Shane Lowry left furious at PGA Championship as Irish players singled out for drug tests

Shane Lowry was left frustrated on the opening day of the despite being spared a drug test, unlike several of his fellow Irishmen. The one-time champion had a round to forget at Quail Hollow as he struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. He ended up carding a score of 73, leaving him two-over-par and seven shots adrift of the lead.

It was a difficult start for Lowry, who found three bogeys prior to the arrival of his first birdie. He showed glimpses of his brilliance, landing a monster putt from around 70 feet on the fourth green. The man from Clara found his feet during the second half of his round but was unable to break par on a frustrating day at the course.

A number of Irish players were singled out by drug testers as they walked towards the scoring office to submit their cards, according to the . It is said that Seamus Power and Padraig Harrington were among those to be called in by the officials.

The response from the Irishmen ordered to fill a tester's cup appeared to be along the lines of: "Haven't we been tested enough already by this place?" Lowry, meanwhile, was spared the inconvenience but was still frustrated with how the day went.

Reflecting on his opening round, the 38-year-old said: "I mean, I always struggle around here and today was another one of those days. I'm disappointed but I'm more disappointed with my finish than my start.

"[I had] two great chances on seven and eight and then bogeyed the ninth, it's really annoying. It is what it is. I'll just have to go shoot a low one tomorrow. I don't see the ball going close out there and I don't see birdies. It's tough when it's like that.

"They got me going and then I hit it in close on the next and just missed that. I played great on the front nine, my back nine, so it's really annoying to bogey the ninth. It was the only miss-hit with my driver and it was the worst hole to do it on."

Asked if he thought he would be able to go lower in round two, Lowry replied: "The way I'm feeling right now, probably not, but I will do my best."

Lowry's close friend also struggled in his opening round, ending up with a three-over-par 74. He showed signs of a Masters hangover, hitting just three fairways in regulation and being lucky to avoid the water with some wayward tee shots.