Memorial tournament: Rory McIlroy and Muirfield’s content starts after early setback as Tommy Fleetwood impresses in first round | Golf News
Rory McIlroy was delighted with the way he overcame an early comeback to stay in contention after the first round of the Memorial Championship at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.
Masters champion McIlroy is playing only his sixth regular PGA Tour event in the tournament hosted by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus.
He went into the water on the third for a double-bogey after pushing his fairway to the right, but responded with a run of three birdies from the fifth to reach the turn at one under.
A 37-year-old boy was shot in a difficult area on the left, but he managed to save, before he found another bird.
The 18th saw the World No 2 hit another wayward tee shot into the difficult left fairway, narrowly missing the water, before looking up and down. However, he just missed the seven-foot putt to save his par and posted a one-under 71.
“I felt like I played really well, for the most part,” McIlroy said. “Especially after making that double on the third hole, playing the whole round three under was great.
Rory McIlroy tees off on his way to a one-under 71 at Muirfield Village.
“I’ve made a lot of double-bogeys in my career, and I’ve made a lot of double-bogeys in tournaments that I’ve won. So you play enough events, you learn to ride the highs and the lows and not get too excited or too low either way.
“It’s a tough course. You have to focus on every shot. The greens are already very strong, very fast. Get yourself over the hole, it’s very complicated.
“I’d like to hit a few more fairways, give myself a few more opportunities in the short grass, but overall, not a bad score to build on.”
Fleetwood shared the first round lead
England man Tommy Fleetwood made a strong start with a flawless five-under 67, including birdies on the first, third, fifth, ninth and 15th holes, to share the lead after the first round despite admitting he had not played to his best.
“I got a lot out of this round, absolutely,” he said. “I got away with a few misses. I hit the pin a few times when it went by. But generally I played well, I played well.
Tommy Fleetwood managed to keep a bogey on his card in the first round
“I wasn’t 100 percent by any means in my control of the ball from the fairway with my irons. But I still shot five under, so it wasn’t that bad. I was just a little frustrated at the end not being able to hit the iron that I wanted to.”
A 67 put Fleetwood at the top of the leaderboard, along with the trio of Americans JJ Spaun, Wyndham Clark and Ryan Gerard, the latter two both finishing at 6 under before bogeying the 17th.
Gerard’s round included an eagle at the seventh, followed by a double-bogey at the eighth and a total of eight birdies, five of which came in a hot-streak from the 12th.
Scheffler suffers on the 16th
Scottie Scheffler bounced back at one over after a disappointing back nine that saw him follow bogeys at the 10th and 14th with a rare double-bogey at the par-three 16th after getting wet off the tee.
He recovered with a birdie on the 17th to add to his fifth and seventh wins but has work to do if he is to win the tournament for the third year running.
Fleetwood’s teammate Justin Rose combined for five birdies and two bogeys for a three-under 69, while Ireland’s Shane Lowry opened with a two-under 70 after bogeying the first two holes – four birdies on the back nine shot him to the top of the leaderboard.
Aaron Rai played alongside Scheffler as he returned to action following his PGA Championship success and matched the world number one 73 with a mixed bag of four bogeys and three birdies.
Watch the Memorial Championship all week live on Sky Sports, with the second round starting on Friday from 12.45pm on Sky Sports+. Get Sky Sports or stream golf without a contract
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