The Memorial: Dufner, Lingmerth Co-Lead After Round One

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Jason Dufner and David Lingmerth each posted a 7-under 65 at Muirfield Village Golf Club, and co-lead The Memorial after round one.

 
The co-leaders had similar days. Both eagled a par-5 (Lingmerth No. 15, Dufner No. 7) and each closed with bogey on 18.

Despite the bogey finish, the easy-going Dufner was pleased with his round.

“Played pretty well all day. Hit a lot of fairways, which is the first step on this being good,” said Dufner. “When you do that, you can stay below the holes and have more aggressive putts out here. I was able to do that for the most of the day.”

One back, at 6-under, is Jordan Spieth, who closed with four birdies over the last five holes. He is tied for third with Daniel Summerhays.

Two off the lead, and tied for fifth at 5-under 67, are Justin Thomas and Lucas Glover. It was the first sub-70 round for Thomas in three months (third round 66 at the WGC-Mexico).

Thomas, who was paired with his good friend Spieth, blamed his lack of recent success on a combination of bad breaks and poor putting.

 
“I just kind of went through a month and a half or two where I was not getting the breaks on the course and I really wasn’t playing that poor, I just wasn’t making the putts, getting up and down when I needed to and that was making all the difference in the world,” explained Thomas in a post-round press conference.

Sam Saunders followed up his top-25 at the Dean & Deluca with an impressive 4-under 68. He is tied for seventh with Byeong Hun An.

Two former Ryder Cup teammates, Matt Kuchar and Brooks Koepka, headline a foursome at 3-under 69.

Phil Mickelson posted a workman-like 2-under 70 and is at T13, along with a slew of other big names including Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Kevin Kisner, Hideki Matsuyama, and Charl Schwartzel.

Despite a few missed opportunities, Mickelson was pleased, overall, with his day.

“It was a day that could have gone either way and I was right in the middle. It wasn’t a bad day. I feel like where I left shots out there was on the greens,” said Mickelson. “I didn’t make too many putts, but hit a lot of good shots.”

 
Dustin Johnson and Jason Day, ranked No. 1 and 3 in the world, respectively, both struggled in their opening rounds.

DJ posted a birdie-free round of 78. It was the first time in nearly four years (WGC-Bridgestone, 2013) that Johnson went 18 holes without a single birdie.

Day, meanwhile, was on pace to match DJ’s 78, but closed with birdies on his final two holes to salvage a 75.


Top 10

1 David Lingmerth -7
1 Jason Dufner -7
3 Jordan Spieth -6
3 Daniel Summerhays -6
5 Justin Thomas -5
5 Lucas Glover -5
7 Sam Saunders -4
7 Byeong Hun An -4
9 Matt Kuchar -3
9 Brooks Koepka -3
9 Jamie Lovemark -3
9 Nick Taylor -3


Highlights

Quotable

“Obviously, having won here it brings back good memories. And the other years I’ve played here, I’ve always loved it. I haven’t really contended all the way until Sunday those other years, but I’ve always felt good about this place. I feel confident out here. I roll the ball really well on the greens.”
David Lingmerth, co-leader


Leaderboard

POSPLAYERTO PARTOT
T1David Lingmerth-765
T1Jason Dufner-765
T3Daniel Summerhays-666
T3Jordan Spieth-666
T5Justin Thomas-567
T5Lucas Glover-567
T7Byeong Hun An-468
T7Sam Saunders-468
T9Jamie Lovemark-369
T9Nick Taylor-369
T9Matt Kuchar-369
T9Brooks Koepka-369
T13Ricky Barnes-270
T13Patrick Rodgers-270
T13Kyle Reifers-270
T13Marc Leishman-270
T13Keegan Bradley-270
T13Kevin Kisner-270
T13Phil Mickelson-270
T13Pat Perez-270
T13Brian Stuard-270
T13Jim Herman-270
T13Rickie Fowler-270
T13Hideki Matsuyama-270
T13Charl Schwartzel-270
T26Bubba Watson-171
T26Ben Martin-171
T26William McGirt-171
T26D.A. Points-171
T26Martin Laird-171
T26Patrick Cantlay-171
T26Russell Knox-171
T26Padraig Harrington-171
T26Emiliano Grillo-171
T35Charley HoffmanE72
T35Hudson SwaffordE72
T35Steven BowditchE72
T35Stewart CinkE72
T35Luke DonaldE72
T35Soren KjeldsenE72
T35Brendon de JongeE72
T35Gary WoodlandE72
T35Grayson MurrayE72
T35Brendan SteeleE72
T35Rod PamplingE72
T35Shane LowryE72
T35Brett ColettaE72
T48Ross Fisher173
T48Jason Kokrak173
T48Sean O'Hair173
T48Webb Simpson173
T48Kevin Streelman173
T48Graham DeLaet173
T48Luke List173
T48Ryo Ishikawa173
T48Harold Varner, III173
T48Danny Lee173
T48Fabian Gomez173
T48Vaughn Taylor173
T48Smylie Kaufman173
T48Jon Rahm173
T48Bill Haas173
T63David Hearn274
T63Camilo Villegas274
T63Anirban Lahiri274
T63Alex Cejka274
T63James Hahn274
T63Steve Stricker274
T63Tony Finau274
T63Kyle Stanley274
T63Ollie Schniederjans274
T63Cameron Smith274
T73Zac Blair375
T73Scott Brown375
T73Jonas Blixt375
T73Matthew Griffin375
T73Sung-hoon Kang375
T73Hunter Mahan375
T73Greg Chalmers375
T73Jason Day375
T73Bud Cauley375
T82Cheng Tsung Pan476
T82Zach Johnson476
T82Vijay Singh476
T82Ryan Moore476
T82Patrick Reed476
T82Matt Every476
T82J.B. Holmes476
T82Chris Kirk476
T82Kevin Chappell476
T82Mackenzie Hughes476
T82Ryan Armour476
T82Morgan Hoffmann476
T82Michael Kim476
T82Brian Harman476
T82Aaron Baddeley476
T82Jim Furyk476
T82Adam Scott476
T82Si Woo Kim476
T82Scott Gregory476
T82Peter Uihlein476
T102Scott Piercy577
T102Kevin Tway577
T102Curtis Luck577
T102Carl Pettersson577
T102Tommy Fleetwood577
T102Retief Goosen577
T102Roberto Castro577
T109Kelly Kraft678
T109Billy Horschel678
T109Dustin Johnson678
T109Patton Kizzire678
T109K.J. Choi678
T109Adam Hadwin678
T109Johnson Wagner678
T109Yuta Ikeda678
T117Rafael Cabrera Bello779
T117Billy Hurley III779
119Ryan Ruffels981
-J.J. SpaunWD--
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