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Memorial Tournament 2019 Live Blog: Tiger Woods on a birdie run finishing his first round, Jordan Spieth rolling on Day 1
Andy Lyons
The Memorial Tournament is perhaps the marquee non-major, non-WGC event on the PGA Tour schedule each season. This year is no different. The presence of a certain 15-time major champion, Tiger Woods, at Muirfield Village Golf Club is adding a heightened sense of anticipation.
Memorial Tournament 2019: Live updates:
1:08 p.m.: A two-putt par for Tiger gives him an opening-round 70—a solid round all around. This was vintage Tiger Woods in a way: birdieing three of his four par 4s, which was Tiger's strength back in the day.
A nice stat on Tiger's side? The last time he won the Memorial Tournament (2012), he also opened up with a 70, following that up with rounds of 69, 73 and 67 to earn his fifth Memorial title. We'll see if he has a similar fate this weekend, looking for his sixth title at Muirfield Village, but most importantly, his 82nd PGA Tour title.
1:00 p.m.: One more well-executed approach shot for Tiger Woods from the fairway at the ninth hole (his 18th) will lead to another birdie opportunity here. That would be three in a row to finish his round—but even a par would be a solid start to Tiger's opening round. At 2-under, he's currently five back of Ryan Moore after Moore's 65.
12:56 p.m.: Tiger hits another fairway on his 18th hole of the day, the par-4 ninth, as he looks to wrap up his opening round with positive momentum after two straight birdies at 7 and 8. That looked like a fairway wood of some sort for Tiger—he has hit some great metalwood tee shots off the tee today. And that was another beaut to end it.
12:53 p.m.: That's two in a row for Tiger Woods! His dart on the par-3 eighth hole is rewarded with a birdie, following his up-and-down birdie at the par-5 seventh previous to that. Tiger's now to 2-under for the day with one more hole to play in his round at the par-4 ninth, where Jordan Spieth just got and down to finish with a 6-under 66 for his round.
12:46 p.m.: Following up the birdie at No. 7 (his 16th hole), Tiger hits a majestic iron at the 162-yard par-3 eighth hole—which should be a great chance to get to 2-under. That'll be a chance for a fourth birdie of his round.
Jordan Spieth, tied for the best round of the day, bogeyed the par-5 seventh, and will have his work cut out at the ninth hole to remain at 6-under.
12:44 p.m.: Tiger pores in the six-footer for birdie after hitting a decent greenside bunker shot to get back to 1-under.
That's Tiger's third birdie on a par 5 today—a fact that has been a struggle for the 15-time major champion much of the season. Tiger used to thrive on the par 5s, but that hasn't been his strength of late. That wasn't the case in his opening round at Muirfield Village—birdieing three of the four par 4s today.
12:30 p.m.: Tiger might've saved his best drive of the day for the par-5 seventh hole here. The smoke wagon gets a mini twirl as he cuts the corner perfectly at this dogleg-left hole.
His second shot approach to the par 5 comes up just shy in the right greenside bunker. He'll have to get up and down to pick up a much needed birdie coming in here on his 16th hole of the day.
12:25 p.m.: A chip to eight feet from Tiger leads to another dropped shot after the birdie at No. 5. He heads to the par-5 seventh hole (his 16th of the day) needing another birdie to get back to red numbers on his opening round.
Meanwhile, it appears that Bryson DeChambeau, playing alongside Tiger, was given a bad time a couple holes ago after this group was put on the clock. Bryson isn't known for his quick play, so it'll be interesting to see how this plays out, as this group has three more holes to play in their first round.
12:19 p.m.: The approach from Tiger at the sixth hole goes through the green, and he'll have a tough up-and-down upcoming with this back hole location. It was a little more difficult for Tiger to control his distance there on the approach from the first cut.
