Ben Griffin fired two shots in the water but still shot a 7-under 65 at the Memorial on a tough course, continuing his strong play after his first PGA Tour win last week.
Griffin won at Colonial without celebrating much. He eagled the par-5 seventh with a 3-wood to 12 feet and added birdies. Max Homa trailed by one, Collin Morikawa by two.
Scottie Scheffler, the defending winner, began with a round of par despite not playing at his best, managing a 70 for the 19th consecutive tournament.
Griffin's two water balls on the par-5 11th and par-3 12th holes only resulted in bogeys when so many other players were penalized for such errors. He was playing so brilliantly.
He knew this one was good. Recent rain softened Muirfield Village, enabling low scores from the fairway, not the rough—Justin Thomas compared it to Oakmont's U.S. Open conditions.
Eight players at Muirfield Village made triple bogey on 7 holes, and only 13 broke par in light breeze. Stats confirm.
Griffin led early but faced water issues. Missed a 10-foot par putt on the 11th after landing in the water. On the 12th, his tee shot bounced into the water, but he saved bogey with a 6-foot putt.
On the 18th hole, he holed out from just over 50 feet up the hill for his third consecutive birdie, after making a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 16th and a 12-foot birdie on the 17th.
One of just six players to reach 70 was Shane Lowry, who played with Griffin and achieved a score of 69. Considering how Griffin was playing, it could not have felt all that wonderful.
Homa continues to work on the aspects of his game that helped him finish at No. 10 in the world during the Memorial last year. He is now ranked No. 87 and has a demanding week ahead of him, with a 36-hole U.S. Open qualifying round on Monday and a challenging test at Muirfield Village.
Nick Taylor had two triple bogeys and one double bogey on the par-3 12th hole, but the Canadian recovered with 2 birdies on his final three holes to finish with a 69.
After winning the PGA Championship, Scheffler made an effort to relax as much as possible before Colonial, when he was still tied for 4th place. He put in a bit more effort in the days before Memorial and was out in the rough too much, fighting for pars.
He also does it well, hitting six of the 14 fairways and missing two birdie-conversion attempts on the par-5s on the back nine, while dropping only two strokes.
Last year, at the U.S. Open, he went above par to begin a tournament for the first time.
Daniel Berger (81) and Thomas (80) don't need to be told that. Adam Scott was next, finishing his round with a score of seven over six holes. He finished with a 79, playing even par the remainder of the way.