Thomas Bjørn exceeds his expectations with stunning opening round in Ireland

Thomas Bjørn admitted his goal had been to "break 90" on his return from a 10-week injury lay-off, but he instead fired a stunning 66 to sit in a strong position after the first round of the 2023 Horizon Irish Open.

The 52-year-old Dane, who won this event in 2006, is no stranger to the host venue, having played the European Open at The K Club on several occasions across the late 1990s and 2000s.

And he made his experience count as he carded seven birdies and a single bogey despite collarbone and lower back problems keeping him out of action since June.

Bjørn revealed he came into this week with low expectations, and said his impressive first-round score "shows how silly this game can be".

He said: "I said this morning when we walked to the first tee 'let's try to see if we can break 90'. And after nine holes I said 'I've got to shoot 56 on the back nine to break 90, so we'll be all right'. It was that kind of day.

"I came here, I've got no feelings for the game, and it just shows how silly this game can be. You can work hard for weeks and go out and shoot bad scores.

"Expectations sometimes get in the way of professional golf, and then you just go out and enjoy yourself, you're just happy to be on the golf course after so long.

"It's just one of those things. No expectations tomorrow and then try and see if we can just go out and put a decent number together and start building from here.

"It's nice to come into a golf course you know well. You kind of know the lines and you know where to go and how to deal with them. 

"That's always a good thing. Experiences on golf courses here, that's not something that you can buy. 

"That's something that you have to earn. I've played for a long time now, so most of the courses we go to I've seen a few more times than others, so I know how they present themselves to the players, and today I just took advantage of a good driver."