SCOTTIE Scheffler continued his dominant run, securing a four-shot victory at the Memorial with a final-round 2-under 70.
This relentless performance marked his second consecutive win at the tournament, making him only the second player alongside Tiger Woods to achieve this feat. Scheffler finished at 10-under 278.
Scheffler, who underwent hand surgery earlier in the year due to a freak accident, appears to be in peak form, having already claimed a major championship this season and with the U.S. Open on the horizon.
He showcased exceptional control at Muirfield Village, one of the most challenging courses on the PGA Tour, making only one bogey over his final 40 holes.
“It’s always a hard week,” Scheffler commented. “We battled really hard on the weekend. Overall it was a great week.” Tournament host Jack Nicklaus, after shaking Scheffler’s hand on the 18th green, simply told him, “Well, you did it again.”
While Ben Griffin briefly threatened to make it a close finish with an eagle on the 15th and a birdie on the 16th, cutting Scheffler’s lead to two strokes, Scheffler’s consistency proved insurmountable.
Griffin then double-bogeyed the 17th, effectively ending his challenge. He ultimately finished alone in second place with a 73, earning $2.2 million. Sepp Straka carded a 70 to finish third.
The victory also marks Scheffler’s third win in his last four starts; his only finish outside the top spot was a tie for fourth at Colonial, which came the week after his PGA Championship triumph.
His commanding lead as the world’s No. 1 golfer is now comparable to the dominance displayed by Tiger Woods during his prime. Woods, a five-time Memorial champion, notably won three consecutive titles from 1999 to 2001.
While Scheffler didn’t have a birdie putt until the fifth hole in the final round and saved par seven times, his ability to recover and maintain control was evident.
An early back-nine development saw Scheffler’s 31-hole bogey-free streak end on the 10th, briefly reducing his lead to one. However, after Scheffler sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 11th and Griffin missed his, followed by bogeys on the next two holes from Griffin, Scheffler’s lead quickly expanded to four shots, sealing another seemingly inevitable victory.
In other news, Rickie Fowler achieved his first top-10 finish of the year, tying for seventh at 1-under 287 alongside Brandt Snedeker.
This strong performance secured Fowler a coveted spot in the British Open, an exemption based on his higher world ranking (No. 124 compared to Snedeker’s No. 430). Both Fowler and Snedeker received sponsor exemptions to the Memorial, a signature event on the PGA Tour.
Scheffler’s victory marks his fifth win in a $20 million signature event over the last two years, further solidifying his position as the sport’s leading force. / From the wires