DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — J.T. Poston stepped onto the putting green Friday at the Memorial just in time to feel the first gust of wind, knowing a tough course was about to get even harder. Part of him was eager to see how a new golf ball to help with the wind was going to perform. It's safe to say he was pleased.
Poston had eight birdies in a round of 7-under 65, a score best measured by the fact he was nine shots better than the field average, enough for
a one-shot lead over Ryan Gerard going into the weekend at Muirfield Village.
Poston was at 9-under 135, a score not many saw coming.
The quality of his round could be measured by the comments of some of his peers. The interview with Tommy Fleetwood began with a statement that it seemed tougher out there.
“Is that a question?” Fleetwood replied. “Yeah, we'll expand on that. It was pretty brutal, actually.”
Justin Thomas hit a phenomenal flop shot from behind the 18th green and holed a 6-foot par putt to make the cut on the number.
“I can’t put into words how hard that was,” said Thomas, who did anyway. “That was the hardest round of golf that I can remember, major, non-major, it was just insane.”
It was all about the wind, not the strongest these players have ever felt (especially if they have been to Kapalua or Scotland) but Muirfield Village has so much trouble and so little room to play it safe that it became vexing.
That wasn't the case for Poston, who decided last week to change to what he called the “left dash ball Titleist makes."
“It’s supposed to help me a little bit in the wind,” Poston said. “So we felt like today was going to be a good test of that and it obviously performed really well. We had a couple shots that I felt like didn’t quite hit them perfect and it hung in there pretty well.”
Of course, there was a player hitting the shots, and in his case rolling the putts. So was it the golf ball or the putter?
“Both,” Poston said. “The ball got me there, the putter helped me get it in the hole.”
Only two of his eight birdie putts were inside 10 feet. Statistically, Poston picked up four shots on the field with his putting in the strokes gained category. He took 24 putts and the distance they covered was 134 feet. No matter which number, it was really good.
He might have been the only one happy to see wind.
“Yeah, sure,” Poston said with a laugh. “It’s hard to say I wasn’t when you shoot 65. I just knew it was going to play tough and the goal was to try and be patient and keep hitting the shots like I was hitting yesterday and it helps to get off to a great start, make a few nice, longish putts the first couple holes and I feel like I was just kind of off and running.”
Gerard was pleased with his 69, getting three birdies before the wind really started to get tough. And he clearly remembers when that happened.
“Seven fairway,” Gerard said. “I was spraying sunscreen and all of a sudden it started going all over the place. And my caddie was like, ‘Oh, I guess it’s windy now.’”
And it only got worse.
Scottie Scheffler hit a shank, said he felt like he was going to shoot 90 and came to life late with three birdies to salvage a 72. He was 10 shots behind in his bid for a third straight victory at the Memorial. Rory McIlroy had a double bogey and two bogeys over his last six holes for a 74. He also was 10 shots behind in his bid to win for the first time in 14 tries at Muirfield Village.
Sam Burns had another 69 and was three shots back, followed by Fleetwood (73).
Gerard, much like Scheffler, was happy with 69 considering he wasn't entirely on top of his game. He spoke of “grimy up-and-downs” to stay in the game.
“I hit it in two hazards off the tee on par 5s on the back nine and hit both greens in regulation from 240-plus,” he said. "But it’s just kind of keeping yourself in the hole — it’s not easy — and allowing yourself to be positive.
“Mentally and physically this place is a monster, not only because it’s a big walk and I’m dealing with nine million allergies or whatever they’re putting out there,” he said. “So it’s a test of patience.”
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