Swede David Lingmerth and American Jason Dufner emerged from hibernation to share the first round lead at the Memorial tournament Thursday as world number one Dustin Johnson stumbled with a six-over-par 78 here. The 2015 champion Lingmerth, who has not posted a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour this season, conjured some old magic on one of his favorite courses to card a 65 at pristine Muirfield Village. He plundered an eagle and eight birdies but also had three bogeys, while Dufner was flawless until the par-four 18th, where he missed the green with his approach shot for the first time all day, leading to a closing bogey. Lingmerth and Dufner led Americans Jordan Spieth and Daniel Summerhays by one stroke on a day when Johnson endured a nightmare on the greens, taking 35 putts and not making a single birdie. Johnson's round was marred by a triple-bogey at the par-three 16th, where his tee shot found the pond guarding the green, before he compounded his misery by three-putting. Lingmerth had no such problems: "I caught some breaks when I missed the fairway and still had some fairly good opportunities from the rough," he told golf Channel. However, since Lingmerth has struggled this season, he did not want to read too much into one excellent round. Co-leader Dufner has also had a quiet season, with just one top-10, but one would not have known it by the way he dismantled Muirfield Village. "Everything," the 2013 PGA Championship winner said, when asked what he had done well. "I hit a lot of fairways, lot of greens, which gave me a lot of opportunities. I'll take it. Sixty-five to start the tournament is a good place to be." Spieth has also found form recently. "It was a good fight. I hung in there," said the 2015 US Open champion, who finished equal second at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth last week. The Jack Nicklaus-founded Memorial tournament has attracted a stellar field as usual in what for many players is a final tune-up before the US Open, with Johnson set to defend his title at Erin Hills in Wisconsin in two weeks' time. Ko's No. 1 reign set to end Lydia Ko will relinquish her world No. 1 ranking Sunday, ending an 84-week reign at the top of women's golf. The South Korea-born New Zealander is not playing this week's ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey, which means she is certain to be overtaken by either Ariya Jutanugarn or Ryu So-yeon, the LPGA announced. With Thai Ariya also skipping the event, South Korea's Ryu can pinch the top ranking if she wins in New Jersey, finishes in a two or three-way tie for second or comes outright third. Otherwise, Ariya will be No. 1. Either way, it will mark the 10th different No. 1 since the rankings were created in 2006, after Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa, Shin Ji-yai, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Yani Tseng, Stacy Lewis, Park In-bee and Ko. Ryu leads the LPGA money list after a stellar start to the season, highlighted by a victory at the year's first major, the ANA Inspiration, where her playoff win over Lexi Thompson was overshadowed by the American's penalty for replacing her ball in the wrong spot on a putting green during the third round. — Reuters
