Rai, Bhatia Tied for 33rd After Opening Round at Memorial
Dublin, Ohio — Indian-origin golfers Aaron Rai, Akshay Bhatia and Sudarshan Yellamaraju stayed within reach of the leaders after a difficult opening round at the Memorial Tournament, one of the PGA Tour’s Signature Events.
Tough scoring conditions at Muirfield Village Golf Club limited low rounds, with only 22 players breaking par. Rai, Bhatia and Yellamaraju each shot 1-over 73 to finish the day tied for 33rd. Sahith Theegala opened with a 2-over 74 and was tied for 44th.
Tommy Fleetwood, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Ryan Gerard shared the first-round lead after shooting 5-under 67.
Rai, playing his first event since his landmark victory at the PGA Championship, delivered a steady but uneven round. The Englishman of Indian heritage birdied the fourth and seventh holes before giving both shots back with bogeys on the eighth and ninth. He briefly moved under par again with a birdie on the 11th but dropped shots on the 12th and 17th to finish at 73.
Bhatia also endured a frustrating finish after moving into red figures on the back nine. The Indian-American left-hander made bogeys on the fourth and eighth holes to turn at 2-over but responded with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 14th.
His momentum disappeared at the closing hole, where trouble off the tee led to a double bogey. The mistake dropped him back to 1-over, leaving him tied with Rai and several others, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Yellamaraju, an Indo-Canadian golfer who entered the field after withdrawals, made the most of his opportunity. He bogeyed two of his first three holes and reached the turn at 2-over but recovered with birdies on the 11th and 12th. A bogey on the 15th kept him from finishing even par, but his 73 represented a solid start in a strong field.
Theegala had a more uneven day. His round included an eagle and two birdies, but six bogeys left him at 2-over. Despite the difficult start, he remained within range heading into the second round.
The demanding setup at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village layout was reflected across the leaderboard. Scheffler, the defending champion, also shot 73 after a round that included three birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey.
Fleetwood produced the cleanest round among the leaders, making five birdies without a bogey. Clark had an eagle and five birdies, Spaun recorded seven birdies, and Gerard’s round included eight birdies and an eagle.
Rory McIlroy was among the players to break par, shooting a 1-under 71 despite an early double bogey. He ended the round tied for 13th, five shots behind the leaders.
With scoring difficult and the leaderboard still tightly packed, Rai, Bhatia, Yellamaraju and Theegala remain in contention entering the second round. (Source: IANS)
