Ben Griffin (-7) could currently be, without exaggeration, the most in-form player in the world. To his victory last week at the Colonial, he has added today a splendid start at the Memorial: a scorecard of 65 strokes, seven under par for the day, at a Muirfield Village Golf Club that is by no means set up for such feats. Griffin doesn’t care. If he has to levitate, he levitates. And if he has to sink up to seven putts from over three metres (some even over ten) to record seven birdies and an eagle on his card, then he sinks them. The North Carolina native finished by holing a birdie chip on the 18th, making it very clear to everyone that he is the man of the moment.
We will have to see how and for how long Griffin maintains such levels of efficiency and confidence. Scottie Scheffler (-2), for example, has been performing at a high level for much longer. And it’s worth insisting on this fact, which seems to escape us all: the Texan was already a dominant Number One in 2022, so we are now in the fourth season of his reign. Scheffler, of course, was one of the scarce thirteen players this Thursday who managed to beat a Muirfield Village with very dense rough. Even Griffin didn’t escape blemishes on his card today (he made two bogeys). Neither did Collin Morikawa (-5) or Max Homa (-4), his immediate pursuers. If you don’t stay on the fairway, things get incredibly complicated, and you’re already staring at the possibility of a bogey. Jack Nicklaus’s creation didn’t even need the decisive help of the wind today to keep most of the world’s best players in check.
We mentioned that Griffin, a prodigy of consistency right now, holed up to seven putts from over three metres in this first round to make his birdies… Scheffler, however, only sank one putt from over three metres to make his. Something similar happened to Morikawa. They were able to finish up there without the putter catching fire. These are circumstances to consider when betting on the final winner, because if it doesn’t rain and the greens firm up over the weekend, be careful, the winning score could even remain where the leader is now.
There is still a long way to go in this small and wonderful hell that is the Memorial, given the demanding playing conditions, but it’s clear that Griffin has earned the credit. As for Scheffler’s credit, there’s no need to mention it. Morikawa or Homa also seem to be serious contenders. On the contrary, there is already certainty that some will not be able to fight for the victory because the carnage has been significant, very much in line with the US Open: Justin Thomas (+8), Adam Scott (+7), Wyndham Clark (+6), Justin Rose (+6), Sam Burns (+4), Ludvig Aberg (+3)…
Nicklaus, in his tournament, likes to ensure that the final winner will undoubtedly be the best over 72 holes and in that complicated balance of each and every area of the golf game. Seen this way and under the current circumstances, it should normally be Scheffler. Again.
