DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — J.T. Poston stepped onto the putting green Friday at the Memorial just in time to feel the first gust of wind, knowing a tough course was about to get even harder. Part of him was eager to see how a new golf ball to help with the wind was going to perform. It’s safe to say he was pleased.Poston had eight birdies in a round of 7-under 65, a score best measured by the fact he was nine shots better than the field average, enough for a one-shot lead over Ryan Gerard going into the weekend at Muirfield Village.Poston was at 9-under 135, a score not many saw coming.The quality of his round could be measured by the comments of some of his peers. The interview with Tommy Fleetwood began with a statement that it seemed tougher out there.“Is that a question?” Fleetwood replied. “Yeah, we’ll expand on that. It was pretty brutal, actually.”
Justin Thomas hit a phenomenal flop shot from behind the 18th green and holed a 6-foot par putt to make the cut on the number. “I can’t put into words how hard that was,” said Thomas, who did anyway. “That was the hardest round of golf that I can remember, major, non-major, it was just insane.”
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It was all about the wind, not the strongest these players have ever felt (especially if they have been to Kapalua or Scotland) but Muirfield Village has so much trouble and so little room to play it safe that it became vexing.
