Following a final-round 5-under 65 at The Open Championship last week, Rickie Fowler opened with a bogey-free 7-under 64 for a share of the lead in his 3M Open debut.
After missed cut in last two PGA Tour starts, Troy Merritt birdied six of his inward nine holes to open with a 7-under 64.
Jhonattan Vegas made his seventh birdie of the day at his last hole, No. 18, to claim a share of the lead.
Thursday was Fowler’s first bogey-free round since Round One of the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic (70; T32).
The 7-under 64 marked his lowest score on Tour since a 64 in Round One of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T15).
In his first 47 rounds on Tour this season, Fowler posted no bogey-free scores. Round One marked his fifth in his last 26 rounds.
On six previous occasions when holding an 18-hole lead/co-lead on Tour, the only one that resulted in victory was the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Fowler is seeking a sixth career Tour title and first since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
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Merritt hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation and on the three previous occasions when holding an 18-hole leads/co-lead, the 2018 Barbasol Championship resulted in victory.
Prior to his two most recent missed cuts, Merritt lost to Cam Davis on the fifth hole of a playoff at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
He is seeking a career-best fifth top-10 finish of the season and third career Tour title (2015 Quicken Loans National, 2018 Barbasol Championship).
Vegas made seven birdies, including one at his last of the day, the par-5 18th, and no bogeys to claim a share of the lead.
In his only previous 3M Open start, he missed the cut in 2020.
His most recent of three top-10 finishes this season, a T2, came at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree last month. In most recent start, finished T11 at the John Deere Classic two weeks ago.
He seeks a fourth career Tour victory and first since the 2017 RBC Canadian Open.
Text courtesy: PGA Tour
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