It was a "magic show" by world No. 8 Tommy Fleetwood of England. That sums up the opening day of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament (total purse $20 million), which began Wednesday.
Fleetwood delivered a clean round, carding five birdies in the first round at Muirfield Village Golf Club (par 72) in Dublin, Ohio. His 5-under 67 ties him for the lead with Americans Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Ryan Gerard.
After making four birdies on the front nine, he shaved off one more stroke on the par-5 15th hole on the back nine. More remarkable than his five birdies was his 100% scrambling. Scrambling refers to recording par or better after missing the green.
Fleetwood's iron shots were not sharp on the day. His greens-in-regulation rate stood at just 38.89%, missing the green on 11 of 18 holes. Yet he salvaged par or better on all 11 of those holes. On the par-4 3rd hole, he missed the green but holed his third shot with a wedge for a birdie.
"It was a round where I showed everything," Fleetwood said. "My iron control wasn't 100% today, yet I still shot 5-under, so I'm satisfied."
Kim Si-woo rode a roller coaster. He made five birdies but also carded five bogeys, dimming his round. At even par, he is tied for 23rd, five strokes behind the co-leaders. Unlike Fleetwood, Kim's scrambling was poor. He missed the green six times, saving par just once.
Kim got off to a strong start with three birdies through the 7th hole, but his play turned erratic afterward. After trading a bogey and a birdie on the par-4 9th and par-4 13th holes, Kim dropped one stroke each on the par-4 14th, par-3 16th and par-4 17th holes. Fortunately, he sank a 5-meter birdie putt on the final par-4 18th hole to close the opening day at even par.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is tied for 13th at 1-under, while defending champion and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States is tied for 33rd at 1-over, alongside Im Sung-jae.
