World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler delivered a composed and clinical performance to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Memorial Tournament, surging past Ben Griffin with a late run of birdies on Saturday at Muirfield Village.
Scheffler, chasing a third PGA Tour victory in just four starts, carded a bogey-free four-under-par 68 — his first ever blemish-free round at the challenging Jack Nicklaus-designed course. After opening with 13 straight pars, Scheffler came alive late in his round, birdieing four of his last five holes to post an eight-under total and set the clubhouse target.
The reigning PGA Champion now finds himself in prime position to add another title to his remarkable season, and will play in Sunday’s final pairing alongside Griffin.
Griffin had surged to a five-stroke lead during his round, reaching 10 under after picking up three shots in a stretch from the 6th to the 8th. However, his round unraveled with a sequence of four bogeys starting at the 9th, and a closing bogey at the 18th saw him settle for a level-par 72.
“Even par today would have been a pretty solid score,” said Scheffler. “I felt like I could have gotten a little bit more out of the round, but overall I was playing nicely. Just a couple lips here and there would have changed the score a little bit, but I didn’t feel like I needed to change much.”
Canada’s Nick Taylor sits three shots back at five under after an up-and-down round that saw him open with a double-bogey start before recovering with an eagle-birdie run on the back nine. He is alone in third.
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley shares fourth at three under alongside Jordan Spieth and Austria’s Sepp Straka, who fired the round of the day with a six-under 66 to stay in contention for a third win of the season.
Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, and Shane Lowry are part of a group tied at two under in seventh, while Justin Rose’s hopes of contending vanished after he followed his second-round 66 with a disappointing 80 on Saturday.
The final round of the Memorial Tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Golf from 4.30pm on Sunday, with all eyes on whether Scheffler can continue his dominant form and defend the title he won here last year.