Day one of the St. Jude Championship served up a hot and energy sapping day, as the mercury hovered around triple digits on TPC Southwind. The heat in the air was matched by that on course, on a day where the top 70 on Tour all seemed to want a go.
Chris Kirk was an early bolter, with an ace on the par-three 14th, his fourth on Tour, helping him to an early lead of six-under-par. Try as they might, the heavy hitters couldn’t overhaul Kirk as the afternoon played out. Seamus Power heads up the Irish charge with a strong opening day to help his cause as he aims to move into the top 50. His three-under opener sees him in good shape heading into Friday, while Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry lurk within striking distance.
Asked to describe his hole-in-one, Kirk talked us through his approach. “Sure. The adjusted number I think was 200 or 201,” said a sanguine overnight leader. “We had it a little bit down the hill, just a breath of breeze off the right, and 6-iron for me, which was, in this heat, it’s a perfect number. I’m usually around 196 or 197 with a 6-iron. Everything is going a couple yards further with the heat this week. Great number. I was looking a little further left than that with water on the right, but as soon as I hit it, I hit it just how I wanted to contact-wise, looked up, saw it started a touch right but was drawing right back to it. Yeah, nice bonus.”
Power did all his good work on the outward nine, carding four birdies with just the single shot dropped on the par-three fourth hole. He then went back-to-back with a 2-3 finish to his front nine before a blemish free nine pars on his walk back to the clubhouse. Power knows he has work to do this week, and has given himself the perfect foundation to build on.
Rory McIlroy eagled the par-five third hole with a great approach shot into the heart of the green. He followed that up by sinking a 17-footer to kick-start his round before handing the two shots back after the turn on the 10th and again at the 12th. A late rally saw him claw those two back in his final three holes however, and the third ranked player sits on two-under heading into round two.
Shane Lowry got his day into gear with a beauty into the par-three fourth hole. 189-yards into position followed with a seven-foot putt to tidy up. Two bogeys followed though, at the two par-fours, the seventh and ninth holes. The Clara man got back to even par with another great shot inside four feet on the par-three 11th. He went on to hold station, parring his way home and sits on level-par heading into Friday.
All the attention for the afternoon pairings was on the top two, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. The marquee group came out of the traps hot and both went three-under through five holes with Schauffele carding three birdies on-the-bounce to open his day. Like many of the field though, the two best players on tour this season hit the wall that is the back nine of TPC Southwind. Both managed birdie on the par-five 16th but after their fast start, they had to battle with each other and the course. The pair sit on four-under, just two back from overnight leader Kirk.
Hideki Matsuyama put up one of the strongest challenges to Kirk’s lead in the afternoon, briefly tying with the Atlanta native during the evening. The 32-year-old tied the lead with birdie on the par-five 16th before handing it back on the following hole. He sits tied for second with Taylor Pendrith and Matthieu Pavon on five-under-par. A resurgent Justin Rose sits one further back, tied with the Tour’s top two, among others, on four-under.
“This year has felt like a bit of a grind. All my weeks off have been quite hard-working,” Rose said after his first-round 66. “So, the last couple weeks I was back in the UK. It was my birthday. Took a little time just slightly away from the game,” he reflected. “Coming from the UK, I think last week was important to get going for this week”. He needs a good week after arriving in Tennessee ranked 55th on the FedEx Cup standings.
Viktor Hovland and Erik van Rooyen start proceedings in the Memphis morning at 7.20am, while Scheffler and Schauffele begin their second round at 9.35am in Tennessee. Lowry will begin the Irish run at 18.25 Irish time, followed by Rory 20 minutes later at 18.45. Seamus Power will look to continue as he started when he heads out, last of the Irish tomorrow in the second last group. He will have the benefit of a 7.05pm start and seeing how the field is playing out as he searches for his top 50 spot.
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