Spieth’s fortunes improved markedly after the turn and he reached six of nine greens in regulation before capping a round to remember with birdies on his last four holes at Firestone Country Club in Akron.
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American William McGirt (64) was the only player to take full advantage of the course, and he leads by three shots from Day, Emiliano Grillo and Jimmy Walker on three-under.
One month after his first PGA Tour victory at the Memorial in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, McGirt looked just as good two hours up the road at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
In his World Golf Championship debut, he opened with six birdies and finished with a 45-foot par for a six-under-par 64 and a three-shot lead.
The surprise was Jordan Spieth, who putted for birdie (and missed) only one time in 10 holes.
U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson had 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey for 69.
Picking up where she left off from a year ago, when Henderson shot a 21-under 267 to win her first LPGA tournament, the 18-year-old Canadian hit 16 greens and made nine birdies. “I always expect to play well, but this golf course is playing tough”.
Already one of the more unsafe players in the field, Spieth enters Friday’s second round on a tear, shooting a Thursday-best 31 on the back nine. “I’m the one hitting the shots but I keep on talking about why I didn’t hit it where I wanted to hit it and I’ve just been keeping that to myself now, at least I did today”, he said.
Daniel Berger hit one tee shot and withdrew with a sore shoulder. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, playing at Firestone for the first time since 2009, withdrew after 78 because of a torn labrum.
McGirt had some decent company behind him after a first round of warm sunshine and fast conditions at Firestone.
For now, some of golf’s biggest names are chasing McGirt, the North Carolina native with one PGA Tour win who’s taken a liking to golf in Ohio.
“We (he and his caddie, Michael Greller) have really tried to approach this tournament as the turnaround for the second half of the season, and I think it was a really good start”. He already was 2 over for the round when he holed a 20-foot par putt on the eighth, and then a 25-foot par putt on the ninth. “It really is only taking place on my scoring clubs, but that’s where you need them. And when it clicks, we’re definitely in business the way the short game is”.
Australian Day was not at his free-flowing best but he did enough to put himself within just three shots of McGirt.
World number two Spieth is a stroke further back, joined by Anirban Lahiri, Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler.
“I walk across to the golf course, and we’re going fishing tonight, we went fishing last night, and I’ll try and catch some bass out in the lake over here, which is nice”.
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“Right now all I’m trying to do is just grind it out”.
