TIGER WOODS FINISHES STRONG, CARDS A 72
Hideki Matsuyama and Tiger Woods hit their stride at the end of their rounds at the Memorial, and it paid off in different ways.
Matsuyama was in the middle of the pack at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, when he ran off four straight birdies and then holed out with a wedge from 130 yards on the 17th hole for an eagle that sent him to a 7-under 65 and a share of the lead with 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Abraham Ancer of Mexico.
“As the round went along, I played better and better,” said Matsuyama, who got his first PGA Tour win at the Memorial four years ago.
So did Woods, which helped him avoid another big number on a course where he has won five times. Woods three-putted from 25 feet to fall to 3 over with five holes to play. He answered with three straight birdies — two of them on par 5s on the front nine — and got up-and-down from 62 yards on the ninth hole for a 72.
“It was nice to somehow grind out the round, turn it around and finish even par,” said Woods, playing the Memorial for the first time since 2013.
Niemann, who won the La t in A merica Amateur Championship in January, appears to be on the fast track to the PGA Tour. He turned pro after the Masters and already has a pair of top 10s in his four events. Another one this week might be enough to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, meaning he would have unlimited exemptions to try to earn his card.
Ancer had only one bogey on his card early in his round, and he followed with eight birdies. It was the first time he has had a share of the lead after any round in his 40th start on the PGA Tour.
Beau Hossler, who keeps showing up on leaderboards in his rookie season, had a 66. The group at 67 included Lucas Glover, while Jason Day was among those at 68.
So many of the other top players struggled.
Justin Thomas, in his debut as the No. 1 player in the world, was trading birdies and bogeys and was mak- ing progress until he hit his approach out of bounds on the par-5 seventh hole and made double bogey, sending him to a 72. Also at 72 was Dustin Johnson, who made nothing but pars on the back nine and failed to birdie any of the par 5s.
Rory McIlroy played the par 5s in 1 over and shot 74. Phil Mickelson was 4 under through eight holes until a double bogey on No. 9, and then four bogeys over his last six holes for a 74. Jordan Spieth shot 75, hurt by two double bogeys on the front nine. He went from a fairway bunker into the water on No. 6, and then went some 25 yards beyond the green on the par-3 eighth for another double bogey. Matsuyama’s big run began after a sluggish start to the back nine on a muggy, humid day that left Muirfield Village soft, particularly with a burst of heavy rain late Wednesday. The Japanese star chopped his way out of the nasty rough on the 10th and 11th holes, both times making bogey. And then he couldn’t miss. It started with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 13. He followed with a wedge to tap-in range on the 14th and another wedge to 2 feet on the par-5 15th. After a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, he was in the middle of the fair- way when his wedge landed beyond the hole and spun back into the cup.
Matsuyama hasn’t had a top 10 since the Sentry Tour- nament of Champions to start the year (tie for fourth), and he has been struggling with a left thumb injury.
“It has been frustrating,” he said. “In the past, even if I wasn’t playing well, I could still get it around, get it in the hole. So the last couple of months have been trying. I’m just really glad that I was able to play well today and post a good score at the start.”
U.S. Women’s Open: Michelle Wie was pleasantly surprised by the condition of Shoal Creek and her game after the morning rounds at the U.S. Women’s Open.
The 2014 champion shot a 3-under 69 Thursday on a course in Birmingham, Ala., that’s been drenched in recent days and weeks, forcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s practice round and limiting preparation time.
Wie got off to a strong start with birdies on the second and third holes and had only one bogey.
Wie said she was having fun with her playing partners, No. 3-ranked Lexi Thompson (71) and Jessica Korda (77).
“We had a blast out there,” Wie said.
The 28-year-old Wie is near the top of the leaderboard on the biggest stage after one round. It’s a far cry from some more recent experiences at the Open.
“You look forward to it the entire year,” Wie said. “It’s our national championship. There’s a lot of pressure. Worrying doesn’t really get you anywhere. I’m kind of going out there and just trying to have fun.”
European Tour: English duo Robert Rock and Laurie Canter and South Africa’s Richard Sterne all shot rounds of 8-under 63 to share the lead after the first round of the Italian Open. The trio was two shots ahead of a group of eight players, which includes 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and Ryder Cup duo Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters.