McIlroy leads after strong start in Shanghai

Rory McIlroy made a superb start to his bid for a record £1.25m (€1.41m) jackpot at the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters as he fired an eight-under-par 64 today.

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.

Paul Casey, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington shared third place, three off the lead, after rounds of 67, with American Anthony Kim and China’s Li Chao carding 68s.

Westwood finished on 69, which positioned him level with John Daly, Robert Karlsson, YE Yang and Retief Goosen, while Colin Montgomerie was one further adrift, along with South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen.

The tournament is a a 30-man invitational event, not aligned with the main tours, offering the highest first prize in professional golf.