Joaquin Niemann leads wind-blown Irish Open at Doonbeg

DOONBEG, Ireland (AP) — Joaquin Niemann ran off four straight birdies down the closing stretch at the Irish Open on Thursday that carried him to a 5-under 65 and a two-shot lead among those who managed to finish in wind strong enough to slow play and keep the round from finishing.

Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm faced the worst of the wind at Trump International, the cliffside course along the Atlantic Coast.

Lowry played bogey-free on the back nine, saving par with a 10-foot putt on the 17th hole, and came in at 67. He was tied with Shaun Norris of South Africa, while three others — including Adrian Meronk — were on 3 under and unable to finish before darkness.

Patrick Reed, who leads the Race to Dubai over McIlroy, was among those players at 68.

“I felt like I did a solid job of making pars and trying to get to the clubhouse as quick as I could,” Lowry said. “I honestly didn’t think we were going to get finished. That’s probably the longest round of golf I ever played, in a three-ball, anyway. I'm happy with my score.”

McIlroy, the defending champion, kept bogeys off his card until a blunder on the tough par-4 13th. His tee shot rolled into a bunker and the shot hit the lip and came back into the sand. McIlroy tried the same shot, and this one hit below the lip and skipped out of the sand and onto the fairway. It led to a double bogey.

That was his only hole over par. He picked up one more birdie and settled for a 69.

I was just trying to get those two shots back by the end of the day," McIlroy said. “Didn’t quite do that, but I think finishing under par for the day was a reasonable effort."

He played alongside Brooks Koepka, the five-time major champion making his first start in a month. Koepka hit into the high grass on the opening hole, had to play another shot from the fairway and started with a triple bogey. He shot 75.

McIlroy found more than the wind to be difficult. Because the conditions were so severe and the field had 138 players, the rounds took in the neighborhood of six hours. On some occasions, two groups of threesomes were waiting on the same tee.

“This course isn’t conducive to letting you get in a flow,” McIlroy said. “Especially the first two days with so many people in the field, there’s a lot of stopping and starting. Look, it’s hard when you’re playing a round of golf and it takes six hours. It’s hard to get into the rhythm of things.”

Niemann, who set a record with nine victories in the LIV Golf League, was superb in keeping his iron shots below the wind and his finishing kick was sublime, with no putt longer than 7 feet during his late run of birdies.

“You got to hit those tee shots and keep it under the wind, left-to-right wind, right-to-left wind,” Niemann said. “Like every shot into the wind, just times 100 probably. So if it’s a bad shot, it’s a really bad shot. But if it’s a good shot, it was so nice to see it.”

Meronk was through 15 holes. Maximilian Steinlechner was 3 under through 13 holes, while Renato Paratore was 3 under through 12 holes. They had the best chance of catching Niemann when the first round resumes Friday morning.

Tom McKibbin, who played with Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, was in the group of players who joined Reed at 68. Jon Rahm opened with a 70.

Thomas Detry had the highlight of the day, hitting out of the rough from about 230 yards with the wind at his back on the par-5 10th. The ball bounced some 30 yards short, rolled onto the green and into the cup for an albatross. But he played his final six holes in 5 over and shot 74.

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Brooks Koepka, of the United States, plays from the first fairway during the first round of the Irish Open golf tournament, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Doonbeg, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Golfers, from left, Shane Lowry, of Ireland, Brooks Koepka, of the United States, and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, laugh during the first round of the Irish Open golf tournament, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Doonbeg, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, plays from rough on the fourth hole during the first round of the Irish Open golf tournament, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Doonbeg, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the ninth tee during the first round of the Irish Open golf tournament, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Doonbeg, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

Joaquin Niemann, of Chile, plays from the rough on the first hole during the first round of the Irish Open golf tournament, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in Doonbeg, Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)

BOSTON (AP) — Lindsay Clancy shouldn’t be tried a second time for killing her three young children because prosecutors don’t have enough evidence, her lawyer told a judge Thursday, saying the court should decide she’s not guilty by reason of insanity.

Eleven of 12 jurors were ready to clear Clancy of criminal responsibility last Friday, but their deadlock forced the judge to declare a mistrial, leaving the case unresolved.

Attorney Kevin Reddington's motion asked the same judge to acquit Clancy, which would prevent a second trial. Prosecutors have yet to say whether they'll seek to put the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse on trial again, and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz did not respond to a phone message Thursday seeking comment.

Neither side disputed that Clancy strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan Clancy in the family's home in 2023 before trying to end her own life. But her attorney said she was a loving mother in the grip of a rare condition called postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors argued she knew what she was doing.

The trial generated intense interest for weeks, drawing attention to maternal mental health after childbirth.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors had to prove either that Clancy did not have a mental disease or defect or that, despite having one, she retained the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions or conform her conduct to the law.

Reddington argued in Thursday’s court filing that prosecutors proved neither, and asked Judge William Sullivan to consider the motion at a court conference scheduled for Sept. 29.

The defense attorney said none of the psychiatric experts, either called by the prosecution or defense, disputed that Clancy was suffering from a mental illness. “The testimony bears on which illness she had, not on whether she had one,” he wrote.

Prosecutors pointed to Clancy’s actions in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the killings — driving, planning a child’s birthday party, bringing her daughter to a doctor’s appointment — and her ability to perform other everyday tasks as evidence she was of sound mind when the killings took place.

“Competence at routine tasks,” Reddington argued Thursday, “during a crisis which every witness agreed was acute, is not proof of criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The judge acknowledged during jury deliberations that the trial had been emotionally and physically exhausting for everyone. Much of the testimony was excruciating to hear, from the heartbreaking 911 call made by the children’s father who found their bodies, to the descriptions of how they died.

Clancy was brought to tears several times. At one point, the judge called a short break as Clancy’s loud sobs filled the courtroom while the children’s autopsy photos were shown. She remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from the home's second story, and is expected to stay at a psychiatric hospital until her case is resolved.

District Attorney for Plymouth County Timothy Cruz, front, leaves court after the judge declared a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial at Plymouth County Superior Court, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Judge William Sullivan indicates he was going to declare a mistrial before changing course and giving Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney one hour to appeal as the jury in the case has indicated they they are unable to reach a verdict on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington and defendant Lindsay Clancy listen to Judge William Sullivan speak with the jury after declaring a mistrial at court in Plymouth, Mass., on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

Defendant Lindsay Clancy looks at the jury after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial in Clancy's murder trial on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, in Plymouth, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)