DUBLIN, Ohio — There is something about the Memorial and the Muirfield Village that moves Ryan Moore.
Moore has not won the tournament in his nine starts at Muirfield entering this week, but he has had a lot of success, finishing second in 2007, tied for fifth in 2010 and finishing in the top 25 six times.
Moore backed that up with a 5-under-par 67 in Thursday��s opening round, to stand three shots off the lead held by Bo Van Pelt and defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, who are 8-under.
“There are certain courses you just feel comfortable on and this is one of those for me,’’ Moore said. “Even when I’m struggling coming into this tournament, this course for some reason seems to produce good golf scores for me. It’s one of my favorite courses we play all year.’’
It looked that way as Moore stormed to a front-nine 31 and had it to 6-under at one point.
“I had a great start to the day, got it rolling on the front nine, was able to make eagle [on No. 5] and a couple birdies in a row,’’ Moore said.
Ken Duke took advantage of a sponsor’s exemption into the field and shot a 5-under-par 67.
“It’s just an honor to receive [an exemption,] to be considered to get one,’’ Duke said. “The Nicklaus family is very special. This golf course is as special as it gets. I have a lot of memories from [Thursday.]’’
The 67 was the lowest round he’s ever shot in 19 career rounds at the Memorial and only his third round in the 60s.
Matsuyama, the defending champion, was asked after he shot 64 to tie for the first-round lead, whether he likes LeBron James or Stephen Curry better as the NBA Finals begin.
“Cleveland is nearby, isn’t it?’’ he said. “I need to be politically correct here. But I did watch Golden State in the series that they played in Houston, and I really liked how they played.’’
Patrick Rodgers, who shot a 3-under 69, had never seen Muirfeld Village before this week, yet he felt familiar with the course.
“Monday was the first time I saw it, but it’s weird, it’s one of those courses like Augusta where I feel like I know every hole and I had never been here before,’’ Rodgers said. “I knew how putts break from watching Tiger [Woods] and some of the other guys play over the years [on TV]. It was cool coming here and playing it.’’
Jason Dufner, who has struggled for more than a year, looked like he might be the leader after the first round, before faltering late. Dufner was tied for the lead at 8-under walking to 18 and doubled the last to finish with a 66.
“I got off to a nice start, going pretty good and a little disappointed with the finish,’’ he said “But 66 around here is a pretty good day. I’m right on the cusp of doing some good golf, I think.’’
In his past 29 official rounds on the PGA Tour, dating to last year’s Honda Classic, Woods has shot just seven rounds in the 60s. … Odd stat dept.: In Woods’ last nine rounds at the Memorial, he’s 18-under par on the front nine and 18-over par on the back.