Columbus born and bred, Bo Hoag pleases the locals with 68 at Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio – Bo Hoag was born in Columbus, Ohio, played college golf at Ohio State and worked the range at the Memorial Tournament when he was a teenager, so it was an all-too-familiar scene Thursday at Muirfield Village following his opening round.

“Very pleased with how I played,” said Hoag before being interrupted by rolling thunder in the distance. “Hearing some claps of thunder, so it’s nice to be done.”

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Hoag was one of the lucky few to finish his round before play was halted just before 1 p.m. ET because of dangerous weather. He was also lucky enough to enjoy the hometown crowd that was following him after last year’s Memorial was played without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was awesome playing it last year, my rookie year on the PGA Tour to play in the Memorial,” he said. “There was a piece missing without my fans, friends and family out there and we got that back now. I think everybody’s ready for the 2021 Memorial this year.”

Hoag gave his fans something to cheer about with an opening 68 that was good for the early clubhouse lead. His 4-under round could have been better but he bogeyed the last hole and was a shot behind Collin Morikawa, who had played 15 holes before play was halted.