The Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, the Memorial Tournament
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) -- Luke Donald took only 20 putts in tying a tournament record by opening with an 8-under 64 for a three-shot lead at the Memorial Tournament on Thursday.
Among the four players at 67 were former champion Jim Furyk and 21-year-old Jason Day, who bogeyed his last two holes.
What seemed like a normal round at Muirfield Village turned extraordinary for Donald when he rapped in a 12-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 eighth, starting a streak of six consecutive birdies. He one-putted nine straight holes until a routine par on the 18th hole to match the lowest opening round at the Memorial Tournament.
"That doesn't happen very often," Donald said.
Even rarer is the sight of Tiger Woods spending so much time in the middle of the fairway.
Woods went with a slightly higher loft in his driver (10 degrees) and continued to make strides with his swing. He didn't miss a fairway until his 3-wood on the 18th hole deflected off a tree and landed in a bunker.
Scoring starts with the putter, however. Woods missed an 8-foot par putt on the final hole, and his other bogey came on a three-putt at the 13th. He had to settle for a 69 -- and few complaints.
"Everything felt pretty good to some degree," Woods said. "My swing felt good. Even my putting stroke felt good. A couple of bad pitches here and there, but overall, I felt like I controlled the ball well all day. With the wind blowing like this, you have to hit it flush. I did that all day. I didn't miss any shots."
Furyk, who won the Memorial Tournament seven years ago, birdied three of his final four holes for a 67. He was joined by Ted Purdy, Thomas Aiken and Day, the young Australian who missed a playoff by one shot last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Day was at 7 under with three holes to play, but he bogeyed from the bunkers on his final two holes.
All of them were chasing Donald throughout a day that began cool and breezy and became warm and blustery.
Donald, who has had only two sub-70 rounds in the past at Muirfield Village, hit the opening tee shot and made bogey. He was headed for another bogey on the second hole until he chipped in from 80 feet short of the green.
"It was just kind of a normal, everyday round until I got to the eighth and made a nice putt from the fringe," he said. "Just really got on a hot streak."
He made eight birdies over the last 11 holes. And his score was an eyesore for those teeing off in the afternoon.
"That's rough when you walk to the first tee, and you're already eight behind," said defending champion Kenny Perry. He finished the day eight shots behind after two late bogeys have him a 72.
Stewart Cink was among those at 68, while those at 69 with Woods included Mike Weir and British Amateur champion Reinier Saxton.
Donald felt putting was his weakness when he joined the PGA TOUR. He has been working on fundamentals and even switched to a mallet putter. He now is No. 1 in putting on the TOUR, and his success is no secret.
"You start putting well, and you start believing in yourself a little bit," Donald said. "Confidence on the greens breeds confidence. You keep making more putts. I think putting is very mental. Once you feel like you're a good putter, then it becomes easier."
Woods has a streak of 16 consecutive top 10s in stroke play, but scrutiny followed him home from THE PLAYERS Championship last month because he played in the final group and couldn't break par.
He has said he was still making adjustments because of surgery last year on his left knee and that, for the last month, he was still missing his power. But he was back to hitting balls on the range, which was where he could be found late Thursday. And he painted an optimistic view of his immediate future.
"The swing is starting to come around," he said. "I'm starting to feel good now. It's been a long time. I'm starting to get my power back. Everything is starting to come around now."
Even so, hitting 13 fairways can be misleading because Muirfield Village is known for its generous fairways. The key is putting on some of the purest greens on TOUR, and Donald had solved that part just fine.
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| Thursday's Best |
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The 478-yard par-5 17th hole was easiest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.742.
The 444-yard par-4 18th hole was toughest with a Thursday scoring average of 4.450.
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Ken Duke nearly chips in for eagle on the par-5 15th hole during the opening round of the 2009 Memorial. 
With nine birdies and just one bogey, Luke Donald led the field by three strokes after Round 1 in Ohio. INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
The key for leader Luke Donald was no question -- his putting. Luke set a Memorial Tournament record for fewest putts by only requiring 20 putts to cruise around the Muirfield Village course in Round 1. Despite the good score, Luke was on the range afterward working on his swing. Even though the 8-under 64 was leading, he needed to spend time working on his swing as he hit only 10 of 18 greens in regulation. He will need to improve on that part of his game if he wants to continue to top the leaderboard. It has been more than three years since Luke won on the PGA TOUR; it's good to see him playing well.
Jim Furyk, who this year has struggled with posting good scores in the second round, may have found something. He is now on a run of six consecutive rounds in the 60s, including today's 67. The site of a win in 2002, Columbus is a special place for Jim. This is where he and his wife Tabitha met, too. Good Karma is always a good thing when you are trying to win again on the TOUR.
The solid play of Jason Day has him in a good position to lock up his card for 2010. The second-year player on the TOUR just finished outside the top 125 in 2008. This young man has got "game," and I expect it will not be very long until we see him in the winners' circle. I met Jason three years ago, when he played his first event, the John Deere Classic. I was impressed with him then, and I expect nothing but good things from the young Australian.
David Duval set the tone for good scoring in Round 1. A 5-under 31on his front nine showed the field this course could be taken today. Unfortunately, David had two double bogeys on the back nine, leading to a 1-under 71.
It was evident that the rains on Wednesday helped soften the course for the first round. With good weather predicted for the remainder of the week, this golf course will get tougher.
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