Former U.S. Open winners Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun share the first-round lead of the Memorial Tournament with Ryan Gerard and Englishman Tommy Fleetwood after they each shot 5-under-par 67 on Thursday in Dublin, Ohio.
Canada’s Nick Taylor is alone in fifth at 4-under 68, and Sam Burns and England’s Justin Rose are tied at 3-under 69. Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay, J.T. Poston, Irishman Shane Lowry and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox are another shot back at 2-under 70.
Two weeks out from the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, Clark and Spaun showed where their games stood as they prepare to contend for a second major title. Clark won the U.S. Open in 2023 and Spaun is the reigning champion.
Clark putted from off the green to convert a 45 1/2-foot eagle at the par-5 15th hole Thursday. That got him to 6 under par, but he bogeyed the penultimate hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club to drop back.
Clark qualified for the signature event only after he won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson two weeks ago outside Dallas, Texas, which earned him enough points via the “Aon Swing 5” pathway.
After Clark shot 30 under par at the Byron Nelson, playing Muirfield Village is almost like playing a different sport altogether.
“The golf course is so demanding,” Clark said. “I think I made three saves by chipping out and having a hundred yards in. Yeah, that’s what happens at this golf course. You hit it in the rough and you really can’t advance it, so you got to be patient and take your medicine and hope you get up-and-down from a hundred yards, and I did that a couple times.”
Spaun birdied his final hole to get to 5 under, while Fleetwood posted the only bogey-free card among the leaders.
Spaun also made up for consecutive bogeys at Nos. 11-12 with birdies at Nos. 13 and 14.
“I thought I did well between the ears today,” Spaun said. “The game’s felt really good for a while now, so I would say kind of when I gave some back on 11 and 12, I could have probably let that round go. But just kind of hung in there.”
Fleetwood led the field in scrambling — a whopping 11-for-11, including three sand saves — making his bogey-free card that much more impressive.
“I think it’s always good to have a test like this. I think embrace the challenge for what it is,” Fleetwood said. “And, yeah, it’s like the ultimate test of your game. I think you have to look forward to those and go in with a good mindset and enjoy it as much as you can, for sure.”
Gerard had a much wilder afternoon and finished with only five pars on his card. He went out in even-par 36 with two bogeys, two bounce-back birdies, then an eagle and a double bogey at Nos. 7 and 8. But he caught fire on the back nine with six birdies, including five straight at Nos. 12-16, before a bogey at No. 17 knocked him back to 5 under.
“I don’t think we aimed at a flag stick on the back nine and shot 5 under,” said Gerard, who also shared the first-round lead last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge before tying for 10th. “… So just really trusting our targets, wind direction, knowing that the ball’s going to bounce out and just try and leave ourselves a lot of good looks, especially ones that you can get underneath the hole.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler had a number of mistakes on the back nine, including a tee shot into the water at the par-3 16th that led to a double bogey. The World No. 1 settled for a 1-over 73 and isn’t a lock to make Friday’s 36-hole cut (top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead).
Scheffler agreed with the assessment that he was hitting quality shots but not getting the ideal results.
“There’s a lot you got to think about,” he said, “and I think it gets even more challenging when the greens are this firm and the wind is unpredictable, especially on a day where the wind felt like it was going to be lighter and it was for most of the day, which is — I think it just shows kind of how tough the golf course is.”
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, seeking his first victory at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, opened with a 1-under 71.
–Field Level Media
