McIlroy, Spieth start sharp
Rory McIlroy had his best friend on the bag and his best start on American soil in 18 months. For Jordan
Spieth, it was more of the same with two long putts and another bravado performance.
Both of them opened with a 3-under 67 at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, leaving them 2 shots behind leader Thomas Pieters of Belgium.
Pieters holed a 30-foot birdie putt on his final hole at Firestone to finish a day of good scoring with a 1-shot lead over Russell Knox.
The opening two rounds were moved up to the morning because of a forecast of thunderstorms. McIlroy split with J.P.
Fitzgerald, his caddie of nine years, after the British Open. He is using Harry
Diamond, who was the best man at McIlroy’s wedding, for the Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship next week.
And it was a solid start for McIlroy. In recent months, he missed three cuts in four tournaments, and then started poorly at the British Open.
Spieth has no such concerns, having won two straight events going into this World Golf Championship with an eye toward next week at the PGA Championship and his shot at becoming the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam after winning the British Open at Royal Birkdale.
The opening round was no place to lose ground in such good scoring conditions. Dustin Johnson did his part with a 68. He hasn’t won since the Match Play two weeks before his staircase injury that knocked him out of the Masters.
Bubba Watson, also showing signs of getting his game in order, was also in the group at 67 that included
Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm.
Wie in lead
Michelle Wie birdied her last three holes for an 8-under 64 for a 1-shot lead in the Women’s British Open in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Wie bogeyed the par-5 second hole at Kingsbarns Links, and that was the last of her mistakes. The 27-year-old American shot 30 on the back nine and wound up 1 shot ahead of I.K. Kim of South Korea.
Lindy Duncan was another shot behind at 66, with Lexi Thompson among those at 67.
Wie, showing no sign of the neck spasms that forced her to withdraw from last month’s U.S Women’s Open, posted nine birdies in near perfect weather on the east coast of Scotland.
Curry debuts
Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry posted a respectable 4-over 74 in the first round of the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic in San Francisco.
Making his pro golf debut, Curry was tied for 141st. Playing on a sponsor exemption and as an amateur, he was 5 shots below the cut line.