Ryan Moore, meanwhile, is in the clubhouse with the lead after a 7-under 65. Jordan Spieth is at that number, as well, with a three holes left in his round, and he's scrambling a bit at the par-5 seventh hole.
12:11 p.m.: Tiger rolls in the birdie putt at the fifth hole (his 14th of the day) to get back to 1-under to break his streak of nine straight pars. That's a much needed circle on the scorecard, after his earlier birdie on his second hole (the 11th) was negated by a bogey at 13.
Tiger's tee shot at the par-4 sixth hole (his 15th) just scoots into the first cut of rough, but was fortunate not to end up in the thicker rough. He'll have a decent lie into this sixth green upcoming, trying to build off that birdie.
12:07 p.m.: From 33 feet, Tiger's eagle putt just stays out on the right side. So he'll have a downhill putt of about 2 feet to wrap up a birdie and get back to red numbers.
12:01 p.m.: Boom! Tiger finds the putting surface from 237 yards with his second shot—so he'll have a long eagle putt upcoming. That was a well-struck iron that he posed over the entire time. A much-needed opportunity to pick up a shot will be upcoming here.
11:55 a.m.: Another beautifully struck fairway wood from Tiger Woods finds the fairway, this one at the dogleg-right par-5 fifth hole. He'll have 237 yards into this green that's protected by water in front.
At some point, he'll need to make a few more birdies coming in to keep pace with these guys going low. Jordan Spieth has about 10 feet for ANOTHER birdie with a chance to get to 8-under. Guy is playing lights-out!
11:52 a.m.: Woods hits a beautiful lag from 50 feet and makes par on No. 4. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth isn't lagging anything these days. The man with the hottest putter on tour drains another bomb, this time from 35 feet for eagle, on No. 5 to grab a share of the lead with Ryan Moore at seven under. Spieth hasn't won since his victory at the 2017 Open Championship, but he certainly appears trending toward another trophy with his play the past three weeks.
11:47 a.m.: Woods finds the center of the green at the par-3 fourth, but he'll have at least 40 feet for birdie. That's a lot different than during Wednesday's pro-am with Peyton Manning in which Woods nearly made a hole-in-one.
11:44 a.m.: Tiger misses a glorious chance for birdie on No. 3 as his eight-footer slides by. That's eight pars in a row for Woods as he stays at even.
11:35 a.m.: It is all going Jordan Spieth's way. After a fortuitous bounce off the trees on No. 2, he makes par. Then he birdies No. 3 to get to five under. An awful tee shot on the par-3 fourth puts him in bad shape, but after his pitch goes through the green he chips in for an incredible par to remain at five under.
He's still two behind a red-hot Ryan Moore at seven under.
11:30 a.m.: Tiger's second hole took a long time to unfold, but it results in another par. Woods missed the green with his approach and got a little frisky with his chip, but he made the four-footer to remain at even par. Up ahead, Rory McIlroy is upset about his latest par after missing a six-footer for bogey. Rory remains at four over.
11:10 a.m.: After finding the fairway bunker on No. 1, Woods only advances his second shot on the par 4 about 80 yards. But he wedges one to 10 feet and knocks in the par to start his front nine and stay at even par.
10:59 a.m.: Tiger leaves more than he wanted for his par putt, but he rolls in the four-footer on 18 to remain at even par. That's an opening 36 for the five-time Memorial champ that includes one birdie and one bogey. He's currently tied with playing partner Justin Rose, who bogeys the final two holes of his opening nine, and one shot ahead of Bryson DeChambeau, the third member of their group and the tournament's defending champ.
10:51 a.m.: Here's how the top of the leader board looks right now:
For full scores, click here.
10:48 a.m.: After a flushing another 3-wood, Woods safely finds the 18th green with his approach. Playing partner Justin Rose can't say the same as his approach lands in the back bunker. He'll have some work ahead of him to avoid a second straight bogey.
