Will McGirt got chummy with Jack Nicklaus with his Memorial victory, it pulled him from the journeyman ranks of the PGA Tour and inserted him into the “winners” category.
On Thursday McGirt once again came through on another Big-Boy golf course — Firestone Country Club.
McGirt scooted past all the big names, all the way to the top of the leaderboard with a flawless 64, that’s six-under at Firestone and he leads his first WGC event.
McGirt, who won in a playoff at Muirfield Village, had four front nine birdies then came up with some big shots coming hole. He holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie at the 15th then holed a 46-foot par putt from the front of the green at 18 to preserve his perfect scorecard.
He put himself three in front of Emiliano Grillo, Jimmy Walker and world’s No. 1 — Jason Day.
Day had just one bogey on the round and was fairly unimpressed with his showing afterward. “I did alright. There were some shots that were a little loose.”
Comeback of the day belonged to Jordan Spieth. Spieth found himself two-over with four to play but birdied the final four holes to shoot 68. “Greens in regulation,” Spieth pointed out as his turnaround. “I hit two greens in the first 13 holes, then I started hitting greens and really got that putter hot.”
