Ben Griffin started the week coming off his first individual PGA Tour victory at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge and held on to his form. He fired an eagle at the par-5 7th as well as seven birdies and two bogeys to close with a 7-under 65 and take a two-shot lead at the Memorial Tournament.
His bogeys resulted from two water balls at the 11th and 12th and Griffin became the second player since 2003 to shoot a 65 or better with multiple balls in the water at the Memorial Tournament (2019/Justin Rose/R2/63).
“It was an incredible day. Kind of building on what I kind of was doing last week, making a ton of birdies, staying aggressive. This is one of the toughest golf courses we play on Tour and you’ve got to kind of be on your game to make birdies and give yourself a lot of looks. I felt like I kind of did that,” said Griffin.
“Couple tough holes there on 11 and 12, but, honestly, mentally I felt great, even after hitting it in the water on those holes. Still was attacking having a ton of fun with Shane. That was my first time playing with Shane, but I had a feeling me and his personalities would kind of match up, and we had an awesome time. Yeah, I guess nine — or what, seven birdies and an eagle today? Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.”
Griffin was the only player in the field to birdie each of the last three holes in round one (Nos. 16-18). He led the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (2.560) and Strokes Gained: Putting (3.843).
“I can’t remember the last time I birdied the last three holes of a tournament,” he went on, “it’s always great to finish with a birdie and also — I mean, the birdies on 16 and 17, those are some of the hardest holes out here. So proud of the way I stayed aggressive on those holes, attacked, never really was trying to play any sort of conservative shots, was just trying to keep the pedal down, and you got to take advantage of that on days like today where putts are dropping.”
This is the American’s first career 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour (previous best 18-hole position: 2nd/2022 RSM Classic/finished T29).
In 18 starts this season, Griffin has recorded six top-10 finishes and two wins. He is one of four players with multiple wins on Tour this year: (Rory McIlroy/3, Sepp Straka/2, Scottie Scheffler/2).
Fellow American Collin Morikawa lies in second place after making a single bogey at the 15th. He leads all players in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (5.846). 5-under 67 marks his lowest score in his last eleven rounds played at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Morikawa has 31 rounds in the 60s in Signature Events since the start of the 2024 season, the most of any player on Tour (next best: Sungjae Im/30).
Max Homa of the USA made six birdies and two bogeys for a 68 and lies in third place at 4-under. He sits inside the top five on the leaderboard after 18 holes for the first time since the 2024 Masters (T3/finished T3). 4-under 68 marks his lowest score in 21 career rounds at Muirfield Village Golf Club (including 2020 Workday Charity Open). He has two top-10 finishes to his name in five career starts in the Memorial Tournament (2022/T5, 2021/T6).
Ireland’s Shane Lowry fired an eagle at the par-5 7th as well as three birdies and two bogeys to take a share of fourth place at 3-under alongside American Keegan Bradley, who also made two bogeys, and Canadian Nick Taylor whose colourful round featured six birdies, one bogey and one double bogey at the par-3 12th.
In five starts at Signature Events this season, Lowry owns three top-10s, including two runner-up finishes (T2/Truist Championship, 7th/Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2nd/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).
Defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States opened with a 70 having made four birdies against two bogeys and lies in T7 at 2-under. He finished inside the top three in each of his last three starts in the Memorial Tournament (2024/Won, 2023/3rd, 2021/3rd). He has finished T8 or better in each of his last six starts, including back-to-back wins at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the PGA Championship.