10:38 a.m.: After an unspectacular wedge to 20 feet, Woods makes a two-putt par on No. 17 to remain at even on the day. Up ahead at No. 18, Jordan Spieth pours in another birdie to get to four under. This is the third week in a row that Spieth has really had the putter cooking.
He finished T-3 at the PGA and then T-8 at Colonial, where he set personal bests for both strokes gained: putting in a single round and total length of putts holed for a tournament.
10:27 a.m.: Coming off a terrific par save, Tiger smokes a 3-wood down the middle on the par-4 17th. While low scores abound early on Thursday, Woods has yet to get it going, but he's in better shape than Rory McIlroy, who is two over through eight holes after a bogey on No. 17. Ryan Moore is having no such issues. After turning in five-under-par 31, Moore added a birdie on No. 11 to move to six under.
10:17 a.m.: A sporty chip from the thick rough behind the green leaves Tiger just five feet short. He'll have five feet coming back up the hill for a par saver.
Tiger converts on the par putt to remain at even par heading to the difficult, 478-yard par-4 17th hole.
10:14 a.m.: Tiger's tee shot at the par-3 16th hole sails over the green, finding the thick rough behind the green. That'll be a difficult up and down to this back hole location.
10:09 a.m.: Tiger chipped up to 9 feet for a chance at a birdie at the 15th hole, but his bid slides by. So his par keeps him at even par heading to the par-3 16th hole.
His playing partner Justin Rose is working on two straight birdies with a birdie at the 15th following his four at the par-5 15th. Rose, the 2010 champ here, is now 2-under, which is three back of Ryan Moore.
Near the top of the leaderboard this morning was Gary Woodland, who birdied five of his first six holes, but has followed that up with a triple bogey at the par-5 seventh hole to fall back to 2-under.
9:57 a.m.: Tiger's approach from 263 yards at the par-5 15th hole rolls through the fairway, so he'll have a chance to get and down to pick up a shot.
9:50 a.m.: Tiger finds another fairway with his driver at the par-5 15th hole. Up ahead, Rory McIlroy is making a bit of a mess—hitting his fifth shot from the fairway. He has about a 10-footer for a bogey upcoming. Rory's 1-under for his round. In the same group, Jordan Spieth is 2-under through five, and Justin Thomas is even-par.
Rory ends up missing his bogey putt at the par-5 15th to card a double bogey. He drops to 1-over through his first six holes.
Jordan Spieth gets and down for a routine-looking birdie. He's 3-under through six, following up on his consistent play of late.
9:46 a.m.: Tiger gets up and down from below the green, holing the five-footer for par at the 14th hole to remain even par heading to the par-5 15th hole.
9:40 a.m.: Following two great approaches from Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger's approach spins off the front of the green. Looks like Tiger's ball stays just short of the water, so he'll have a chance to save his par.
9:34 a.m.: Tiger hits another fairway at the shorter, 366-yard par-4 14th, coming up just short of the water. That'll give him a good look in front of the green after the dropped shot at 13.
9:31 a.m.: Tiger's par putt just misses on the high side, so that'll be the first dropped shot by Tiger in his opening round. That'll be especially disappointing after the stellar tee shot, sitting 157 yards out.
Tiger will head to the 14th hole at even par.
9:28 a.m.: From the bunker at the 13th, Tiger's ball rolls past the hole to about 11 feet—so he'll have that to remain under-par early in his round.
9:24 a.m.: Tiger hits an errant second shot at the par-4 13th hole, finding a greenside bunker on the right side. He will have green to work with to this back-left hole location. But from only 157 yards out, Tiger won't be happy with that approach.
Looking elsewhere at the leaderboard, there are some good scores to be had:
Ryan Moore: -5 through 7
Gary Woodland: -4 through 5
Brice Garnett: -3 through 6.
9:19 a.m.: On another stout par 4 on Muirfield Village's back nine, Tiger finds the right-side of the fairway on this dogleg left. That's an ideal spot to be in to attack this 463-yard, par-4 13th hole.
