McIlroy struggles in The Barclays opening round

PARAMUS, New Jersey: Rory McIlroy's bid for a career first FedEx Cup got off to a disappointing start on Thursday as he shot a three-over par 74 in the first round at The Barclays, the opening tournament of the four-event playoffs.
The Northern Irishman, ranked first in the world and first in the FedExCup standings after winning the British Open, WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championship in succession, trails the leading trio in the clubhouse by eight strokes.
Americans Cameron Tringale, Hunter Mahan and Charles Howell III, all shot five-under rounds of 66 at Ridgewood Country Club to share the clubhouse lead.
McIlroy, starting on the back nine, made a double-bogey and two bogeys before the turn and a birdie on the par-4 fifth hole was cancelled out by another bogey on his penultimate hole - the eighth.
But McIlroy slightly limited the damage by finishing his round with a birdie on the ninth hole to end at three-over.
Japan's Ryo Ishikawa and Scotland's Russell Knox were both a stroke behind the leaders after carding 67s.


Donaldson leads after 1st round of Czech Masters
In Vysoky Ujezd, Czech Republic, Jamie Donaldson shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take first-round lead at the Czech Masters and boost his chances of securing a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.
Seeking his third European Tour victory, the Welshman produced two straight birdies on his last two holes to top the leaderboard. He made a total of eight birdies and two bogeys at the Albatross Golf course near Prague.
Sweden's Mikael Lundberg was one stroke back in second place, with a group of 10 players carding 68.
Donaldson currently has a qualifying spot for his debut Ryder Cup but still needs a good result to guarantee a place in Paul McGinley's team for next month's match against the United States at Gleneagles.
Play was delayed by an hour due to lightning.

Scott returns to make amends at Australian Open
Meantime, Adam Scott has confirmed he will return to Sydney for the Australian Open in November with the intent of making amends for his final-hole disappointment last year.
Scott's return is a major coup for organisers after world number one Rory McIlroy committed to returning to defend his title at The Australian Golf Club from November 27-30.
McIlroy snatched the Stonehaven Cup from Scott at the final hole last year, depriving Scott of a rare "triple crown" of Australian titles after he won the Australian Masters and Australian PGA Championship in an end-of-year swing through his home country.
"I finished such an amazing month on such a disappointing note, and the result just gutted me for weeks in not winning the Australian Open," Scott said in a media release on Thursday.
"I will be going back there with a chip on my shoulder. I don't often get upset but I was really mad at myself because I was absolutely gutted in not being able to win last year.
"So I will be playing at The Australian Club with real intent to make amends for what happened at Royal Sydney."
Scott looked to be on course for a wire-to-wire victory last year but McIlroy ate up a four-stroke deficit in the final round and claimed his only title of 2013 when the Australian bogeyed the 72nd hole.