Memorial Tournament Round 1 wrap-up: New faces, big names, disqualification, key numbers

Outside of the world’s No. 3 player, Cameron Smith, the five other leaders at 5-under par through 18 holes at Jack’s course have a combined four wins on the PGA Tour. Some will fade, some might last the weekend. But this Memorial Tournament has a lot of unfamiliar names at the top so far.

Smith, Cameron Young, Luke List, K.H. Lee, Mackenzie Hughes and Davis Riley are tied for the lead after the first round. Among the group behind them, Will Zalatoris is a shot back, and Shane Lowry in another back at 3-under par.

But do the first-round scores and positioning matter a whole lot? No, not really. The Memorial has never had a wire-to-wire winner. Sorry to all those in the top spot right now.

The weather should be nothing but sunshine for the rest of the weekend, which could make for some firm greens and not a lot of birdies. But there were plenty of those on Thursday.

Here were some of the highlights.

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So long, Hideki Matsuyama

Last year had the unfortunate withdrawal of Jon Rahm because of a positive COVID-19 test. He had a six-shot lead through 54 holes.

This year’s award for most dramatic exit belongs to 2014 Memorial champion Hideki Matsuyama.

After completing the ninth hole, Matsuyama was told by PGA Tour Senior Tournament Director Steve Rintoul that he used a non-conforming club in the round, which meant he had to be disqualified.

Why Matsuyama was DQ'd: Non-conforming club? What is that? 

What happened was referees became aware of a photo of Matsuyama’s 3-wood that had a white substance on the face. It covered some of the grooves on the club, which officials ruled could affect the spin of the ball, potentially giving Matsuyama an unfair advantage.

Rintoul said the white substance was meant to be used as a visual aide to help with Matsuyama’s alignment. Either way, he’s now out of the field. But unlike Rahm, things weren’t going well for the 2021 Masters champion.

Matsuyama shot 3-over par 39 on the front nine before having to exit.

He also won the award for the strangest shot on the golf course — almost outdone by Viktor Hovland. (Read on for more about that.)

Bryson DeChambeau returns, and he may soon depart

Having not played since the Masters in early April because of a wrist injury, the long-ball-hitting Bryson DeChambeau returned to the PGA Tour on Thursday, shooting a 4-over 76.

DeChambeau, the 2018 Memorial champion, made a long putt on No. 2 for birdie to open his day in red figures. However, after posting a 35 on the front nine, DeChambeau unraveled on the back. He had a double-bogey on the par-3 12th after hitting his tee shot into the water, then had a bogey on three of his final five holes.

DeChambeau said he had some miscues, but there weren’t any issues with his hand.

“But it just didn't feel like the old me of 2018 like I used to, and so there's a lot of work I have to do to get back to top form and climb that mountain again,” he said.

Whether or not he ends up making the cut, DeChambeau is looking at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts in two weeks.

“It's a great test run to keep going because really my eyes are set on the U.S. Open,” he said. “That's where I want to be full horse all horses moving in the right direction. I'm just not there yet with everything.”

Eagles for the leaders

Want to be in contention through the first day? Play well, obviously. But get an eagle and you’ll be there.

Three of the six players tied for first had an eagle in their rounds. Riley and Young eagled the Par-5 15th, and Lee drained one from the intermediate rough, 152 yards out on the par-4 9th hole.

There were also plenty of chip-ins, including Hughes’ on the 9th to be a part of the co-leaders.

Shot of the day: Viktor Hovland

No, he was actually trying to do this.

Hovland, one of the brightest young stars in golf, decided against trying to strategically place his tee shot down the fairway at the par-4 3rd hole, then hit across the creek onto the green. Instead, he took the creek out of play entirely and aimed toward the tee box on No. 4.

He finished with a birdie. Will he try it again? Who knows? Just a forewarning to the group in front of him to watch out.

Hole of the day

The 490-yard, par-4 1st ate players up on Thursday.

Out of any hole on the course, there were the fewest birdies (7), the second-most bogeys (32) and most double-bogeys (7). The other starting hole, the 470-yard, par-4 10th, also proved to be difficult for players, yielding just eight birdies and 33 bogeys — the most of any hole.

Notable names

The 2021 playoff finalists Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa finished even par and 1-under, respectively. 2020 champion Jon Rahm was also at even par.

William McGirt, who won his first PGA Tour event at the Memorial in 2016 after 164 starts, had a solid opening round, shooting 69.

Other notable players and their scores: Will Zalatoris (68), Max Homa (69), Shane Lowry (69), Matt Kuchar (70), Jordan Speith (70), Rickie Fowler (70), Xander Schauffele (70), Rory McIlroy (70), Jason Day (71), Bo Hoag (76), Patrick Reed (76).

Quotable

"Making eight birdies around this place obviously is really nice. I was just saying earlier before I came out here, Monday, Tuesday, if you said I was going to shoot 68 first round, I thought it would be four birdies, no bogeys. I'm shocked at how this place has softened up with the weather we've had.”

– Will Zalatoris on the course conditions and his round

Stats of the day

11: Number of consecutive one-putts for Will Zalatoris.

10: C.T. Pan’s score on the par-5 11th. He hit his first tee shot well right, out of bounds. Then he hit his provisional ball into the water. On the drop, his fifth shot, he almost hit the ball into the water again. On an awkward lie, he hit the ball onto the fairway. On his seventh shot, he landed in the rough behind the green, and eventually missed an 8-foot putt for a quadruple-bogey.

jmyers@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 2022 Memorial Tournament first round wrap-up