Birdies were a must in Round 1 at Liberty National
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The views at Liberty National Golf Club have always been great. But the course, typically, has not been easy.
The first time the PGA Tour visited here, in 2009, no player finished better than 9-under par. And in 2013, only five were able to complete the week double-digits under par.
But with the course softened by heavy rains, and the wind almost completely still on Thursday morning, the first round of The Northern Trust was a completely different story.
The best players in the world weren’t thinking about the trouble that lurks everywhere around this picturesque place. They were trying to hit it right at the flag, because they knew this was an opportunity to make birdies.
“It’s so soft out there, you need to shoot low scores this week to have a chance,” said Rory Mcilroy, who finished with a 6-under 65. “Obviously ... there are some pretty good players that have shot good scores, so just going to try to have to keep the foot down.”
Take dead aim was the motto on this day, as 11 players in the morning wave of golfers shot 5-under par or better in the first event of the Fedex Cup playoffs.
There were a couple of notable exceptions: World No. 1 Brooks Koepka just couldn’t find any momentum, shooting 1-under 70. And Tiger Woods never looked sharp on the way to a 4-over 75.
“We all knew it was soft out here with the rain last night,” Woods said. “I knew I had to go get it, post a low one, and didn’t do it. It’s certainly out there. Certainly gettable. Greens are soft. Fairways are soft. You can play aggressively and not have any real ramifications for playing aggressive.”
Plenty of guys proved that.
Troy Merritt took the early lead, tying the course record with a 9-under 62. Merritt came in ranked No. 72 in the standings, and needed to move into the top 70 to advance to the BMW Championship next week.
But most of the golfers who played well Thursday were already well established in that race.
No. 2 Dustin Johnson shot an 8-under 63, Mcilroy shot a 6-under 66, as did No. 9 Webb Simpson and No. 16 Tony Finau. And No. 10 Jon Rahm shot a 7-under 64.
So why did so many of the top players in the game excel on Saturday? Rahm believes it’s because the course favors guys who hit the long ball.
“The rough is not very, very thick,” he said. “We were pretty aggressive off the tee, and you start taking certain lines and hitting drivers everywhere, with a little bit of like a loose attitude knowing that if you miss a couple shots and still have a chance with the rough, it helps out.”