Lowry and McIlroy off the pace after opening round in defence of title at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Defending champion Rory McIlroy is well in the mix at the top of the Canadian Open leaderboard going into round 3 at the St. George's Golf and Country Club on Saturday. PIC: Sportsfile

placeholder image — Defending champion Rory McIlroy is well in the mix at the top of the Canadian Open leaderboard going into round 3 at the St. George's Golf and Country Club on Saturday. PIC: Sportsfile

Lowry and McIlroy off the pace after opening round in defence of title at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy are off the pace after opening round in their defence of their title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

After winning the event last year, the Irish duo are six shots off the lead in a tie for 28th place after an opening round of eight under par in the Four-Ball (best ball) format.

They started fast with three birdies in the first four holes but a run of pars halted their progress. Two birdies and an eagle around the turn got them back on track but a dropped shot at their third last hole dropped them back. One further birdie got them back to eight under but that is six shots off leaders Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo who shot a remarkable round of 14 under par.

The format for Friday in New Orleans is Foursomes with Lowry and McIlroy set to take to the course at 6.49pm Irish time