RORY MCILROY hit a hole-in-one, while Shane Lowry is in strong contention at the opening round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.

The Holywood native’s magic moment from 214 yards came on the eighth hole, as he produced a first career hole-in-one.

It comes after a frustrating few days for McIlroy, who fell just short in his bid to win as he lost the US Open by one shot, with Wyndham Clark prevailing.

ACE FOR RORY!@McIlroyRory holes it from 214 yards @TravelersChamp 🔥 pic.twitter.com/bKUfts2RvU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2023

McIlroy is in a tie for 46th on two-under, dropping back after bogeys on the 16th and 18th for a round of 68 on the par-70 course. His round exploded to life with the hole-in-one on the 8th, which was followed by birdies on 9 and 10, before that poor finish.

Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is better positioned as he sits tied for fifth on six-under-par. The Offaly native is four shots behind leader Denny McCarthy.

Lowry carded an unblemished round with six birdies and twelve pars. He had a blistering run on the front nine, reaching the turn at five-under after birdies on the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th and 9th. He picked up another shot on the back nine on the 13th.

McCarthy is ten-under after his round of 60 and almost carded a remarkable 59 as he came close to an eagle on the last. He is two shots clear of Keegan Bradley and Adam Scott, while Scottie Scheffler is solo fourth on seven-under.

Finally, Seamus Power is tied for 68th on one-under-par.

You can follow the live leaderboard here.