MEMORIAL R1: GRIFFIN'S COMEBACK STORY SHINES - MAY 30, 2025

On Friday, May 30th, 2025, Ben Griffin shot a remarkable 65 to lead Round 1 of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, as Muirfield Village's "brutal" rough immediately tested the world's best.MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT: GRIFFIN'S GRIT & MUIRFIELD'S GAUNTLETBen Griffin, once a mortgage broker who quit golf, fired a stunning 65 to lead, battling through water balls and a rollercoaster round for an "incredible day.""A couple of water balls. I really need to go to the range... But, no...it was an incredible day." - Ben Griffin on his adventurous opening 65.Griffin's aggressive strategy and improved fitness fueled his lead, with Amanda Balionis noting on Instagram, "The level of golf Ben Griffin is playing right now..."THE CHASE PACK & MUIRFIELD'S MENACECollin Morikawa (67), Max Homa (68), Shane Lowry (69), Keegan Bradley (69) & Nick Taylor (69) navigate Muirfield's "terrible" rough in pursuit of the leader.Max Homa feels his game is "as good as it has in a very, very long time," boosting his confidence on the challenging layout.Homa also debuted a Chipotle headcover, quipping, "It's probably a bigger dream for me to be friends with the CEO of Chipotle."STAR STORIES & SCHEFFLER'S STARTDefending champion Scottie Scheffler (70) felt "out of the fairway too often" but shared a heartwarming exchange with young fan Wyatt."Hi Scottie. My name is Wyatt. What is your name?" the young fan asked, to which Scheffler replied, "My name's Scottie. Nice to meet you... See ya, buddy!"Player anecdotes abounded: Justin Rose on Steph Curry's inspiration, Xander Schauffele's "embarrassing" round with Michael Jordan, and a Spieth-Greller debate leading to birdie.Quick HitsJustin Thomas's tough 80 • Viktor Hovland on LIV situation feeling "weird" • Rory McIlroy's absence discussed Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.