Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire both got their Olympics off to a steady start in the first round of the women’s event at the Kasumigaseki Country Club.

Two birdies in her final three holes brought Jordanstown’s Meadow back to one over par at the finish, one further back than her Ireland team-mate Maguire and six off the leader; Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom.

Meadow, who had missed seven of her last nine cuts but finished in a tie for 29th in the Evian Championship last time out, carded a bogey a nine pars over her opening nine before back-to-back drop shots at the 10th and 11th threatened to derail her Olympic bid, only for it to be saved by a fine finish.

“I was three-over coming in for the last few holes and knew if I could get a couple coming in I would keep myself somewhere around the mark,” Meadow said. “Thankfully I made two putts but I did not have my best stuff today.

“It is very hot, there is a lot going on, just trying to keep going and hopefully try to shoot better tomorrow.”

The pair were battling scorching temperatures, with a real feel of 38 degrees celsius.

Both golfers got advice from McIlroy and Lowry at the weekend but because conditions are so different, it’s a case of back to the drawing board.

“The course is starting to firm up for us and they had a lot of rain early in the week,” Meadow said. “I could hardly put my tee in the ground to repair a pitch mark right now. So some of the advice has gone out the window but as always it’s always great to talk to Rory or Shane, who are the best at what they do and I can always learn from them.”

Maguire came into the competition in great shape on the back of a record equalling final round 61 at the Evian Championship less than a fortnight ago.

Despite not producing their best golf this time round, Maguire chiseled out a level par 71 to share 23rd place.

“It was mixed,” said Maguire, who made a slick 20-footer for a birdie two at the 17th to get back to level par as Sagstrom fired five birdies in a bogey-free 66 to lead by a shot from world No 1 Nelly Korda of the US and India’s Aditi Ashok on five-under par.

“I probably didn’t give myself as many chances as I would have liked and didn’t quite have my irons dialled in, not that there was that many of them, it was mostly hybrids and woods into the greens but it was just slightly off I would say today.

“I holed a few nice putts to save pars and that. Just a little bit of fine tuning I think this afternoon and I’ll be ready to go again tomorrow.

“I got a few bad breaks and tried to stay as patient as I could and stay strong. I could have let it get away from me today and I didn’t, so I’m happy with how I managed that.

“I don't see anybody getting away from us today. There's a few tricky pins there and it's set up longer than the men's like for us women, we have a lot longer clubs.

“So it's just a case of trying to take your chances on the shorter holes and there's some really tough par-4s out there that the par is a really good score.

"I felt like I was a little unlucky in spots. There was a couple of shots that were maybe a foot or two off and got punished for them. So hoping for a few better breaks tomorrow.

“I didn't get the height of my irons today, but I made some good pars when I needed to to keep the momentum going and keep myself in it, which was the most important thing on the first day.

“I stayed patient and it was nice to pick up a birdie at 17 and finish with a good par on 18.”

The sweltering temperatures are a challenge for the entire field but she’s taken steps to prepare as well as possible.

“We’ve been doing hot baths and stuff for a few months now,” she explained. “This was kind of a continuation of a few events in the heat but this is the hottest we’ve had this year.

"I use slushy drinks and ice, it’s a whole combination of things before, during and after your round. After is going to be the key to recovery with the quick turnarounds.”

Aware you can’t win it on Thursday, she went on: “I don't think you'll ever turn your nose up at level par. These are the best golfers in the world. I think there's only like two out of the top-30 that isn't here. This is good, the strongest field we'll get all year.

“So I mean you're going to have to play incredibly good golf to win this week to even get a medal. It's still only my first full year on the LPGA, there's a lot of girls that have a lot more experience under their belt than me.

“So I'm trying to do as well as I possibly can this week and if it's good enough for a medal it's good enough. And if it's not, I still have a big year ahead of me.”

Meadow tees off in her second round at 00:52 (BST) tonight with Maguire off at 01.47am.