– Scottie Scheffler firmly dominates the Memorial Tournament after 54 holes have been played. He started as the leader in the third round with a three-stroke lead and will also do so as the leader this Sunday with a tasty four-stroke margin.
Just three years ago (2021 edition) we had a similar situation, with a player who was on a different wavelength, above the rest: Jon Rahm. The Barrika native had started the third round as leader with a two-stroke lead which, by Sunday, had expanded to six after signing a brutal 64 in the third round (that round of golf is still considered by Jon himself as one of the best, if not the best, of his career).
Don’t let anyone believe, moreover, that the playing conditions were benign three years ago. That Saturday, Rahm’s 64, only 18 of 69 competitors signed cards below par; yesterday it was 14 of 52. In both cases, only 26 percent of the total, tenth up or down.
– Yesterday, despite the fact that Scheffler had some specific problems and did not finish off the tournament, his closest rivals for the victory analysed the situation, their options, with an interesting mix of admiration, stark realism and resignation. There are three players who are going to start today four strokes behind the Texan and one of them, Adam Hadwin, said: “I don’t know if I have any chance tomorrow. It’s hard if you give a four-stroke lead to the best player in the world. I think he’s even above that Number One, especially after seeing today. It’s true that there have been two holes where things didn’t go his way, but if you see how he started, the sound when he hits the ball, the flight of his ball, the shape he gives his shots… I don’t expect him to lose ground, so one of us would have to run a lot to win.”
The other two, Straka and Morikawa, expressed themselves in similar terms. The Californian seemed to say that he does not expect Scheffler to fall in the table and the Austrian, even, acknowledged that Scheffler’s superiority could even be comfortable for the rest: “if Scottie is playing his game, if Scottie does what Scottie does, then there’s not much that can be done and that just makes it a little more comforting”. It can be said louder, but not clearer.
– Three years ago there was no time for anyone to express themselves about Jon’s superiority with 18 holes to go, as soon as the third round ended, it was officially announced that he would not be able to play the fourth round after testing positive in the last COVID test. Suddenly, a door as unexpected as unfair opened for the rest. Suddenly, what things, even Scottie Scheffler, who would have started Sunday in fourth position, but nine strokes behind Jon, saw himself with options, as he was now only three behind the leaders, who were Cantlay and Morikawa. The twists and turns of life (Cantlay would win the tournament, with a total of -13 and after beating Morikawa in a tiebreak; Jon’s total after three rounds was -18, everyone do their math. Rahm, to this day, in the deepest part of his cerebellum, continues to add one more victory, this one, to his record).
-According to the weather report there is some probability that it will rain lightly over Muirfield Village around six o’clock this Sunday morning… If no water falls we can assume that the greens in the Golden Bear’s lair will be even firmer and more vertiginous. To this we should add another interesting note: around three in the afternoon, that is, when the star match is approximately on hole 6, the wind is expected to increase its intensity, with gusts that can exceed thirty kilometres per hour. More wood.
