Lingmerth out front

David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) is one of a few players in the Quicken Loans National field with any memories to draw on at TPC Potomac. The winner of a 2012 Web.com Tour event on the tight, tricky layout near Washington, Lingmerth once again relied on his accuracy off the tee Thursday to shoot a 5-under 65 and take the first-round lead.

POTOMAC, Md. — David Lingmerth is one of a few players in the Quicken Loans National field with any memories to draw on at TPC Potomac — and they’re the best kind of memories.

The winner of a 2012 Web. com Tour event on the tight, tricky layout near Washington, Lingmerth once again relied on his accuracy off the tee Thursday to shoot a 5-under 65 and take the firstround lead.

The 29-year-old Swede and former Arkansas Razorback who doesn’t have a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour this season hit 12 of 14 fairways, which tied for best in the field. Starting on the back nine in the afternoon, he made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch beginning at the 13th hole, three of them from inside 7 feet.

“I feel like that’s kind of one of my strengths, a thing I pride myself in, hitting a lot of fairways,” Lingmerth said. “I like this type of golf course when you can see the definition, you can zone in on your targets. You’ve really got to stay committed off the tee.”

He won the 2015 Memorial Tournament for his lone PGA Tour title.

Troy Merritt, the winner two years ago at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, was a stroke back along with Marc Leishman, Johnson Wagner, Sung Kang, Nick Taylor and Daniel Summerhays.

TPC Potomac is hosting the event for the first time and has been extensively redesigned since it last welcomed the PGA Tour in 2006.

It presented a stern test amid sunny, breezy conditions Thursday. Slight misses off the tee were punished severely and, as the weather heated up, even wedge shots were bouncing and releasing on the greens.

Leishman, the big-hitting Australian who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational this

year, welcomed the challenge.

“It’s getting pretty baked, which is great. It feels a lot like Melbourne, actually,” Leishman said.

On the 626-yard, par-5 second hole, Leishman’s 355yard drive left him with a decision that few players had to confront.

He watched his playing partners lay up and waited for the green to clear. He

pulled out a 3-wood and then put it back in the bag. He also considered laying up with a 9-iron.

Ultimately, he settled on a 3-iron that he pulled slightly into a massive bunker in front of the green. No worries, though: He blasted out to 12 feet and made the putt for birdie.

Bryce Molder (Conway) shot 76.

Lingmerth