DUBLIN, Ohio — Nick Taylor introduced his greatest golf on a day that required no much less on the Memorial. He putted for birdie on all however one gap Friday, in some way saved bogeys off his card and had a 4-under 68 that gave him a share of the lead with Ben Griffin.
Taylor confronted the worst of the climate, a rain that would not stop, and the Canadian leaned on his school days as a Washington Huskie. He does not like these circumstances, however he is is aware of them.
Most spectacular was holding the stress at a minimal.
“It was a clear card, which was not essentially what I anticipated,” Taylor mentioned. “Nevertheless it was good to maintain it so simple as attainable.”
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Griffin caught a slight break within the afternoon when the rain relented and Muirfield Village was mushy. He had 16 pars, a birdie and a bogey for a 72 that put him at 7-under 137 with Taylor.
Akshay Bhatia (69) was two pictures behind, adopted by defending champion Scottie Scheffler. The world’s No. 1 participant all the time appears to be lurking, and his 70 was most likely as excessive as he might have shot the best way he was hitting the ball within the rain.
Scheffler missed a trio of birdie probabilities inside 10 ft on the entrance 9, hit wedge into the water on the 14th for bogey however in any other case was by no means too distant.
“Actually numerous good ball putting on the entrance 9 to get me a great rating there,” he mentioned.
It was the very best 36-hole rating to steer the Memorial since 2012. The rain was merely a nuisance that added to what already is a troublesome take a look at with tough that gamers really feel will get them ready for the U.S. Open in two weeks at Oakmont.
“The tough is nearly second-to-none, no less than for a ‘common’ tour occasion,” Taylor mentioned. “Torrey Pines was fairly thick this 12 months. Bay Hill is all the time thick. Nevertheless it appears to be just a bit bit thicker right here, enjoying that rather more troublesome.
“You’ll be able to catch a break right here or there, however you simply received to be within the fairway.”
Taylor confirmed that holding the ball in play and hitting good irons might go a good distance, and he wasn’t alone.
Sam Burns performed within the harder morning circumstances and shot 65 — 11 pictures higher than his opening spherical — to get inside 4 of the lead. Justin Rose holed out from the golf green on No. 3 for eagle and made six birdies on the again. It added to a 66 — 12 pictures higher than Thursday — to get him again to even par.
The drama got here on the reduce line. As a result of it is a player-hosted signature occasion — Jack Nicklaus on this case — there was a 36-hole reduce to the highest 50 and ties. It moved all the best way all the way down to 5-over 149, and that remarkably consists of Hideki Matsuyama.
The Japanese star birdied the seventeenth and wanted par on the 18th to get to the weekend. He hooked his drive so badly on the ultimate gap that it cleared the stream operating down the left aspect of the golf green. From mangled tough, he belted it up towards the inexperienced and received up-and-down.
With regards to all-world pars, Jordan Spieth all the time appears to enter the dialog. Spieth pulled his tee shot on the par-5 eleventh contained in the hazard line, simply above the creek. He eliminated his socks and sneakers and rolled his pants as much as his knees to attempt to hack it out.
After which he picked up the ball and took a penalty drop. This wasn’t an extended dialogue.
“The creek’s too deep so I could not really stand within the water,” Spieth mentioned. “Additionally, I might attain the inexperienced (by taking a drop on shorter grass), which was a giant motive why I took a drop.”
If solely it had been that easy. He despatched his 3-wood properly to the appropriate, clattering round bushes and touchdown in additional tough. However the lie was respectable, and he managed to hit a flop shot over the bunkers and onto the inexperienced, rolling out to 4 ft for a par save.
There was extra to his spherical. Spieth birdied three of the final 4 holes. for a 69 and abruptly finds himself proper within the combine, 4 pictures out of the lead.
Solely 11 gamers remained underneath par. That included Collin Morikawa, who was tied for the lead by way of six holes and was achieved in on the par 5s. He performed them in 3 over, together with taking 5 pictures from 50 ft away from the outlet. The tough at Muirfield could make anybody look foolish.
Morikawa saved par on the 18th from a bunker for a 75 and was within the group at 2-under 142 that included Xander Schauffele, who began his day with a double bogey and completed it with 4 birdies on his final 5 holes.
