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Memorial Tournament: Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler struggle as JT Poston leads after second round

Rory McIlroy had a tough second round which moves him 10 shots off leader JT Poston; Scottie Scheffler also struggled; watch the action from Muirfield Village on Sky Sports with third-round coverage live from 2pm on Saturday

Friday 5 June 2026 23:46, UK

DUBLIN, OH - JUNE 04: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland looks on at the eighteenth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday 2026 at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 04, 2026 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
Image: Rory McIlroy is 10 shots off leader JT Poston at the halfway stage of the Memorial Tournament

JT Poston made light work of tricky, windy conditions to take a one-shot lead at the Memorial Tournament as the world's top two Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler struggled.

McIlroy had no form on the fast putting surfaces as he signed off his second round with a 74, which included three bogeys and a double-bogey having taken five shots to get down from 112 yards out at the par-four 13th.

The Northern Irishman's chances of getting back into contention look slim as he is 10 strokes behind Poston, as is Scheffler who admitted he "could have shot 90" after a level-par 72.

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Rory McIlroy survives at the 11th after the ball bounces off the path and hits a tree, but lands before the gates and remains in play

Poston's seven-under round of 65 was four shots better than any other player in the field at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

First-round joint leader Tommy Fleetwood went backwards with a 73 to drop to fourth, five off the lead.

"It was pretty brutal, actually. I still think I got a good score out of that today. I made a bogey on one and six, where I didn't really feel like I had done anything wrong whatsoever," he said.

Scheffler's bid to win for a third successive year remains alive thanks to three birdies in his last six holes having recorded three successive bogeys from the eighth and escaped with a par after a shank out of a bunker at the fifth.

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"Overall it was a tough day, I felt I could have shot 90. I may be a lot of things but I'm not a quitter," he said.

"That's maybe some of the worst I've hit it in a couple years out there and I still managed to shoot even par around a golf course that requires you to strike the ball really well."

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A heated exchange took place between Scottie Scheffler and caddie Ted Scott after finding the water from a tee shot on the 16th at the Memorial Tournament

US PGA champion Aaron Rai and fellow Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick are in a share of ninth on one under after rounds of 70 and 71, alongside Ireland's Shane Lowry who had five birdies but also a pair of double bogeys and two bogeys in his 73.

Watch the Memorial Tournament throughout the week live on Sky Sports, with third-round coverage starting on Saturday from 2pm on Sky Sports+. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract

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