#Even Bryson DeChambeau ‘can’t believe’ his 423-yard drive at Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio — The first hole at Muirfield Village for the PGA Tour players competing in Memorial Tournament measures 473 yards. That’s a short par-5 for amateur players.

It was no match for Bryson DeChambeau in Thursday’s first round. DeChambeau, who’s added at least 25 pounds of muscle in the past six months, hit a 423-yard drive on No. 1, leaving himself 54 yards to the hole.

DeChambeau birdied No. 1, which was his 10th hole of the round, but finished a disappointing 1-over for the day.

But it was that tee shot that left everyone around Muirfield murmuring. The hole doglegs slightly to the right with a stream running down the left side of the fairway, and DeChambeau took an insanely aggressive line over the trees to nullify the dogleg.

“I hit it a little high on the face,’’ he said. “It definitely came out with sub-2,000 spin, I think. Just 191 [mph] ball speed I saw, and I hit a great drive and got a good kick. It’s one of those things.’’

Asked if he surprises himself with some of the shots he hits now, DeChambeau said, “I sometimes can’t believe it. There were years where I hit 5-iron into that hole, and now I’m hitting a 30-yard little shot. It’s wild. I’m just blessed that I’ve been able to figure some stuff out with the driver. Got a lot more to work on with the wedging and iron play.’’

---

Charles Howell III has played the Memorial 16 times before this year and has never even finished within the top 10. His best finish came the first time he played the event, a tie for 15th in 2001. Yet after Thursday’s first round, he’s tied for fifth after shooting a 3-under 69.

“I don’t have a top-10 here, but I love the golf course,’’ Howell said. “I love being here. I might have first fallen in love with the milkshakes here and then the golf course was really close behind. But I love it here.

“I remember the first year I came here, I played with Gary Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus. It was a day I still remember walking around this golf course playing with Jack and Gary and him walking me around it and [telling me] what he was doing and his thoughts and design. I’ve just loved it ever since.’’

---

Jordan Spieth, who shot a 2-under 70, said he feels like his game is coming back to him after a struggle that’s lasted some two years.

“I’ve actually made a lot of progress,’’ he said. “It may not kind of look like that via results, but I’ve made a lot of progress in how I’m seeing sight lines, committing to lines. I’m seeing lines on my putter better.

“All in all, now it’s just about trying to kind of find the timing element as I go up the bag. The rest of the game is starting to feel kind of back to normal, and I’m kind of piecing together my swing, but the timing element is what’s kind of left for me. That just comes from on-course reps. A day like today I can get a lot of confidence from.’’