On a golf course that holds similarities to U.S. Open setups, it may come as no surprise to see a pair of recent U.S. Open champions atop the leaderboard at the 2026 Memorial Tournament. In his first start since his first win of the season, Wyndham Clark climbed to 5 under in the first round at Jack’s Place, a score that was matched by J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood and Ryan Gerard.

“The golf course is so demanding,” Clark said. “I think I made three saves by chipping out and having a hundred yards in. That’s what happens at this golf course. You hit it in the rough, and you really can’t advance it, so you got to be patient and take your medicine and hope you get up-and-down from a hundred yards, and I did that a couple times. And then you start hitting some good shots, and you make some putts, and it turns into a good round.”

Clark’s round marks his first in a signature event this season, as the 2023 U.S. Open champion was on the outside looking in until his win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. That has not been the case for Fleetwood, who was a fixture on the leaderboards in these tournaments in the early stage of the season, only to see a slight dip in form across the last couple of months.

Still, the Englishman was able to manage his game effectively on Thursday, even with hitting just seven greens in regulation (and remaining bogey-free in the process). Spaun continued his stellar form from last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge, where he contended, as did Gerard, who made five straight birdies at one point in his back nine and seeks his second PGA Tour title after being in the final grouping Sunday at Colonial.

“I think you can separate yourself a little bit more in terms of ball striking at some of the more difficult golf courses, which I think is awesome,” Gerard said. “Sometimes, they get maybe a little bit so difficult that you’re bordering on the edge of ridiculousness. We’re not there yet, but it’s playing difficult, it’s playing firm, it’s playing fair, but if it continues like this, it could get really, really difficult by Saturday. So it should be a fun test, but just going to try and keep the ball in front of us.”

Much to the tournament host’s delight, Muirfield Village played more than a full stroke over par in Round 1. Rory McIlroy looked like he was on his way to shooting past that number when he found the water on No. 3 en route to a double bogey, but the Masters champion was able to battle back to get in at 1 under.

“I think just understanding that there’s 69 more holes to go in the golf tournament and there’s a long way to go and a lot of things can happen,” McIlroy said. “I’ve made plenty of double bogeys in my career, and I’ve made plenty of double bogeys in tournaments that I’ve won. So you play enough events, you learn to ride the highs and the lows and not get too excited or too down either way.”

Two-time defending champion Scottie Scheffler turned in 2 under in the afternoon but played his back nine in 3 over to shoot 73. The world No. 1 was without his best stuff with the full swing as he hit just seven greens in regulation and found the water on the par-3 16th, leading to a double bogey and some words with his bagman, Ted Scott.

Leaders

T1. Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Gerard (-5)

Even though Clark just won a golf tournament at 30 under, he is part of this quartet of leaders that seems to have an inkling for those more difficult golf courses. Clark, Spaun and Gerard all ranked inside the top six in strokes gained approach with Gerard leading the way on the greens as well; he continues to look more comfortable with his putter in hand.

To no surprise, Fleetwood topped the field in strokes gained around the green as he was successful in getting his ball up-and-down 11 out of 11 times. While each player was superb in their own respective areas, it seems like the area between the ears will prove to be the ultimate separator by week’s end.

“I thought I did well between the ears today,” Spaun said. “The game’s felt really good for a while now, so I would say kind of when I gave some back on 11 and 12, I could have probably let that round go. But just kind of hung in there.”

Contenders

5. Nick Taylor (-4)
T6. Justin Rose, Sam Burns (-3)
T8. Ryan Fox, J.T. Poston, Shane Lowry, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay (-2)

While greens were difficult to hit, Rose had no issues. The former world No. 1 found 15 greens in regulation while splitting 10 of 14 fairways on the day. This comes after an eyebrow-raising equipment change at the Cadillac Championship that left some scratching their heads. After poor showings at Doral and Quail Hollow Club, Rose has resurrected his iron play. The resurgence with his scoring clubs led to a top-10 finish at the PGA Championship and could lead him to his second win at Muirfield Village and his second win of the season.

A career worst amid a career year

Three of Alex Smalley’s last five tournaments have seen him finish on the podium as the smooth swinger has elevated his status in the game to a whole new level. Unfortunately for Smalley, that run may come to an end after he opened his Memorial with an 11-over 83. The round marked not only the worst of his entire (!) career but also the third-worst of any player on the PGA Tour this season, relative to strokes gained. Smalley pencilled more sixes (four) than threes (two) in addition to five 5s onto his scorecard while being shutout in the birdie category.

2026 Memorial Tournament updated odds and picks

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

  • Tommy Fleetwood: 6-1
  • J.J. Spaun: 8-1
  • Scottie Scheffler: 17/2
  • Wyndham Clark: 11-1
  • Rory McIlroy: 12-1
  • Ryan Gerard: 14-1
  • Ludvig Åberg: 16-1
  • Patrick Cantlay: 17-1
  • Justin Rose: 19-1
  • Sam Burns: 19-1
  • Nick Taylor: 21-1

There are two horses that I fancied at the onset of the week that I still like after 18 holes: Rose at 19-1 and Xander Schauffele at 25-1 following his opening round of even par. Rose’s swing looked as fluid as it has all season long while leaving some strokes out there on the greens. Meanwhile, Schauffele hung tough without his best stuff and remains just five strokes off the pace.

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