P – Robert Allenby won’t be at next week’s US Open but he found some form to join the first round leaderboard at the St Jude Classic.
Admitting to battling with personal issues, the usually consistent Australian has slipped away in the world rankings and failed to get through qualifying for the year’s second major at Olympic club in San Francisco.
But he set about putting that disappointment behind him with an opening two-under 68 to be joint eighth and two shots behind joint leaders Jeff Maggert and John Merrick at the St Jude Classic in Memphis on Thursday.
S.Y. Noh, Arjun Atwal, Jeff Overton and J.J. Henry were a stroke off the pace.
Allenby was tied with reigning US Open champion Rory McIlroy in a group that included Padraig Harrington, Y.E. Yang and John Daly.