Luke Donald Leads, Tiger Five Strokes Back at Memorial

Here is something you don't read everyday. Tiger Woods, the top golfer in the world with mucho power and a tremendous start to the week already, was standing on the 18th tee on Thursday at the Memorial with a chance to hit every single stinkin' fairway. All 14 of 'em. That is something he has only done five times in his career. Something he hasn't done since 2003. Something that, when effective, basically is the ingredients to a Tiger victory (he was seventh in fairways hit at Bethpage Black in '02).

Tiger, sadly, couldn't do it. He pushed his tee shot right into a fairway bunker, chunked his second shot short and left of the green, missed the par putt and ended his day with a disappointing three-under 69. The man he is staring up at in the leaderboard is Luke Donald, who posted an eight-under 64.

Donald, who leads the tour in putting this season, needed just 20 putts on his way to his 64 that included a stretch in the middle of his round where the Englishman birdied eight of nine holes including six in a row. Donald's round didn't start out the way you'd think, when he bogeyed his first hole of the day and didn't convert birdies on either of the par-5s on the front nine, but his hot putter went molten when he hit the eighth hole.

Donald, who missed the Ryder Cup in 2008 because of a wrist injury, has had a sneaky good 2009, missing just one cut in 11 events and carding four top-10 finishes. His putter has been the key to his year thus far and it showed Thursday at Muirfield Village. Sneaking just behind Donald is 21-year-old Jason Day, who finished fourth last week at Colonial.

Jim Furyk, who broke Tiger's attempt at four straight victories at Jack Nicklaus' event in 2002, is right in the hunt after his five-under 67, tying him with Ted Purdy. The rains earlier in the week has made Muirfield extremely playable and guys are taking full advantage.

While Tiger did seem in control of his golf swing, he still had a few loose ones that led to bogeys on 13 and 18. As conditions continue to stay absolutely ideal in Ohio, scoring should stay somewhat the same. Hopefully Woods can continue to control that driver, because if that's the case, 69 will be about as bad a score as he will shoot.