Memorial Tournament 2017: Jason Dufner, David Lingmerth Share Round 1 Lead

David Lingmerth and Jason Dufner both stood at the 18th tee at eight under and looking at potentially sitting alone atop the Memorial leaderboard. Both bogeyed. 

Luckily, no one else was within a stroke of them and they will walk into Round 2 with a share of the lead after shooting matching seven-under 65s. Daniel Summerhays and Jordan Spieth sit one stroke behind at six under. Justin Thomas, Lucas Glover and Sam Saunders are all at five under and in a tie for fifth place.

Dufner, who was cut at last week's Dean & Deluca Invitational, played a nearly flawless round of golf until he hit the final tee. He carded six birdies with an eagle on his first 17 holes, hitting all but one of his greens in regulation and knocking down a series of stellar putts.

The 40-year-old Cleveland native went five-under on Muirfield's four par fives, including a sensational eagle at No. 7. He hit a 312-yard drive into the intermediate rough before blasting an approach 249 yards to within a little more than seven feet of the cup. 

For most of the day, Dufner had his short game working. His final birdie of the day came at No. 15, where he played the green slope to get within three feet for an easy tap-in. 

Lingmerth had a bit more of a rocky road. His front nine was some of the best golf he's ever placed, featuring five birdies and not a single over-par score. Things started to unravel a bit at No. 10, where he hit his first of three back-nine bogeys.

Luckily for Lingmerth, when he was on, he was on Thursday. He finished the round with eight birdies against those three bogeys, adding an eagle on No. 15 to round out his day. The Swede sits seven under despite hitting just half his fairways and two thirds of his greens in regulation. He needed just 24 putts to finish the round.

“Golf is a funny game,” Lingmerth said, per Nick Menta of Golf Channel. “It’s very humbling. I’ve been working hard all year and never really found my groove I guess. But [I’ve been] sticking to it, and all along I knew that this stretch was coming up here, and I really like it. Colonial last week, and I love this week, obviously.

“I just kind of try to stay patient all year knowing that it will probably start turning around eventually. I feel like my game has been trending in the right direction. I’ve got some stuff I need to work on but it’s getting there.”

Spieth, like the two guys ahead of him, once sat at eight under before struggling to finish his round. The former world No. 1 peppered the course for eight birdies on his first 15 holes before sputtering with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18. His 25 putts were more than four better than the field. 

“If you’re gaining strokes on the field, you’re going to have a chance to win tournaments,” Spieth said, per 

Dave Shedloski of Golf Digest. “And the last couple of rounds last week and the first rounds this week are very optimistic. We look forward to the rest of the week, and obviously, the U.S. Open.”

Summerhays had his biggest struggles on the front nine, where he carded a pair of birdies interspersed with four birdies on a stretch from Nos. 3-8. He shot four under on the back without a bogey. 

Other notables who have a shot at contending into the weekend include Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama, who each sit at two under par.