Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1 golfer, stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the Memorial Tournament with a brilliant second round of 68. His performance, which included an eagle on the 15th and a birdie on the 18th, propelled him to a 9-under overall, giving him a three-shot lead over the field.
“I feel like what I love about this game is how difficult it is. I love coming out here and competing against the best players in the world on the best golf courses, and this is obviously a pretty challenging track,” Scheffler said.
“I really just love competing out here, and I don’t really think about whether or not it’s easy or hard, and some days I play good and some days I don’t, and outside of that, I’m just out here trying to compete.”
Canadian Adam Hadwin and defending champion Viktor Hovland are tied for second at 6-under. South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American Keegan Bradley share fourth place at 5-under. Swedish golfer Ludvig Aberg is in sixth, followed by Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Akshay Bhatia, who are all tied for seventh.
The conditions at Muirfield Village were challenging due to gusty winds, making it tough for players throughout the day on Friday. Rory McIlroy commented on the conditions, “Yeah really tricky. This course is penal enough anyway, just, if you miss it in the wrong spots. Thankfully with the rain on Wednesday the course is still pretty receptive. You get this wind and if it was as fiery as it has been in previous years it would be treacherous, but it’s still, the ball’s holding on the greens and on the fairways and you still have opportunities to make birdie. Anything under par I think is a good score, but, yeah, very hard to go low.”
The cut line was set at 4-over, with the top 50 and ties advancing to the weekend rounds. Australian golfer and central Ohio resident Jason Day narrowly made the cut at 4-over, while notable players such as Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark, and Rickie Fowler did not make it past the cut.
Xander Schauffele excited the crowd with a spectacular shot at the 14th, rallying back with back-to-back birdies after earlier bogeys to move into third place. His birdie from the bunker on the 14th hole elicited a roar from the crowd, showcasing his resilience.
Meanwhile, Adam Hadwin extended his lead early in the day, finishing the front nine at 7-under with three birdies against two bogeys. His solid play kept him in contention, seeking his first PGA Tour win since 2017.
The third-round pairings set an exciting stage for the weekend, with Scheffler and Hadwin teeing off in the final group. The leaderboard is tightly packed, promising a thrilling conclusion to the tournament.
