On a golf course that holds similarities to U.S. Open setups, it may come as no surprise to see a pair of recent U.S. Open champions atop the leaderboard at the 2026 Memorial Tournament. In his first start since his first win of the season, Wyndham Clark climbed to 5 under in the first round at Jack’s Place, a score that was matched by J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood and Ryan Gerard.”The golf course is so demanding,” Clark reported. “I think I made three saves by chipping out and having a hundred yards in. That’s what happens at this golf course. You hit it in the rough, and you really can’t advance it, so you got to be patient and take your medicine and hope you get up-and-down from a hundred yards, and I did that a couple times. And then you start hitting some good shots, and you make some putts, and it turns into a good round.”Clark’s round marks his first in a signature event this season, as the 2023 U.S. Open champion was on the outside looking in until his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. That has not been the case for Fleetwood, who was a fixture on the leaderboards in these tournaments in the early stage of the season, only to see a slight dip in form across the last couple of months.Still, the Englishman was able to manage his game effectively on Thursday, even with hitting just seven greens in regulation (and remaining bogey-free in the process). Spaun continued his stellar form from last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, where he contended, as did Gerard, who made five straight birdies at one point in his back nine and seeks his second PGA Tour title after being in the final grouping Sunday at Colonial.
“I think you can separate yourself a little bit more in terms of ball striking at some of the more difficult golf courses, which I think is awesome,” Gerard reported. “Sometimes, they get maybe a little bit so difficult that you’re bordering on the edge of ridiculousness. We’re not there yet, but it’s playing difficult, it’s playing firm, it’s playing fair, but if it continues like this, it could get really, really difficult by Saturday. So it should be a fun test, but just going to try and keep the ball in front of us.”Much to the tournament host’s delight, Muirfield Village played more than a full stroke over par in Round 1. Rory McIlroy looked like he was on his way to shooting past that number when he found the water on No. 3 en route to a double bogey, but the Masters champion was able to battle back to get in at 1 under.”I think just understanding that there’s 69 more holes to go in the golf tournament and there’s a long way to go and a lot of things can happen,” McIlroy reported. “I’ve made plenty of double bogeys in my career, and I’ve made plenty of double bogeys in tournaments that I’ve won. So you play enough events, you learn to ride the highs and the lows and not get too excited or too down either way.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler turned in 2 under in the afternoon but played his back nine in 3 over to shoot 73. The world No. 1 was without his best stuff with the full swing as he hit just seven greens in regulation and found the water on the par-3 16th, leading to a double bogey and some words with his bagman, Ted Scott.
Muirfield Village doing Muirfield Village things to someone who is not used to getting Muirfield Villaged. pic.twitter.com/6J6ERayMCf
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic) June 4, 2026
