Morocco’s king has withdrawn his pardon of a Spanish paedophile after a spate of protests – the first time in recent memory that a sovereign has done so.

There was not even the proverbial man and his dog on hand to witness Damien McGrane move to a two-stroke lead with a 65 on the opening day of the Hassan II Trophy in Agadir.

Shane Lowry has never played Augusta National but believes it would be easier to play a round of golf on next month’s Masters venue than to tee up on this week’s host Hassan II Trophy course at Agadir.