Scottie Scheffler produced a stunning late birdie burst to capitalise on a mid-round wobble from Ben Griffin and take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Memorial Tournament.
The world No 1, who opened with 13 consecutive pars on Saturday, birdied four of his five holes to post a four-under 68 and card his first bogey-free round ever at Muirfield Village.
The fast finish lifted Scheffler to eight under and one ahead of halfway co-leader Griffin, with the FedExCup leader now in prime position to follow his PGA Championship success with a third PGA Tour win in four starts.
Scottie Scheffler is looking to become a back-to-back winner of the Memorial Tournament
Scheffler will play in the final round alongside Griffin, who briefly went five strokes ahead before four consecutive bogeys around the turn and a dropped shot at the last left him settling for a level-par 72.
Canada’s Nick Taylor is three strokes back in third spot on five under, with Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley a further two shots adrift in a share of fourth place with Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka.
How Scheffler edged ahead at Muirfield Village
Griffin made his charge when he followed a 15-foot birdie at the sixth by taking advantage of the par-five next and picking up another shot at the par-three eighth, taking him to 10 under, only to see his fortunes drastically change with four consecutive bogeys from the ninth.
The American reclaimed his advantage after holing from 10 feet at the 14th and adding another birdie at the next, but Scheffler – playing in the group ahead – also made birdies on the same two holes.
Ben Griffin has already won twice on the PGA Tour this season
Scheffler made putts from eight feet and 15 feet to produce a birdie-birdie finish and set the clubhouse target, with the three-time major champion then claiming the outright lead when Griffin missed from three feet to save par at the last.
“Around this golf course even par, I think, today would have been a pretty solid score,” said Scheffler, looking to defend his title after last year’s victory. “I felt like I could have gotten a little bit more out of the round, but I felt like I was playing nice.
Scheffler carded four birdies in a bogey-free third round
“Just a couple lips here and there would have changed the score a little bit, but overall, I felt like I was doing good stuff. I didn’t feel like I needed to change much.”
Taylor immediately lost his lead after a bogey-bogey start and was five over for his round until an eagle-birdie burst on his back nine, lifting him to five under, while Straka fired a round-of-the-day 66 to jump within five of the lead as he bids for a third win of the season.
Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay and Shane Lowry share seventh on two under, while Justin Rose’s title challenge ended after he undid his second-round 66 with an eight-over 80 on Saturday.
Who will win the Memorial Tournament? Watch early coverage of the final round on Sunday from 4.30pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 6pm. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
