DUBLIN, Ohio – Tiger Woods took a straighter path around Muirfield Village Golf Club on Thursday than he ever has. No spectators at the Memorial Tournament allowed Woods to walk directly from green to next tee without the large galleries that follow his every move.
But Muirfield, the 47-year-old golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, still managed to throw up a few detours, including dry, hard fairways, slick greens and uneven breezes that had the field of 129 players scratching their heads while guessing at club selection.
“It was the ‘Twilight Zone’ out there,” Bryson DeChambeau said of winds that gusted to nearly 30 mph by early afternoon before calming to about 15 later in the day, allowing late finishers to get into a pre-twilight zone and sneak into red numbers.
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Tony Finau managed the difficult conditions better than anyone, shooting a 6-under-par 66 that put him one shot ahead of Ryan Palmer and two up on Brendan Steele and Gary Woodland entering Saturday’s second round of play.
“Whenever you’re thinking about wind on a putt, you know it’s pretty tough,” said Finau, who combined three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine with six birdies and a bogey on the back. “I’ve played this golf course in these type of conditions, and it definitely helped me.”
Knowing the course also helped Woods, who has won the Memorial a record five times, although with no spectators he said this Memorial feels much different than the other 17 he has played.
“For me, I don’t have the marshaling and the crowds and people moving,” Woods said. “Certainly it’s a different feel, one that’s a new reality, and we’re going to have to get used to it.”
Woods adjusted quickly with two birdies in his first three holes before settling into an up-and-down round that resulted in a 1-under-par 71 in his first tournament since February.
“I still felt the same eagerness, edginess, nerviness starting out, and it was good. I haven’t felt this in awhile,” he said, adding that he felt energized despite not having fans. Except on the eighth hole, that is, where fans sitting on the deck of a home cheered from a distance as groups came through.
Otherwise, the quiet atmosphere copied last week’s no-fan experience at the Workday Charity Open, which ended on Sunday with Collin Morikawa outdueling Justin Thomas over a three-hole playoff.
But that Muirfield Village was not this one, mostly because the PGA Tour set the course up easier for Workday than for the Memorial. And also because Workday did not have the wind that whipped across Muirfield on Thursday.
“It was a totally, totally different golf course,” said Thomas, who shot 74. Workday winner Morikawa shot 76; the pair had combined for 38-under par for the Workday event. For one round, anyway, Muirfield Village got even.
“It was a big mental change, because you had to stay patient,” said Woodland, who tied for fifth at Workday. “Last week you were trying to make birdies. Guys were shooting 19-, 20-under, so you’re out there playing aggressive. Today was more typical of like a major championship. You’re plotting your way around trying to keep the golf ball in the fairway, trying to pick your target.”
Thomas and Morikawa were not alone in their misery. Rickie Fowler shot 81, world No. 4 Dustin Johnson 80 and No. 11 Xander Schauffele 78.
“It’s definitely a different beast,” Woodland said. “If the wind stays up it will be a brutal golf test.”
Windy conditions are forecast to ease on Friday and Saturday but are projected to increase again on Sunday. Stay tuned.
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