AKRON, Ohio -- Golf in Ohio must bring out the best in William McGirt.
One month after his first PGA Tour victory at the Memorial, McGirt looked just as good two hours up the road at the Bridgestone Invitational. In his World Golf Championship debut, he opened with six birdies and finished with a 45-foot par for a 6-under 64 and a three-shot lead.
McGirt had some decent company behind him after an opening round of warm sunshine and fast conditions at Firestone. Jason Day, the world's No. 1 player, was among three players at 67, while Jordan Spieth somehow managed to post a 68 despite having only one birdie attempt (he missed) in his first 10 holes.
U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson had a U.S. Open kind of round -- 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey -- for a 69.
"I didn't expect a whole lot today," Johnson said. "I always expect to play well, but this golf course is playing tough."
Only 17 players of the 61-man field broke par. The first round ended with only 58 players.
Daniel Berger withdrew after his opening tee shot resulted in a shoulder injury. Brooks Koepka withdrew after 13 holes with an ankle injury. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, playing at Firestone for the first time since 2009, withdrew after a 78 because of what was described as a torn labrum.
The field also was missing Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Danny Willett, among several European Tour players who opted to play the French Open this week.
The most peculiar round belonged to Spieth, who said he has been in a lull the last month as he searches for something in his swing, particularly his wedges. It had the look of a score closer to 74 or 75, except that the former Masters and U.S. Open champion kept hanging in there with pars. One shot hit a tree and bounced forward over the water into a bunker. He whiffed on a 7-iron that left him a tough pitch, but he managed to save par from 8 feet.
He ended the front nine with par-saving putts from 20 feet and 25 feet.
It took him until the 15th hole before he had back-to-back birdie putts, and he started converting them. He holed the last four of them.
"I'm really just searching for something that isn't far off, that's real simple," Spieth said. "It really is only taking place on my scoring clubs, but that's where you need them. It's close. It's almost there. And when it clicks, we're definitely in business the way the short game is."
Emiliano Grillo and Jimmy Walker also were at 67 with Day, while Spieth was joined by Rickie Fowler, Anirban Lahiri and Charley Hoffman.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot an even-par round of 70 and is tied in a pack for 18th.
PGA
Laird in lead at Reno
RENO, Nev. -- Martin Laird of Scotland piled up points with eight birdies to take the first-round lead of the Barracuda Championship.
Laird is familiar with high altitude at Montreux Golf and Country Club. He came over from Scotland to play at Colorado State, so the extra distance the golf ball flies was not much of an adjustment. His final birdie on the par-5 18th hole gave him 15 points, one point ahead of Gary Woodland, Camilo Villegas and Greg Chalmers.
The Barracuda Championship uses a modified Stableford scoring system, with five points for an eagle, two points for a birdie and deductions of one point for a bogey and two points for a double bogey or worst.
The top player not already eligible earns a spot in the British Open.
Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had five points and Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) had two. Bryce Molder (Conway) and Glen Day (Little Rock) each had -1.
LPGA
Henderson out front
PORTLAND, Ore. — Defending champion Brooke Henderson shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a twostroke lead after the opening round of the LPGA Cambia Portland Classic on Thursday.
Picking up where she left off from a year ago, when Henderson shot a 21-under 267 to win her first LPGA tournament, the 18-year-old Canadian hit 16 greens and made nine birdies on a warm, cloudless day at the 6,476-yard Columbia Edgewater course.
Angela Stanford, Demi Runas and Mariajo Uribe each shot 67 to trail Henderson.
Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 2-under 70. Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) had an even-par 72.
EUROPEAN
Bjerregaard on top
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France -- In the midst of drastic changes to his swing, Rory McIlroy shot a level-par 71 at the French Open to lie five shots off the lead held by Lucas Bjerregaard midway through the first round.
McIlroy, currently in the spotlight because of his decision to skip the Olympics over concerns about the Zika virus, had four birdies and four bogeys around L'Albatros course at the Le Golf National, the 2018 Ryder Cup host.
The fourth-ranked McIlroy said, "I've got about four or five swing thoughts out there at the minute, so that's why I'm sort of happy with 71."
Bjerregaard shot a 5-under 66, helped by a hole-in-one at No. 2 from 202 yards. The Dane was playing with a new set of clubs after his own was lost in transit.
Sports on 07/01/2016