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A20 SPORTS
Friday 31 May 2019

Moore’s 65 leads by 1 at Memorial as Woods rallies for 70

By DOUG FERGUSON pace of play. “The time to lowest on a rain-softened wedge came up so short green into more rough, and
AP Golf Writer hurry is in between shots. Muirfield Village. Only two on a soft green that it spun then chipped in for par. On
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Tiger It’s not the shot,” DeCham- of his seven birdies were off the front. He chipped the par-5 fifth, his hybrid
Woods got off to a slower beau said. “It’s timing how longer than 10 feet, and the in from 50 feet for birdie. caught the right side of the
start than he would have green and he rolled in the
liked Thursday at the Me- long eagle putt.
morial. Spieth took only 22 putts for
That had more do with a the round.
stopwatch than a score- And then his luck ran
card. out with a tee shot that
Ryan Moore opened with plugged into the sand left
five birdies in seven holes of the green on the par-3
and never missed a fairway eighth, leaving him two op-
after the first one, posting a tions: go at the pin and run
7-under 65 for his best start off the green into rough,
in his 14th appearance at or aim away from the flag
Muirfield Village. He was and leave a 60-foot putt
one shot ahead of Jordan for par. He chose the lat-
Spieth, who chipped in for ter and came inches within
birdie, chipped in for par making it.
and holed a 35-foot eagle “Sooner or later, it was go-
putt. ing bite me,” Spieth said
Woods made a pair of late with a smile.
birdies to salvage a 70 in Even so, he had no com-
his first round since missing plaints.
the cut at the PGA Cham- “Six under around Muirfield
pionship. He played his I’d take any day of the
back nine in a foursome week, no matter what form
with Bryson DeChambeau, you’re coming into it with,”
Justin Rose and a rules of- he said.
ficial in a cart timing them “I felt like I hit more fairways
because they were so far today, gave me some
out of position. more opportunities, and
“We were on the clock the putter stayed hot.”
most of the back nine,” Thomas, in his first tourna-
Woods said. “That made ment since the Masters be-
things a little more compli- cause of a bone bruise in
cated.” his right wrist, showed plen-
Getting caught up wasn’t ty of rust in his round of 71.
easy with various tee shots McIlroy had a 75 with two
in water hazards, though double bogeys, both from
it was obvious how far be- tee shots either lost (No. 15)
hind they were. Spieth, Rory or out-of-bounds (No. 2).
McIlroy and Justin Thomas Anirban Lahiri, Marc Leish-
were in the group ahead man and Martin Kaymer
of them, and McIlroy hit his were at 67.
tee shot on the par-4 sec- Woods made birdies on all
ond into a backyard. With but one of the par 5s. His
no official nearby, he had regret was a few loose iron
to walk 300 yards back to shots that led to bogey, es-
the tee to hit again. That pecially on the 13th when
took time. Still, walking he hit 9-iron from the fair-
off the fourth green, the Ryan Moore smiles at his caddie on the 18th hole during the first round of the Memorial golf way into a bunker that led
group of Woods, DeCham- tournament Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Dublin, Ohio. to a careless bogey. But he
beau and Rose still had not Associated Press finished strong — eventu-
reached the third tee. ally — and while 10 players
DeChambeau, who con- people walk. You have to only time he came close to Another chip from thick from his side of the draw
siders such variables as add that to the equation. If a bogey was on his open- rough caught the slope on broke 70, he wasn’t too far
air density and elevation you’ve got someone walk- ing hole, where he saved the back of the par-5 15th behind.
change in his pre-shot ing slow, they get up to the par with a 6-foot putt. green and rolled down to 3 At least on the leader-
routine, went over his al- shot, take their 20 seconds. He was among 22 players feet for a birdie. board.
lotted time on No. 5 and What’s the aggregate time who broke 70, and only 44 He went out in 32, made an “That was frustrating, be-
was given a warning for a for them to hit that shot in players broke par despite 8-foot birdie putt on No. 3 cause the last eight holes
bad time. He made birdie, between shots? That’s real- the soft conditions. Phil and then had consecutive we were on the clock,”
took double bogey from a ly what matters. That’s what Mickelson, using two drivers holes that illustrated how Woods said.
fairway bunker on the next I believe. The total time it this week to go after longer his round was going. “The group ahead of us
hole and began his title de- took me — if you were to tee shots on a half-dozen On the par-3 fourth, his tee ... JT doesn’t take a lot of
fense with a 74. take my process and walk- holes, opened with a 70. shot was buried in the slope time, Rory plays quick and
He was frustrated by being ing time — is the exact time Spieth looked as though he of a mound above the Jordan was 7 under. So
on the clock, and by not as everyone else.” couldn’t miss for the lon- bunker. With his feet well they were obviously play-
getting through to the PGA Golf still is measured by gest time. On his second below the ball, he hooked ing fast. And we were obvi-
Tour on how to measure score, and Moore had the hole, the par-5 11th, his it out onto and across the ously not.”q