Ben Griffin, currently ranked 24th globally, took the lead at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.
Memorial Tournament First-Round Leaderboard
-7 B Griffin (US); -5 C Morikawa (US); -4 M Homa (US); -3 S Lowry (Irl)
Selected Others: -2 S Scheffler (US), K Bradley (US); -1 H English (US), R MacIntyre (Sco); E J Spieth (US), T Fleetwood (Eng)
Following his first PGA Tour victory last week, Griffin shot a remarkable seven-under 65, establishing a two-shot lead over Collin Morikawa.
His strong performance included an eagle on the seventh and birdies on four of the final five holes. Morikawa, a two-time runner-up in this tournament, finished at five under par, followed closely by Max Homa.
Shane Lowry leads the European contingent at three under par. Notably absent is Rory McIlroy, who opted to play in next week’s Canadian Open instead.
This marks McIlroy’s third absence from a major PGA Tour event this year. Both Jack Nicklaus and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan expressed understanding of his decision, highlighting McIlroy’s significant contributions to the tour overall.
Monahan emphasized McIlroy’s consistent support and his exceptional season, which includes wins at The Players Championship, the Masters Tournament, and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, completing a career Grand Slam.