Riley tames wind for a one-shot lead
Davis Riley opened with a 67 at the Memorial to finish atop the leaderboard after the opening round for the second straight year. And that’s where the similarities end.
Riley birdied three of his last four holes Thursday afternoon when the turf was firm and the wind was swirling and the bad breaks led to big numbers, as Rory McIlroy found out.
Riley was in a six-way share of the lead last year. On Thursday, he led by one over Matt Wallace. Jordan Spieth was in the group at 69, ending his hopes for a bogey-free day by hitting into two bunkers on the 18th hole and saving bogey from the second one.
It was hot. It was hard. And at times it was tough to watch.
Chad Ramey hit four shots that went into the water on the ninth hole, which featured a front pin and a stream in front of the green. He made a 13, the highest score recorded on any of the holes at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
He posted an 88, still shy of the record high score of 92 that Roger Maltbie shot in 1979 in a second round that featured 30-mph wind and a wind-chill index of 13 degrees. Dry and hot is the weather tournament founder Jack Nicklaus always wanted but rarely gets, and there were plenty of comparisons to a U.S. Open except for the generous fairways.
Defending champion Billy Horschel has been in a slump, and Muirfield was no place to try to snap out of that. Horschel had four sixes on his card of 84.
“My confidence is the lowest it’s been in my entire career. I think ever in my entire golf career,” Horschel said. “So it’s funny, as low as it feels, it feels like I’m not that far off at the same time. Which is insane to see when you see me shoot 84 today.”
Wallace, who needs a victory this week to avoid U.S. Open qualifying, posted his 68 in the morning before the wind and the temperatures picked up. Shane Lowry had five straight birdies in the morning in relatively calm conditions.
McIlroy was three under for his round playing the 18th when his drive went right and was tumbling toward the sand until it stopped. He eventually finished with a triple bogey on the hole.
Stanford’s Zhang has solid pro debut
Two-time NCAA individual champion Rose Zhang made her professional debut and gave the LPGA what was expected and needed, a solid opening round in the Mizuho Americas Open that put her in position to wow women’s golf on one of its biggest stages.
The 20-year-old Irvine product from Stanford who has dominated the women’s amateur rankings for more than two years shot a twounder-par 70 on the Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, N.J. She was five shots behind first-round leader Lauren Hartlage.
Aditi Ashok, the first woman from India on the tour, was at five under in the event where the focus shifted to Zhang last weekend with her announcement she was turning pro. She has been considered by many as possibly the next great women’s player on tour.
German shares lead in Hamburg
Maximilian Kieffer delighted home fans at the European Open in Hamburg, Germany, with a four-under 69 for a share of the lead after the first round.
Kieffer, bidding to be the first German winner on home soil for 15 years, carded five birdies and an eagle— offset by three bogeys — to share a one-stroke lead with Simon Forsström.