Woods shoots 67, Niemann and Stanley lead Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio: Tiger Woods ignited the galleries at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio on Friday with a five-under par 67 but still has a lot of work to do if he is to catch the leading pair of Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley, who top the leaderboard on 11-under 133.Chilean 19-year-old Niemann birdied three of his final five holes, including the last, for a four-under 68 while American Stanley had eight birdies in a 66, leaving them two strokes clear of South Korean An Byeong-hun (67).

Australian Jason Day shot his second consecutive four-under 68 to share fourth place on eight-under with Japanese first round co-leader Hideki Matsuyama (71) and Americans Wesley Bryan (68), J.B. Holmes (66) and Bryson DeChambeau (67).

But it was Woods that brought out the biggest roars at Muirfield Village Golf Club as he moved within six strokes of the lead.

The 42-year-old, returning to the PGA Tour this year after spinal fusion surgery in April 2017, rebounded from a disappointing 72 on Thursday, when he complained of a tight back, to pick up three shots on his first nine holes.

An eagle from 95 yards at the par-five 11th then moved the fist-pumping Woods to five-under.

A 90-minute weather day seemed to dull his momentum as the former world number one made pars on the next three holes but he snatched his fifth birdie at 15 before giving the shot back at the 17th to finish on a combined 139.”I did not putt well today,” Woods told reporters.

Niemann, a former world number one amateur, had shared the first-round lead with Matsuyama and Mexico’s Abraham Ancerer and he kept the foot on the accelerator with seven birdies against three bogeys.