Last week the fellas at the Northern Trust got a big serving of easy. On Thursday at Olympia Fields, the 69 who remain got a major taste of tough.
Last week’s birdie barrage gave way to a U.S. Open-like first round at the BMW where only three players were able to break par. The last time there were four players or fewer under par was the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Needless to say, there was a premium on birdies and by day’s end, Hideki Matsuyama birdied his final hole of the day — the ninth — to card a three-under par 67 that gave him the lead by a shot over Tyler Duncan with McKenzie Hughes just two back after posting 69.
That was it for the guys under par — a short roll call on a day where the famous course greeted the players with narrow fairways, firm greens and enough wind to really cause havoc.
Tony Finau was one of 10 players who matched the par of 70. “I knew this was gonna be one of those courses — I prepared for it like a major,” Finau said after signing his card. Indeed, the conditions were major-like, unlike the soft, receptive conditions last week at TPC Boston where Dustin Johnson shot 30-under par.
Johnson, the world’s No. 1, came back to earth and finished over par with a 71. No. 2 Jon Rahm was battered and shot 75, Justin Thomas could do no better than 73. Rory McIlroy, who has struggled since the restart, found some answers and turned in a 70. PGA champ Collin Morikawa’s 76 left him shaking his head.
You get the picture.
This was one of those days where there wasn’t much fun for the small field. Players were in full grind mode.
One of those who didn’t have many answers was Tiger Woods. He started on the 10th tee and found just four fairways over his first nine holes and made the turn one-over. Coming home, Woods looked frustrated and at times a bit weary from the grind. He hit just two fairways over his final nine holes and finished the day with three straight bogeys for 73. That didn’t set well with Woods. He wasn’t in the mood for interviews and trudged to the range in search of answers. His putter wasn’t cooperative either — a 32-putt day was the testament to his flatstick’s futility. He had three three-putts on the day and he’s going to need something special to happen over the last three days if he’s to advance to East Lake. To do that, he needs to finish fourth or higher come Sunday and he didn’t look like a contender at all on day one.
As for the leader, Matsuyama has overhauled his game. His famous delay at the top of his swing has dwindled and his putter was finally friendly to him. After making the turn one-over, he shot the day’s best score on the front nine — a four-under par 31.
Smartest move may have been the one made by Webb Simpson. Simpson, who’s third in the FedEx Cup points standings, decided to sit this one out. Looks like he saved himself a lot of stress and strain. He didn’t make a single bogey sitting at home.
Things could get tougher over the next 54-holes. Depends on the setup, depends if the Tour wants to really make these guys work for it.
Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be in “playoffs”?