9:13 a.m.: From about 30 feet at the par-3 12th hole, Tiger's birdie bid rolls about two feet past the hole. It'll be a rather routine par for the five-time Memorial winner through his first three holes.
Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau make sporty up-and-downs, holing putts of seven-plus feet to make their pars. Rose remains even through three and Bryson is 1-over through 3.
9:08 a.m.: Tiger's tee shot at the picturesque par-3 12th hole at Muirfield Village finds the middle of the green. With a tucked left-hand pin, the center of the green is the sensible shot—and that's exactly what Tiger has done here.
Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau overcooks their tee shots left of the green, so they will have a difficult up-and-downs from the thick rough.
9:02 a.m.: Tiger's 7-footer for birdie at the 11th hole finds the bottom of the cup, as he moves to 1-under through 2. Tiger's second shot came up a little short of the green, and his decent chip gave him a chance for the birdie, which he converts on.
Justin Rose's putt from a little shorter distance misses the cup, so he starts even through 2. Bryson makes a bogey at the 11th hole, so he heads to 1-over through 2 as this group heads to the 158-yard par-3 12th.
8:46 a.m.: A tight little fade off the 11th tee finds the center of the fairway for Tiger Woods at this par 5. It'll be an opportunity for the 15-time major champion and five-time Memorial winner to pick up a shot at the 11th.
Up ahead of him, Rory hit his second shot into the water at the par 5, so Tiger and his group might be waiting a little bit as Rory, Spieth and Rory finish up the par 5.
Meanwhile Spieth chipped in up ahead on the green to birdie the 11th, and Justin Thomas cozied his eagle putt close to the hole, for what should be a birdie as well.
8:43 a.m.: Tiger rolls in the par putt to remain at even par. That was a nice up-and-down after a layup on his second shot to avoid dropping a shot at the opener.
It's three pars by this featured group of Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose as they kick off their opening round, heading to the par-5 11th hole.
8:36 a.m.: Tiger will be scrambling early in his first round. From a lie in the thick rough in between two gigantic fairway-bunkers at the 10th hole, Tiger chops out a layup short of the hole. He'll need to get up and down to avoid dropping a shot here on his opening hole.
On his third shot, Tiger hits a tight spinner that rolls back to about 5 feet pin high. That's a strong effort from a bad opening lie—and a 4 at Muirfield Village's 10th is always a good score—it played as the fourth toughest hole at the 2018 Memorial, +.079 strokes above par.
8:27 a.m.: Tiger's opening tee shot finds an unfortunate lie in between the two fairway bunkers on the left-hand side at this stout, 465-yard opener. The 10th hole is one of the toughest holes here at Muirfield Village, and Tiger will have his work cut out for him early. Tiger has company on the left-hand side—his playing partners, Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau, have joined him on the left-side of the hole to start their rounds.
8:20 a.m.: Tiger Woods is making his way to the range alongside DeChambeau and Rose as they kick off their opening round at the Memorial. A handful of other players are already on the course, including K.H. Lee, who has the early lead at 2-under through 4 holes.
Tiger is looking for his sixth title at Muirfield Village, which would obviously carry great significance, coming at the home of the great Jack Nicklaus. Jack and Tiger shared some great moments yesterday—have a look before Tiger tees off.
Earlier:
Not only is Tiger in pursuit of Sam Snead's 82-victory total, with a chance to do it at Jack's place, but this will serve as his final preparation before the U.S. Open in a couple weeks at Pebble Beach, where Tiger has a bit of a solid history.
Of course, there are 120 other players in this strong Memorial field, as the players vie for one of the more coveted trophies on the PGA Tour. Ten of the world's top 15 players are in Dublin, Ohio teeing it up, including defending champion Bryson DeChambeau and the 2010 winner here, Justin Rose, who will tee off alongside Tiger on the 10th tee on Thursday.