Richy Werenskimade a short birdie putt on the par-5 18th for an 8-under 63 and the first-round lead at the 3M Open from TPC Minnesota.
Dustin Johnson withdrew because of a back injury after a 78.
Werenski broke a tie with Michael Thompson with his ninth and last birdie on the warm, windy afternoon at the TPC Twin Cities. Defending champion Matthew Wolff, Tony Finau, Nick Watney, Ryan Moore, Xinjun Zhang and Max Homa were tied for third at 65. There’s an 11-way tie behind them at 5 under.
Thompson, who entered the week in 151st place in the FedEx Cup standings, enjoyed a bogey-free round, also thanks to the accuracy of his short game.
Johnson’s departure further depleted the star power of the second edition of the event that landed right after the Memorial and right before the World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship following the pandemic-forced reshuffling of the schedule. Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Finau were the only entrants in the top 25 of the world ranking. This tournament, like all the others since golf’s restart, is being played without spectators.
