Christiaan Bezuidenhout made six birdies on Thursday in the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, on his way to a three-under-par 69.
Play was suspended for inclement weather, and Bezuidenhout was in a share of seventh, three shots behind the leader, Collin Morikawa of the United States. Morikawa was a stroke ahead of countryman Adam Long, with four players, including Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain and American Xander Schauffele, on four-under-par.
Bezuidenhout started his round on the 10th, and was quickly into his work with birdies on 12 and 13. But he dropped a shot on the par-four 14th when he hit his tee shot into the creek running up the left of the fairway, and had to take a penalty stroke. He regained that loss immediately with a birdie on 15 and turned in two-under 34.
He picked up another shot with a birdie on the second, but he dropped again on the third when he was unable to get up and down from the rear greenside bunker. He lost another stroke to par on the par-three fourth when he was again unable to get up and down after hitting his tee shot into the right greenside bunker. He picked up birdies on the fifth and eighth on his way home to cancel out those dropped shots.
Charl Schwartzel also managed to get his round done and posted a two-under 70. Branden Grace was one-under through four when play was suspended, and Louis Oosthuizen was level-par through three. Dylan Frittelli had a two-over 74 to open.
