DUBLIN, Ohio — Geoff Ogilvy felt as though he made more putts in one round at the Memorial than he had in the last month. One little miss that cost him the outright lead Thursday sure wasn’t going to spoil his day.
On greens that were fast and pure despite two rain delays at Muirfield Village, Ogilvy rolled in eight birdie putts to take the lead, only to fall into a three-way tie when he stepped over a 30-inch par putt and watched it spin out of the cup on his 17th hole.
No matter. He still shot a 7-under-par 65, his best start of the year, and shared the lead with 21-year-old Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose, who made most of his birdies after the two-hour rain delay in the morning.
“I putted very well,” Ogilvy said with a wry smile before adding, “except for one little blip.”
They were two shots ahead of a large group that included Phil Mickelson, who can go to No. 1 in the world with a victory on the course Jack Nicklaus built, as long as Tiger Woods isn’t among the top four.
Woods, the defending champion, looked ordinary through most of the afternoon, failing to make birdie on any of the par 5s in a round of 72. Beyond a few errant tee shots, he was off by some 30 and 40 feet with wedges in his hand on several holes.
“They’re perfect sand wedge numbers, but I can’t hit a sand wedge because it’s going to rip (spin),” Woods said. “I had to hit little wedges and I don’t have the feel for it yet. I hit terrible shots. That’s just the way it goes.”
Wood leads Wales Open
NEWPORT, Wales — Chris Wood led the Wales Open after shooting a record-tying 6-under 65 over the Celtic Manor course.
