Dustin Johnson off to fast start at Memorial with 8-under 64

“I just hit a little bit fat with the chip, trying to make sure that I got underneath it to put a little spin on it, and then just obviously clipped a bit of the pitch mark that was already up”.

“I felt like I had enough chances to get in a rhythm with the putter”, he said.

Jason Day did his part with a 66.

Jordan Spieth’s putter saved him in a scrappy round that he turned into a 70. They have rotated at No. 1 since August 10.

Dustin Johnson hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dubln, Ohio, Thursday. He was determined to change that.

No one would have criticized Johnson if he did decide to toot his own horn after posting a 64. To shoot one under on my front nine, the back nine, was by far the best that I could have possibly shot. “It is my home course, and you want to play well, and you want to win this tournament because of Mr. Nicklaus and what he’s done with the golf tournament and the golf course, as well”.

“I’m looking to change that this week”, he said.

Day, the world’s No. 1 player and a Muirfield member, played in the afternoon as clouds began to gather.

Hudson Swafford is second, two strokes back at 6-under. The Indian hit four birdies and two bogeys, on the ninth and 18th but missed a bunch of short birdie putts on Thursday.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo’s 66 positioned him on 11-under alongside another U.S. competitor Gary Woodland, who filed an impressive 65. I’m going to say, ‘Hey, you’re landing in Tampa.’ It might help us. “This one did exactly what we were trying to do”. I did close the gap on that lead a little bit too, so that’s a positive.

SPIETH ROLLING: The question posed to Spieth on Wednesday was who made more 30-footers, Spieth or Steph Curry? I had a really good ball-striking week. “What is he, something like 50 percent?” He finished tied third and second in the first two, and thereafter, he has won the last four. But I feel like I’m definitely on the right track and I holed some really nice putts out there and I got some good feeling.

A player carding only 23 putts could reasonably expect to have a super score going, but that was the measure of Day’s round.

“For me, the margins in putting are so fine, ” McIlroy said.

This is what passes for big news in the up-and-down world of McIlroy, who mixes inspired stretches of golf-see 27 global wins, four major championships-with equally uninspired stretches-see 2015, anytime, anywhere. But oh, that golf.

Luke Donald was among those at 67, and Phil Mickelson was at 68, partly due to a wild shot on No. 15.

The latest version of the Big Three – at least two of them – struggled to keep pace. I hit a lot of fairways and hit a lot of greens, and that’s what made that tournament. He wound up with a birdie.

RB: I’m torn, but I think Day has the most complete game, the most often, of these three.