DUBLIN, Ohio — Scottie Scheffler is profitable with such alarming regularity that describing his dominance just isn’t a snug subject. So when he gained the Memorial on Sunday for the second straight yr, he no less than had event host Jack Nicklaus at his aspect.
Nicklaus is a superb authority in relation to Scheffler as a result of the Golden Bear sees a lot of himself on the planet’s No. 1 participant.
“As soon as I obtained myself into place to win, then you have to be sensible about the way you end it,” Nicklaus mentioned after watching Scheffler flip a tussle right into a four-shot victory. “And that is the way in which he is enjoying. He jogs my memory a lot of the way in which I wish to play.”
That is the way it transpired once more at robust Muirfield Village, simply the way in which it performed out when Scheffler gained the PGA Championship two weeks in the past.
He is at all times there. He not often makes a mistake. Blink and the lead is as much as 4 pictures.
Scheffler by no means misplaced the lead and by no means gave anybody a lot of an opportunity down the stretch in one other relentless efficiency. He closed with a 2-under 70 in situations that felt like a costume rehearsal for the U.S. Open. He was the one participant to interrupt par all 4 days.
Scheffler, who gained for the ninth straight time with a 54-hole lead, joined Tiger Woods as the one repeat winners of the Memorial. Woods gained three in a row (1999-2001) amongst his 5 titles at Muirfield Village.
“Properly, you probably did it once more,” Nicklaus advised Scheffler whereas strolling off the inexperienced.
This wasn’t his finest golf. Scheffler did have a birdie putt till the fifth gap and solely hit 4 of the primary 10 greens in regulation. Coming off a bogey from the tough on the tenth gap – his solely bogey within the final 40 holes — his lead was one shot over Ben Griffin.
Scheffler had a birdie putt from simply inside 15 ft on the par-5 eleventh. Griffin chipped to 4 ft for a birdie likelihood. Scheffler made, Griffin missed. Scheffler his the center of the inexperienced on the subsequent two holes. Griffin missed them and made bogey.
The lead was 4 pictures.
“Just one bogey round this place is fairly good,” Scheffler mentioned. “I hit numerous fairways. I undoubtedly wasn’t within the tough very a lot. I feel I hit it within the tough off of 10, however exterior of that, I do not assume I used to be actually within the tough in any respect. Round this place, that is going to be key.”
He made all of it sound so easy, even when it by no means feels that manner.
“It is at all times a tough week,” mentioned Scheffler, who completed at 10-under 278. “We battled actually onerous on the weekend. General, it was a terrific week.”
Griffin tried to make it fascinating on the finish with a 12-foot eagle on the par-5 fifteenth (after Scheffler narrowly missed his 15-foot eagle attempt) and a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 sixteenth (Scheffler’s birdie putt was one flip from falling).
That pulled him to inside two pictures with two to play. Scheffler, nevertheless, would not make errors. Fairway and inexperienced on seventeenth, fairway and inexperienced on the 18th.
Griffin made double bogey on the seventeenth.
“I am undoubtedly proving additional extra that I belong on the prime on this sport,” Griffin mentioned. “I gained twice the final 5 weeks and people emotions are enjoyable on Sunday nights once you’re signing a bunch of flags. I used to be ready to try this at this time and finally simply did not execute how I needed to to get it performed.”
Griffin made a 4-foot par on the 18th for a 73 to complete alone in second, value $2.2 million, greater than what he earned when he gained at Colonial final week.
Sepp Straka (70) completed one other shot again.
“You recognize Scottie’s most likely going to play a superb spherical of golf. The man’s relentless. He loves competitors, and he would not like giving up pictures,” Straka mentioned. “However it’s a kind of programs the place it could possibly at all times occur, so you bought to be ready for it. I felt like I gave myself numerous probabilities to type of make a push.”
Rickie Fowler had his first prime 10 of the yr at simply the appropriate time.
He made par on the 18th to tie for seventh, incomes him a spot within the Open Championship. Fowler tied with Brandt Snedeker at 1-under 287, however will get the one Open exemption obtainable based mostly on a better world rating — Fowler at No. 124, Snedeker at No. 430.
“That is one I’ve needed on the schedule,” mentioned Fowler, who faces a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Open on Monday.
Scheffler has gained thrice in his final 4 begins — the exception was Colonial, a tie for fourth the week after profitable the PGA Championship — and expanded his margin at No. 1 on the planet to ranges not seen since Woods in his peak years.
For Scheffler, it was his fifth victory in a $20 million signature occasion within the final two years.
With mud on the golf ball within the first fairway, an excessive amount of spin on brief irons on the subsequent few holes, Scheffler did not have a birdie putt till the fifth gap. He saved par seven instances within the ultimate spherical, together with the ultimate gap.
Scheffler is the primary participant to win three PGA Tour occasions by 4 or extra pictures in consecutive seasons since Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson in 1945 and 1946, in line with ESPN Analysis. Nelson did it from 1944 to 46.
His final three victories have been by eight pictures (Nelson), 5 pictures (PGA Championship) and 4 pictures (Memorial).
“Scottie, he did not play — for him — spectacular golf,” Nicklaus mentioned. “He performed what he ought to do. He performed good, strong, sensible golf. Three 70s and a 68, that is fairly good golf underneath the situations that had been on the market. That is what the very best participant on the planet does.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
