Ben Griffin continued his fine run of form as he claimed the early lead at the Memorial Tournament.
The 29-year-old American, who won his first individual PGA Tour title at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, carded a seven-under 65 in the first round at Muirfield Village Golf Club to lead by two in the $20m signature event.
Griffin opened up with a birdie at the first hole and added another at the par-three fourth, holing out from 36 feet.
The highlight of his round then came at the par-five seventh which he eagled after hitting his second shot to 11 feet and he followed that by nailing a 27-footer for birdie at the par-three eighth.
He found water at both the 11th and 12th but escaped with bogeys and bounced back with a storming finish that saw him birdie four of the last five holes, including the last three – holing out from just over 50 feet up the ridge at the 18th.
Ben Griffin is bidding for back-to-back PGA Tour victories
“It was an incredible day,” Griffin said. “Kind of building on what I was doing last week, making a ton of birdies, staying aggressive. This is one of the toughest golf courses we play on tour and you’ve got to be on your game to make birdies and give yourself a lot of looks.”
Collin Morikawa, twice a runner-up in this tournament, heads the chasing pack on five under, with Max Homa (68) a shot further back after birdieing the final two holes.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, who was grouped with Griffin, is tied for fourth on three under after a round of 69 which also included an eagle at the seventh where he was only four feet away with his second shot.
Shane Lowry is four behind Griffin after the opening round
However, he produced a mixed bag on the back nine with two birdies and two bogeys as he failed to make any further inroads on the top of the leaderboard as he finished alongside US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Canada’s Nick Taylor.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a two-under 70 which was matched by Andrew Novak who won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Griffin in April.
Scottie Scheffler is bidding for his third PGA Tour victory of the year
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre carded a 71, one better than Tommy Fleetwood who slipped down the field when he followed a double-bogey at the 15th with a bogey at the 16th.
His fellow Englishmen all struggled with Matt Fitzpatrick posting a 76, Justin Rose a 78 and Aaron Rai a 79, although they all performed better than Justin Thomas whose 80 included a triple-bogey seven at the ninth.
The event features a cut on Friday from 72 players to the top 50 and ties, plus anyone within 10 shots of the lead.
Watch the second round of the Memorial Tournament live on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm on Friday.
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