Matsuyama holes out to share Memorial lead at 65
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 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 seven-under 65 and a share of the lead at Dublin, Ohio, 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 three 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.
Niemann, who won the Latin America 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.
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, had a 66. The group at 67 included Lucas Glover, while Jason Day was among those at 68.
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 making progress until he hit his approach out-of-bounds on the
par-five 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-fives.
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson were at 74. Jordan Spieth shot 75, hurt by two double bogeys on the front nine.
Three tied at Women’s Open
Ariya Jutanugarn, Sarah Jane Smith and Jeongeun6 Lee each shot a five-under 67 to share the first-round lead at the U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek.
Jutanugarn spent hours
in front before Smith and Lee caught her in the evening at Birmingham, Ala. The course held up better than some feared after heavy rains in recent days, aided by a day of sunshine.
Thailand’s Jutanugarn and the Australian Smith each had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys. The Korean Lee, meanwhile, had five birdies on a course that has been drenched in recent days and weeks, forcing the cancellation of Tuesday’s practice round and limiting course time.
Danielle Kang, 2014 winner Michelle Wie, Korean JiHyun Kim and Swedish amateur Linn Grant were two back at 69.