the Memorial Tournament: Scottie Sheffler three shots adrift of leaders Nick Taylor and Ben Griffin at halfway stage
Scottie Scheffler is three shots off the lead at the halfway stage of his Memorial Tournament title defence; Nick Taylor and Ben Griffin share top spot in Ohio; watch round three live on Sky Sports on Saturday (early coverage from 3.45pm, full coverage at 7pm)
Saturday 31 May 2025 07:22, UK
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is three shots behind co-leaders Nick Taylor and Ben Griffin at the halfway stage of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament after an up-and-down back nine during a rainy round two.
Scheffler, targeting a third title in a month following victories at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and then the PGA Championship, shot a two-under 70 at Muirfield Village on Friday.
The world No 1 was blemish-free going out with birdies at the first, third and fifth seeing him hit the turn at three under for the day and five under for the event in Ohio.
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However, Scheffler then double-bogeyed 10, and after earning those shots back with successive birdies at 11 and 12, he went on to bogey 14 before closing with four pars to sit at four under after 36 holes.
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He said: "When the rough gets this wet, any time you hit it in the rough the lies are going to be really bad and it's going to be really challenging. So it's definitely important to keep the ball in play.
"If I had holed a few more putts it probably would have been a little bit of a different score. I felt like I was hitting my lines out there and definitely felt better with my ball striking. Two under in these conditions was not bad."
Taylor, Griffin top leaderboard; Morikawa fades
Canadian Taylor - a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January - recorded a bogey-free 68, which included gains at four, eight, nine and 13.
Scheffler's fellow American Griffin - who led by two shots after the opening round - is chasing back-to-back victories after claiming his maiden PGA Tour title at the Charles Schwab Challenge last week.
Griffin followed his seven-under 65 on day one with an even-par 72, chalking up 16 pars around a dropped shot at 10 and birdie at 11.
Collin Morikawa, who finished one stroke behind Scheffler in last year's Memorial Tournament, was at five under with four holes of his second round remaining only to then sandwich a birdie at 16 with double bogeys at 15 and 17.
The two-time major champion signed for a three-over 75 and slipped to two under, with Akshay Bhatia (five under) now closest to Griffin and Taylor, ahead of Scheffler and then the group on three under of Shane Lowry, Jordan Spieth and Sam Burns.
England's Justin Rose registered a six-under 66 - a day after suffering a six-over 78 - as he followed an opening-hole bogey with an eagle at the third and then sizzled on his back nine with six birdies in seven holes between 10 and 16.
The 2013 US Open champion dropped a shot at 18, though, and is now at even par heading into the weekend, seven strokes adrift of Taylor and Griffin.
Where is Rory McIlroy?
The world No 2 is not playing this week, electing to skip the Memorial Tournament for the first time since 2017, leaving host Jack Nicklaus "surprised" but understanding of the Northern Irishman's decision.
Nicklaus said of McIlroy's absence: "It surprised me but guys have got schedules and things they do. I haven't talked to him for him to tell me why or why not. It's just his call.
"I made a lot of calls when I played to play or not play and sometimes it wasn't as popular as people thought it was. But sometimes you have to make those calls. I don't hold anything against Rory for that."
McIlroy - who completed the career Grand Slam by winning The Masters at Augusta National in April - has missed two other signature events so far this season - The Sentry and RBC Heritage.
Watch round three of the Memorial Tournament live on Sky Sports on Saturday. Early coverage begins at 3.45pm on Sky Sports+ ahead of full action from 7pm on Sky Sports+ and Sky Sports Golf.
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