At a golf course with similarities to the U.S. Open setup, it might not be surprising to see a pair of recent U.S. Open champions atop the leaderboard at the 2026 Memorial Tournament. Windham-Clark, making his first start since his first win of the season, improved to five under par in the first round at Jack’s Place, level with J.J. Spawn, Tommy Fleetwood and Ryan Gerrard.
“Golf courses are very demanding,” Clark said. “I think I had three saves by chipping out and going in 100 yards. That’s what happens on this golf course. If you hit it in the rough, you can’t really make any progress. So you just have to be patient, take your medicine and hope it goes up and down from 100 yards. I’ve done that a few times, and then I start hitting some good shots, I make some putts, I have a good round.”
Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, was on the outside until his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, making this round his first at a signature event this season. This is not the case for Fleetwood, who was a regular on the leaderboards in these tournaments early in the season, but has only seen a slight dip in form in recent months.
Still, the Englishman was able to manage his game effectively on Thursday, despite hitting only the required seven greens (and remaining bogey-free in the process). Spawn continued his strong form at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, with Gerrard also making five consecutive birdies on the back nine and aiming for his second PGA Tour title after making the final group at Sunday’s Colonial.
“I think on some of the more difficult golf courses I can separate myself a bit more in terms of hitting the ball, which I think is great,” Gerrard said. “Sometimes they get a little too difficult and get to a ridiculous level. We’re not there yet, but we’re playing hard, we’re playing solid, we’re playing fair, but if we keep this up it could get really, really difficult by Saturday. So it should be a fun test, but we’re just going to try to keep the ball in front of us.”
Much to the delight of tournament organizers, Muirfield Village played more than a full stroke over in the first round. Rory McIlroy looked poised to surpass that number when he found a pond on No. 3 en route to a double bogey, but the Masters champion fought back to move up the order at 1 under.
“I think it’s just understanding that there are 69 holes left in the golf tournament and the road is long and a lot of things can happen,” McIlroy said. “I’ve hit a lot of double bogeys in my career, and I’ve hit a lot of double bogeys in tournaments I’ve won, so you just play enough events and learn to ride through the good times and the bad times and not get too excited or too depressed either way.”
Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler went into the afternoon at 2 under, but shot a 73 with three over and a back nine. World No. 1 Scheffler hit only the required seven greens and was unable to take a full swing, arriving at the water on the par-3 16th hole, making a double bogey and exchanging words with his manager, Ted Scott.
leader
T1. Windham Clarke, JJ Spahn, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Gerrard (-5)
Clark just won a golf tournament with a 30 under, but he’s part of this leading quartet and seems to know a thing or two about the more difficult golf courses. Clarke, Spaun and Gerrard all rank within the top six in stroke gain approach, with Gerrard leading the way on the greens. He seems to be getting more and more comfortable holding a putter in his hand.
Unsurprisingly, Fleetwood was able to get the ball up and down 11 of 11 times and led in strokes gained around the greens. Each player excelled in their respective fields, but by the end of the week it looks like the area between the ears will prove to be the ultimate divider.
“I think I did a good job between the ears today,” Spaun said. “I’ve been feeling really good about the fight for a while now, so I think I could have given it back a little bit at 11 or 12 and probably let that round go. But I held on a little bit.”
contestants
5. Nick Taylor (-4)
T6. Justin Rose, Sam Barnes (-3)
T8. Ryan Fox, JT Poston, Shane Lowry, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay (-2)
It was difficult to hit the greens, but Rose had no problems. The former world number one split 10 of 14 fairways on the day while finding 15 greens within regulation. This comes after Cadillac Championship made some eyebrow-raising equipment changes that left some people scratching their heads. After a lackluster performance at the Doral and Quail Hollow clubs, Rose revived his iron play. The return of the scoring club could lead to a top-10 finish at the PGA Championship, his second win at Muirfield Village, and his second of the season.
Worst result of my career
Alex Smalley has reached the podium in three of the past five tournaments, and the smooth swinger has taken his standing in the game to a whole new level. Unfortunately for Smalley, that run may end after he opened the Memorial with an 11-over 83. This round was not only the worst of his entire career (!), but also the third-worst of all players on the PGA Tour this season when compared to strokes gained. Smalley added five to his scorecard, recording more sixes (four) than threes (two), while being shutout in the birdie department.
2026 Memorial Tournament odds and picks updated
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
- Tommy Fleetwood: 6-1
- JJ Spahn: 8-1
- Scotty Scheffler: 17/2
- Windham Clark: 11-1
- Rory McIlroy: 12-1
- Ryan Gerrard: 14 wins and 1 loss
- Ludwig Oberg: 16-1
- Patrick Cantlay: 17-1
- Justin Rose: 19-1
- Sam Burns: 19-1
- Nick Taylor: 21-1
There are two horses I fancied earlier this week that I still like after 18 holes. Rose, who is 19-1, and Xander Schauffele, who is 25-1 after opening the round at even par. Rose’s swing looked as smooth as it has all season, although he left strokes on the greens. Schauffele, on the other hand, struggled despite his best efforts and was only five strokes off the pace.
