Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler both struggled at the Memorial Tournament on Friday
Rory McIlroy(Image: Getty Images)
JT Poston navigated challenging, blustery conditions to seize a one-shot advantage at the Memorial Tournament, while the world’s leading duo of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler endured difficult outings.
McIlroy found himself at odds with the slick greens, carding a 74 that featured three bogeys and a double-bogey after requiring five strokes to complete the par-four 13th from just 112 yards.
The Holywood man now faces an uphill battle to mount a comeback, sitting 10 strokes adrift of Poston—the same deficit facing Scheffler, who confessed he “could have shot 90” following his level-par 72.
Poston’s impressive seven-under 65 at Muirfield Village in Ohio stood four strokes clear of any other competitor in the field.
First-round co-leader Tommy Fleetwood slipped down the leaderboard with a 73, falling to fourth place, five shots behind the leader.
“It was pretty brutal, actually. I still think I got a good score out of that today. I made a bogey on one and six, where I didn’t really feel like I had done anything wrong whatsoever,” he said.
Scheffler’s pursuit of a third consecutive title remains within reach after salvaging three birdies across his final six holes, having previously suffered three consecutive bogeys from the eighth and managing to escape with par despite shanking from a bunker at the fifth.
“Overall it was a tough day, I felt I could have shot 90. I may be a lot of things but I’m not a quitter,” he said. “That’s maybe some of the worst I’ve hit it in a couple years out there and I still managed to shoot even par around a golf course that requires you to strike the ball really well.”
US PGA champion Aaron Rai and fellow Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick find themselves tied for ninth place on one under par, carding rounds of 70 and 71 respectively, joined by Ireland’s Shane Lowry, whose round of 73 featured five birdies but was undermined by a pair of double bogeys and two further bogeys.
