Memorial Tournament set for a thrilling weekend

Justin Suh took the lead with a second-round 66 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, and one thing is for sure: If he’s to nab his first PGA TOUR title at Muirfield Village, he’ll have to earn it.

Hideki Matsuyama (65, one back), Patrick Cantlay (67, two back), and Jon Rahm (70, four back) have four Memorial wins between them. Three-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy (68, four back) doesn’t have any – and by his own admission, has never seriously contended – and nor does 2015 FedExCup champ Jordan Spieth (72, five back).

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All five are contending, but it’s Suh who has his nose out front.

Suh leads Memorial at the halfway mark

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“This year, I’ve put myself in this position a few times,” said Suh, who has two top-10 finishes this season, including a T6 at THE PLAYERS Championship, and is 69th in the FedExCup. “Didn’t do great on the weekends as I would have hoped, but I think over time and experience, I think it will get me probably a little bit more comfortable.

“You learn a little bit more about yourself and how well can you handle the situation,” he added.

Playing in the morning wave, Matsuyama sizzled with a 7-under 65 to lead for much of the day.

“My putting,” Matsuyama said when asked about the best part of his day. He birdied three of his last four holes, including birdie bombs of 25 feet at the par-5 seventh hole and 33 feet at the par-3 eighth. “To make those putts at 7 and 8 were huge,” he said.

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The 2014 Memorial champion from Japan made 126 1/2 feet of putts Friday; one day after, that number was only 47, and he ranked in deep negative numbers in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Cantlay, the 2019 and 2021 Memorial champions, maybe hitting it better than anyone. He was No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green through the first two rounds. He is losing strokes to the field on the greens, but if he gets the putting turned around, watch out.

“These golf tournaments are marathons,” said Cantlay, who’s aiming for his first win with caddie Joe LaCava. “So as much as you can click in and focus on every shot, that’s really my goal.”

McIlroy, who has been emerging from a slump, has been solid through the bag, especially on the greens. His bounce-back 68 was especially impressive in light of his misadventures on the last hole Thursday, when his errant tee shot got hung up on the edge of a bunker, the ball nestling into a borderline impossible lie. His triple-bogey 7 soured an otherwise good round.

McIlroy moves into contention

Although he hasn’t won here in 11 starts, his best being a T4 in 2016, he’s in a position to change that.

“I got one bad break on 18 with that ball finishing on the bank of the bunker,” McIlroy said. “So, I really feel like I’m one shot out of leading this golf tournament. That rolls down it into the bunker, hopefully, able to hit it on the green and make a 4, and instead of standing here at 4-under, I would be at 7-under and feeling really good about everything.”

World No. 2 Rahm began his second round with two straight bogeys but rolled in birdies on 15 and 18 and made a good par save on 17 for his second straight 2-under 70. With his record here, no one is counting him out, especially given that he’s won four times already this season.

“Hit a lot of good putts that just didn’t go in,” Rahm said. “But I always like to think that things usually even out, and we kind of guessed the wind very well on 16 and made three really good putts on 15, 17, and 18 to kind of post a really good score.”

Rickie Fowler has been one of the comeback stories of the season, with five top-10 finishes. He is up to 26th in the FedExCup and chasing his first victory since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. He holed out for eagle at the par-5 15th hole, signed for a 4-under 68, and was four off the lead. This, he added, despite not having his best stuff.

“That’s what’s probably been the biggest thing,” he said of his revival – i.e. getting better results when he’s a bit off.

TOUR winners and major winners, dangerous players are everywhere you look on this leaderboard, the ones who have won at Jack’s Place are the most dangerous of all. But you never know; each of the greats had to get his first win somewhere, and if Suh prevails over this lineup of all-stars, it will only sweeten the deal.

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