Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler seizes three-stroke lead at PGA Memorial Tournament
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Scottie Scheffler walks across a creek on the 17th hole during the second round of the PGA Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DUBLIN (Ohio) – World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler just “loves competing”, as he grinded through brisk winds to fire a four-under 68 and grab a three-stroke lead after the second round of the PGA Memorial Tournament.
The two-time Masters champion, seeking his fifth victory of the year, stood on nine-under 135 after 36 holes at the Jack Nicklaus-hosted event in Muirfield Village on June 7.
“You’ve got to play it fairly conservative out here, just with how much trouble there is around the golf course,” he said.
“There are a lot of hazards and you’ve got the heavy rough.
“It can be really tough to judge the wind. I’m just trying to do my best to execute.
“Sometimes I get the wind right and hit the right shot. Other times, things don’t work out as well. I think it’ll only get tougher.”
He has four triumphs and two runner-up efforts in his past seven starts and appeared poised for another top-two finish in the final tune-up for the June 13-16 US Open.
The 27-year-old is also seeking his 11th career PGA Tour title.
Asked if golf is “easy” for him right now, he laughed.
“Easy is definitely not the right word,” the American said.
“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. I just love competing, I don’t think about whether or not it’s easy or hard.”
Defending champion Viktor Hovland of Norway fired his second 69 to share second with Canada’s Adam Hadwin, the 18-hole leader who settled for a 72 to finish on 138.
“Some nice gusts there,” Hovland said.
“And some steady winds makes it even more difficult. So I did a good job of just hitting a bunch of fairways, but even then, there’s a lot of thinking and guessing going into the greens.”
South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (67) and American Keegan Bradley (69) shared fourth on 139, with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (72) on 140.
Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy (71) was on 141 with Americans Tony Finau (70), Akshay Bhatia (72) and second-ranked Xander Schauffele (73).
Though the Memorial is a US$20 million (S$27 million) signature event, its status as a player-hosted invitational means that it retains a 36-hole cut to the top 50 players plus ties.
The tournament will therefore not see the likes of Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark (both five over), Patrick Cantlay (seven over), Englishman Justin Rose (nine over) or Rickie Fowler (14 over, last place) for the weekend. AFP, REUTERS
