DUBLIN, Ohio — Scottie Scheffler felt he was hitting all the right shots Saturday and only had 13 straight pars to show for it on a tough afternoon at the Memorial Tournament. As usual, he had a powerful finishing kick, and the longtime No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking wound up in a familiar spot.
Scheffler, six shots behind when he made the turn in the third round, had four birdies over the last five holes for a 4-under-par 68 at Muirfield Village, and gained a one-shot lead when Ben Griffin missed a three-foot par putt on the final hole.
“I don’t know what the scoring average was today, but I was definitely proud of the way I finished and it was really challenging,” Scheffler said. “Through 13 holes, I felt like I was playing really good and I was only even par. Just a hard course.”
And it became a hard task for everyone chasing him. Scheffler has won the past eight times when he had the 54-hole lead, including two weeks ago at the PGA Championship, where he added a third major title to his pair of Masters triumphs from 2022 and 2024. On Sunday, he goes after his third win in his last four starts.
No one is throwing in the towel, not with five players within five shots of the lead when so much can happen so quickly at Muirfield Village, as Saturday showed.