DUBLIN, OHIO — Jordan Spieth’s 3-under 69 Thursday normally isn’t a score that would have a player high up on the Memorial Tournament leaderboard.
But Spieth is tied for third on a Muirfield Village Golf Club course that left few players unscathed.
“It felt like a great round,” he said. “It was nice to beat a tough golf course.”
It was the first time since 2004 that only two players shot 68 or better in the Memorial’s first round.
The list of victims was long. Defending champion Billy Horschel shot an 83. Dylan Fritelli was 15-over, including 11-over on the first five holes of the back nine, before he withdrew, citing illness. Chad Ramey had a 13 – yes, a 13 – on the par-4 No. 9 hole after hitting in the water four times.
The Memorial is notorious for having rain affect the tournament or its preparation. But it’s been dry lately, making the course extra firm. Temperatures approached 90 degrees Thursday and the wind picked up in the afternoon.
Even leader Davis Riley, who shot a 67, sounded like a man who survived rather than thrived.
“It was hard, yeah,” he said. “The wind is swirly in the trees, and it’s difficult. With the firmness of the greens and the wind, you’ve got such small windows to land the ball in to get close to have a reasonable look inside of 20 or 25 feet, so you’ve got to be precise.”
The par-3 16th hole and par-4 17th and 18th holes were the toughest on the course relative to par, making for an imposing finish for those who started on the front nine.
Mark Hubbard reacts after a shot went into as bunker on the 17th hole during the opening round of the 2023 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Photo: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
“Well, if I see Jack (Nicklaus), I’ll tell him those last three holes are playing brutally hard,” said Matt Wallace, who’s in second place with a 68.
Rory McIlroy was at 3-under after 17 holes, only to triple-bogey No. 18 after getting a brutal lie in the deep rough over the green.
The previous two holes were the ones modified for this year’s tournament. The early reviews aren’t positive.
MEMORIAL: Five things to know from the first round
“Well, 16 is just not a great hole in pretty much everyone’s opinion that’s playing today,” Spieth said. “You’re just trying to get a putter in your hand for 2. It’s 203 yards adjusted into the wind with a firm green that runs away from you on both sides and has one shelf that you can land it into.”
The 16th saw only five birdies and 46 bogeys or worse.
It could have played even harder. Players didn’t have to hit from the new tees that add about 20 yards of distance.
“(No.) 17, it got lengthened so you hit it to the same spot, but you have to hit driver now,” Spieth said. “It’s a driver, 7-iron into that tiny green that, again, pitches away from you for the first half of it. It requires a lot of imagination and then you’ve got to pull it off.”
At least the Muirfield Village greens, though fast, got rave reviews.
“They were appropriately firm, I thought, and extremely pure, probably the best surfaces I’ve ever putted on in an afternoon on a Thursday,” Spieth said. “You really just didn’t have to fix hardly anything. I was shocked at how fantastic they were.
“But all the fairways are like half the width that they normally are. I think that’s what make it’s such a challenge, because if you miss ’em, I mean there’s only a couple greens you could hold.”