struggled to make any headway on the opening day, shooting a stuttering round of 2 over for a 73, leaving him 9 shots off the lead of Simon Forsstrom.
It began well for Hurley with a birdie to start his round, but for every shot he picked up, he handed one back. His three bogeys on the front nine caused the damage that he was unable to recover from.
Elsewhere, it was a similar story in terms of the distance to the top, albeit not as impactful for Seamus Power in the US.
Power is 2 under after an opening round 69 at the AT & T Byron Nelson on the PGA Tour.
Noh Seung-Yul is out in front on 11 under after a blistering round of 60 to storm into top spot.
Seamus is back out for round two this afternoon from 20 past one Irish time, while Gary is back on the fairways in Belgium from ten to one.
