• Korean Open, Round One

Aggressive McIlroy lurks behind Fowler and Yang

Rory McIlroy paid the price for some over-ambitious shot selection © Getty Images

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US Open champion Rory McIlroy sat a shot off the lead after firing an opening round of 68 at the Korean Open on Thursday.

McIlroy, at world No. 3 the highest ranked player in the field at the lucrative event, paid the price for a couple of over-ambitious shots during his first round at the Woo Jeong Hills Country Club - making a double-bogey at the 11th after finding water and dropping another shot at the 18th after attempting to go for the green at the par-five in two.

Nevertheless, he sat only a shot behind early leaders YE Yang and Rickie Fowler - and promised to continue attacking the course in Cheonan over the remaining three days.

"I started nicely. I was three under through nine holes," McIlroy said. "The shot on 11 was just a bad shot, while on 18 the wind just grabbed it. I was aggressive, but I want to play aggressively."

Yang, the defending champion, breezed round in 67 - with six birdies offset slightly by dropped shots at the sixth and 14th.

"I started with a birdie which helped a lot," Yang said. "I think 12 or 13 under par will win it and I'm sure I can be there or thereabouts."

Young American Fowler will also hope to be in the hunt come Sunday, after matching Yang's round of 67 - although a bogey at the last, like McIlroy, left a slightly sour taste for the man who is still searching for his first victory as a professional.

"I hit poor drives on those holes and on this course you have to drive the ball well to score," Fowler said of his dropped shots, after also squandering a birdie chance at the par-five eighth. "The score would have been really low if I had played them better."

Hong Soon-sang and amateur Lee Soo-min are also in the hunt after matching McIlroy's round.

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