GOLF: Mixed start for Rory McIlroy at Scottish Open

The Rolex Series made its way to the Ayrshire coast with four of the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking gathering to battle it out for a seven million dollar prize fund.

Englishman Sullivan turned in 33 from the tenth to sit at three under alongside Australian Andrew Dodt, Ireland’s Paul Dunne and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.

There was then a large group of players at two under on a congested early leaderboard.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who took the ferry to Scotland endured an horrendous start with two bogies and a double bogey on his first three holes (strarting at the 10th) to put himn on four over.

He birdied the 14th but another bogey on the par five 18th saw him turn four over.

Three birdies on his back nine had him on one over, but he was to bogey the last and sign for a two-over after day one.

Sullivan got on a run from the 12th with a hat-trick of birdies and while he dropped a shot on the 17th, he picked it back up on the next after leaving his eagle putt inches from the cup.

Pavon had been out in the third group from the first and made birdies on the seventh, 11th and 13th to share the lead with five holes to play.

Dunne picked up shots on the first, second and eighth in his first eight holes, while Dodt picked up three in a row from the fifth.

World Number Ten Rickie Fowler turned in 34 from the tenth with birdies on the 13th and 14th to sit alongside Englishmen Richard Bland, Ian Poulter, Callum Shinkwin and Anthony Wall, Australian Wade Ormsby, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and Dane Søren Kjeldsen.