Ben Griffin continued his fine run of form as he claimed the early lead at the Memorial Tournament.
The 29-year-old American, who won his first individual PGA Tour title at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week, carded a seven-under 65 in the first round at Muirfield Village Golf Club to lead by two.
Griffin opened up with a birdie at the first hole and added another at the par-three fourth, holing out from 36 feet.
The highlight of his round then came at the par-five seventh which he eagled after hitting his second shot to 11 feet and he followed that by nailing a 27-footer for birdie at the par-three eighth.
His only bogey came at the par-five 11th after finding water but he bounced back with a birdie at the 12th before a storming finish saw him birdie four of the last five holes, including the last three.
Collin Morikawa, twice a runner-up in this tournament, heads the chasing pack on five under, with Max Homa (68) a shot further back after birdieing the final two holes.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry is tied for fourth on three under after a round of 69 which also included an eagle at the seventh where he was only four feet away with his second shot.
However, he produced a mixed bag on the back nine with two birdies and two bogeys as he failed to make any further inroads on the top of the leaderboard as he finished alongside US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and Canada’s Nick Taylor.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a two-under 70 which was matched by Andrew Novak who won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Griffin in April.
Scottie Scheffler is bidding for his third PGA Tour victory of the year
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre carded a 71, one better than Tommy Fleetwood who slipped down the field when he followed a double-bogey at the 15th with a bogey at the 16th.
His fellow Englishmen all struggled with Matt Fitzpatrick posting a 76, Justin Rose a 78 and Aaron Rai a 79, although they all performed better than Justin Thomas whose 80 included a triple-bogey seven at the ninth.
Watch the second round of the Memorial Tournament live on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm on Friday.
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