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 Owen, a 43-year-old Englishman who does not own a PGA Tour victory,
and Koepka, a 25-year-old ex-Florida State golfer who has one Tour
win, played their rounds in the morning when the conditions were
ideal for scoring. Palmer, a 38-year-old Texan with three Tour wins,
recorded his 64 in the afternoon.
One shot back was the foursome of Scott Brown, Steven Alker, Brian
Davis and Richard Sterne.
Sterne, a 33-year-old South African, entered the tournament having
made one cut in 12 events this season.
Five players were at 4-under 66, including defending champion Ben
Crane.
Five-time major champ Phil Mickelson, prepping for next week's U.S.
Open, shot 2-under 68, as did 2009 British Open winner Stewart Cink.
Dustin Johnson, the 2010 Memphis champion, withdrew from the
tournament after his first nine holes due to an undisclosed illness.
Owen, who began play on the back nine, opened with five birdies on
his first 10 holes, including four in a row at No. 16-18 and No. 1.
Owen, whose best PGA Tour finish was at Bay Hill in 2006, finished
his round with six consecutive pars.
"I played great," Owen said. "I hit the ball how I was expecting to
hit it. When you pick a shot and you commit to it, and most of the
time the ball went where I wanted it to go. I putted well. Greens
are fantastic out here, quick. All in all, it was pretty
comfortable."
Koepka wasn't planning to play in the tournament, originally wanting
to take a week off before next week's U.S. Open. However, he wanted
to work on a new approach to his game, a less-aggressive style, and
the early results were favorable. Keopka's eight birdies overcame
two bogeys.
"I've been having a lot of high numbers, lot of double bogies,"
Koepka said. "You can't really attack. On this golf course, you put
yourself in the wrong position, you're going to be in trouble
scrambling to make bogies. I put myself in good positions all day."
Palmer had an unblemished scorecard. Starting on the back nine, he
had birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 15 and 18 and additional birdies on Nos.
1 and 2. He did not have a bogey. Palmer is attempting to win on
Tour for the first time since 2010.
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"The last seven holes got a little loose, some shots I hit," Palmer
said. "I was able to buckle down and get up and down on a few spots
that was ground-saving, and I made some good putts and up and down
on 8, 9 was good to keep a low round going. The work I put in before
the round this morning paid off today."
Mickelson, who has yet to win a U.S. Open, is playing in Memphis for
the third straight year. He finished second at the two years ago,
and Thursday he started making a run up the leaderboard. He birdied
four of his first seven, but went his next 11 holes recording nine
pars and two bogeys.
"I hit a lot of good shots today," Mickelson said "If I can do that
again tomorrow, I believe I'll make some more birdies, and that's
kind of the goal. I know what I'm trying to do. I have direction
now, and as I practice harder as the week goes on, hitting more and
more good shots, that's what I'm trying to do."
NOTES: Stanford's Patrick Rodgers, who last week gained special
temporary PGA Tour membership based on his performance in tour
events this season, shot a first-round 70 and is tied for 57th. ...
The field includes 24 players who are in the field for the U.S. Open
next week at Chambers Bay near Seattle. No player has won in Memphis
and also won the U.S. Open in the same year. ... Greg Owen, Ryan
Palmer, Scott Brown, Brian Davis, Alex Prugh (66) and Jerry Kelly
(69) did not card a bogey Thursday.
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