The Memorial Tournament Round 1: Four Share the Lead at 67 as Scheffler Battles the Wind

Jack's place did not hand out anything for free on Thursday. It took a bogey-free scramble, a back-nine birdie binge and a lot of nerve over firm greens to get to 5 under, and four players found a way there.

Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood and Ryan Gerard all opened with 5-under 67 at Muirfield Village to share the first-round lead at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Justin Rose and Sam Burns are two back at 69. Patrick Cantlay and J.T. Poston signed for 70. Only 22 players in the field broke par, and the two-time defending champion was not one of them.

Four Roads to 67

The co-leaders came at it from very different angles. Clark arrived riding the high of his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. Spaun is the reigning U.S. Open champion and looked every bit of it on a course built to punish loose iron play. Fleetwood and Gerard, though, had the most interesting cards of the group.

Fleetwood's 67 was the lowest score of his five Memorial appearances, and it came on a day when he hit only seven greens in regulation. That is not a misprint. He kept the card clean with a string of recoveries that had no business all turning into pars.

"I got the most out of the round, totally. I got away with a couple of poor misses," Fleetwood said, per the AP. He also admitted the iron play was wearing on him late, which is a fair complaint from a guy who just tied for the lead.

Gerard's round was pure chaos in the best possible way. He made a 3 on a par 5 and a 5 on a par 3, ripped off five straight birdies on the back nine and made only five pars all day. Gerard was also the lone member of the sub-70 group who went off after 10 a.m., which matters more than it sounds.

"The small misses often lead to big punishments at this golf course," Gerard said.

The Wind Picked a Side

The weather was the story underneath the scores. It was hot and clear, but a swirling wind kicked up through the middle of the day and made the already firm greens play like countertops. Six of the seven players who broke 70 teed off before 10 a.m. and got in ahead of the worst of it. The wind did not settle down until late in the afternoon.

That split of the draw is worth remembering when Friday's scores start coming in. Gerard already beat the bad side of it once.

Scheffler's Long Afternoon

Scottie Scheffler came to Dublin chasing a third straight Memorial title, something only Tiger Woods has done at this event. Thursday was a reminder of how hard that is.

Scheffler shot 1-over 73 and sits six shots back. He fought his club selection in the wind most of the day, coming up short on the ninth and again on the par-5 11th after switching clubs repeatedly. A loose wedge cost him a bogey at 14. Then came the par-3 16th, where a 7-iron he felt he flushed drifted into the water for a double bogey.

"I never thought that was in the water," Scheffler said. At one point he turned to caddie Ted Scott and said, "I don't think you understand how frustrating that is." Scott's reply was two words: "I do."

There was a late spark. From a fairway bunker on 17, Scheffler hit a 7-iron to about 15 feet and then chipped in for birdie. Asked whether he had any fun out there, the world No. 1 deadpanned, "Not that I can recall at the moment."

Aaron Rai, playing alongside Scheffler in his first start since winning the PGA Championship, also shot 73.

McIlroy Steadies the Ship

Rory McIlroy made an early double bogey that threatened to sink his day, then played the rest of the round in 3 under to post 71. That leaves him four back and very much alive in his 14th try at an event he has never won.

Cantlay had an uneven ride of his own. He was 3 over at one point before clawing back to 70. Nick Taylor made a double bogey on the par-5 seventh and a bogey right after it, then played the back nine without a blemish and was one of only seven players to birdie the 18th.

Poston's 70 was quiet, but it put him two off the pace on a day when quiet was a decent result.

Friday's Assignment

For Ohio golf fans just up the road from us in Dayton, this is the Memorial at its best: firm, fast and unwilling to let anybody coast. Four players are tied at the top, Rose and Burns are lurking two back, and the top-ranked player in the world needs a big Friday just to get back into the conversation.

Muirfield Village rewarded patience on Thursday. With the wind still a wild card, Friday will test whether any of these four can do it twice.

Full scoring and details are in the PGA TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab).

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap), AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.