Saturday 3 June 2017 22:47, UK
Jason Dufner set a new 36-hole scoring record at The Memorial as a second successive 65 swept him into a commanding five-shot lead at Muirfield Village.
Dufner shared the overnight lead with 2015 champion David Lingmerth, but the former PGA champion left the star-studded field trailing in his wake with a flawless effort featuring five birdies and a stunning eagle-two at the 18th, holing out from 176 yards at one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour.
Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth kept themselves in contention, but Dustin Johnson will have a rare weekend off after enduring another miserable day, carding four bogeys in a 74 which left him outside the top 100 on eight-over par.
But there were no such problems for the resurgent Dufner, who took advantage of excellent scoring conditions early on and, after starting at the 10th, he got up and running with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15.
Dufner then produced the shot of the tournament so far, knocking a sweet second to 18 and pitching it pin high before his ball rolled towards the rear fringe and then back down the slope and into the middle of the cup.
The 40-year-old kept his card blemish-free with good par saves at the first and fourth, and extended his lead with a 15-foot birdie putt at the fifth before further gains at each of the next two holes got him to 14 under, surpassing the previous halfway record by one stroke.
"I did everything pretty well," said the unflappable Dufner afterwards. "I made some nice pars and rolled in some putts. But we've got two more rounds to go. We'll see how the course changes if the wind picks up, gets running fast, it plays different. We'll just see.
"If we get some showers like they're talking about it will be soft and be a little bit more scoreable. So it's kind of just an adjustment and you keep trying to shoot as low as you can."
Daniel Summerhays emerged as Dufner's closest challenger as he reduced the deficit to four shots with his third birdie in four holes at the 15th, although a pulled drive at the last cost him a bogey as he signed for a 69.
Fowler avoided any mistakes in a classy 66, which he capped with birdies at his final three holes to get within six of the runaway leader, while Spieth is a further two adrift after a frustrating 72, mixing three birdies with as many bogeys.
Spieth was joined on six under by Jamie Lovemark (69) and his close friend Justin Thomas (71), with big-hitting Scot Martin Laird firing a 68 to move to five under along with Lingmerth, Matt Kuchar, Emiliano Grillo, Bubba Watson and last week's Dean & Deluca Invitational winner Kevin Kisner.
Shane Lowry carded five birdies in seven holes in an outward 31, but the Irishman struggled home in 37 to slip to four under with Phil Mickelson, who returned a five-birdie 70.
Jason Day did well to make the cut as he recovered from his opening 75 with a battling 71, although at two over, the world No 3 will head into the weekend 16 strokes behind Dufner.
But Johnson will have an unscheduled extra two days to work on his game ahead of his defence of the US Open in less than two weeks, while rising Spaniard Jon Rahm was also a surprise casualty after he bogeyed his final four holes and failed to make a single birdie in a disappointing 77.
