Four weeks after winning his first PGA Tour title, William McGirt continued to ride a red-hot putter as he surged into a three-stroke lead in Thursday’s opening round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
 The 37-year-old American stole the limelight from the game’s biggest names competing in the elite World Golf Championships event, firing a flawless six-under-par 64 on a breezy, sun-splashed day at Firestone Country Club.
 McGirt, who won the Memorial title earlier this month, sank two birdie putts from 30 feet, holed out from a bunker at the 15th and ended his round by draining a 46-footer for par from just off the 18th green. He set a tournament record for the largest first-round lead as he aims for his second win in Ohio in just four weeks.
 McGirt won the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio in a playoff in early June for his first USPGA Tour victory. “I don’t know, maybe it’s something with Ohio I like,” McGirt said.
 Australian world number one Jason Day, bidding for a fourth PGA Tour victory this season, opened with a 67 to end the round level with Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and American Jimmy Walker.
 “I felt like I did all right,” Day told Golf Channel after mixing four birdies with a lone bogey. “For the most part, I hit a lot of good quality shots, iron shots, into the greens and gave myself some opportunities out there.
“When I was kind of out of position, my short game saved me and I had some pretty nice up-and-downs to really keep the momentum going. It was just kind of a weird feeling of a day where I kind of made some good pars, kept the momentum going, and all of a sudden I shot 67,” Day added. “I’ve just got to keep grinding.”
 American world number two Jordan Spieth endured a poor day on a challenging course from tee to green, but relied on his putting brilliance to card a two-under 68, highlighted by birdies on his last four holes.
 “I was making some nice par saves to grind it out and then finally those par saves turned into birdie putts,” said Spieth, who hit only seven of 18 greens in regulation. “I won the battle in my head today. I really could have shot four or five-over pretty easily with the way that I was striking the ball tee to green.”
 McGirt racked up six birdies, including four in his first eight holes. “I hit a lot of good, solid shots and fortunately the putter was working for me,” said the journeyman from North Carolina. “The hole looked a lot bigger from 30-40 feet than it did from six or eight feet.
 “I missed a couple of short ones on the front nine, but I had eight putts on the back nine with three hole-outs. I don’t think I have ever had this much confidence in my putter for this long.”
 Newly crowned US Open champion Dustin Johnson opened with a 69 while world number five Rickie Fowler carded 68 to finish level with fellow Americans Spieth and Charley Hoffman, and India’s Anirban Lahiri.
 Spieth made several nice par saves to remain close to the leaders. He hit just one green in regulation on the front nine and closed with four birdies. He needed just 21 putts during his round and chipped in for par at No. 8.
 “I’m really just searching for something that isn’t far off,” Spieth said. “It’s close. It’s almost there. And when it clicks, we’re definitely in business the way the short game is.”
 Johnson’s round included two birdies and one bogey. Johnson is tied with Billy Hurley, who won the Quicken Loans National tournament last week.
 “I didn’t expect a whole lot today,” Johnson said. “I always expect to play well, but this course is playing tough.”
 Defending champion Shane Lowry, who finished in a tie for second at the US Open two weeks ago, stumbled to a six-over 78.