Rory on trail of record first prize in Shanghai

RORY McILROY made a superb start to his bid to land a record €1.4 million jackpot at the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters as he fired an eight-under-par 64 yesterday.

The US Open champion was playing in a group alongside Lee Westwood, with whom McIlroy shared a manager — Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler — until recently moving to join Ryder Cup partner Graeme McDowell at Dublin-based Horizon.

McIlroy’s impressive bogey-free round gave him a one-shot lead, with American Hunter Mahan his closest challenger.