Highlights from the first round of the Memorial tournament - Part 2
Welcome back to the highlights of the first round of the Memorial tournament. The event that has a total purse of $6.2-million, is underway at the par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Rickie Fowler smashed a score of 4-under par 68 on Thursday after making three birdies in the front and four at the back. Fowler dropped four shots against the powerful birdie fiesta, but equaled it with the help of an eagle on the par-5 15thhole.
The 22-year-old was moderate in the long game as well as the short game, but his ability to find the fairways earned him the advantage over rest of the field.
Standing parallel to Fowler was his Ryder Cup teammate, Steve Stricker. The veteran also teed-off from the front and jotted three back-to-back birdies towards the closing holes to gear up for the back nine, which was tougher as compare to the front. Despite
bearing the massive pressure, the American clamped two more birdies against a single bogey and sealed the day with a 68.
Rocco Mediate produced a blemish-free scorecard, which proved the sheer prowess engraved in the player’s putter. He clawed a lone birdie in the back without any loss, but soon made up for the slow start on the front. He picked three birdies and had his name
written in the list of players who sealed the day without a loss.
Meanwhile, king of bunkers, Dustin Johnson could not relish success in saving his ball from the sand bunkers. The player fell half of the time in the bunkers, which is why; he wrapped the day with 50 percent success rate in sand saves. In addition to that,
his driving accuracy suffered, as he missed seven fairways after teeing-off. Moreover, he faced problem in hitting the green in regulation, which showed weakness in his long game.
One stroke behind him stood Hunter Mahan, who could not take full advantage of the course. The American fired four birdies in the front and four in the back, but could not enjoy the edge, as he dropped five shots and added bogeys to his scorecard. Mahan
attained an average of 303 yards in driving distance, but could incorporate accuracy in it.
Article continued in Part 3…
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