Brooks Koepka matches career-best round for lead at WGC in Memphis
Defending champ Brooks Koepka matched his career best with an 8-under-par 62 to take a two-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler and Brendon Todd after the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis.
A week after missing the cut in Minnesota in the 3M Open, Koepka had nine birdies and a bogey on a windy day at TPC Southwind in the World Golf Championship event.
Koepka also will defend his PGA Championship title next week at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Sung Kang shot 65. Justin Thomas, who can move back to No. 1 in the world with a victory, shot a 66 and was tied with Matt Kuchar, Chez Reavie and Cal alum Max Homa.
Jon Rahm, playing his first event since becoming No. 1 with a win at Memorial, shot 70. Rory McIlroy (73) also could move back to No. 1 with a win.
• Past major champions Francesco Molinari and Padraig Harrington withdrew from the PGA Championship. Neither gave a reason. They were replaced by Troy Merritt and Talor Gooch.
• Ryan Moore curled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th for a share of the lead with Adam Schenk in the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee.
Moore and Schenk had 14-point rounds under the modified Stableford scoring system.
• Spain’s Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez shot a course-record 10-under 62 in the opening round of the European Tour’s Hero Open in Birmingham, England.
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