Merritt equals course record for PGA lead, Tiger woeful

Troy Merritt matched the Liberty National course record with a nine-under par 62 to grab a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the US PGA Northern Trust tournament.

On a day when Masters champion Tiger Woods struggled to a 75 and shared 116th among 120 starters, it was 33-year-old American Merritt who stole the show with a bogey-free day on Thursday.

"That putter was hot today and the greens were rolling beautifully and (I) just took advantage of it," Merritt said.

World number two Dustin Johnson was one stroke back with Kevin Kisner and Spain's Jon Rahm sharing third on 64. Third-ranked Rory McIlroy, world number four Justin Rose, Webb Simpson and Tony Finau were on 65.

Merritt equaled the record at the Jersey City, New Jersey, layout set by compatriot Kevin Chappell in the third round of the 2013 Northern Trust.

He also boosted his chances of moving on in the US PGA playoffs, with only the top 70 in season points advancing from this playoff opener to next week's second event at Medinah, where only the top 30 in season points will qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks.

Merritt entered this week 72nd in points, two outside the field to move on, but as the only player outside the top 30 among the eight leaders, he will leap to fourth in points if he can win the title.

"This week it's a little bit different with just trying to get into next week," Merritt said.

"Now we can shift our focus from winning the golf tournament."
- No good shots for Tiger -
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