Scottie Scheffler, golf’s world No.1, has followed in the footsteps of Tiger Woods by successfully defending his title at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. Only Woods, a five-time winner, had previously managed to retain the crown between 1999 and 2001, but Scheffler secured a second consecutive victory with a four-stroke lead over Ben Griffin.
Scheffler’s winning streak now stands at three victories in four starts, following triumphs at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and PGA Championship. “It’s pretty cool,” Scheffler told CBS Sports after his 16th PGA Tour victory. “It’s always a hard week as it’s so challenging to play this tournament.
“I battled really hard over the weekend and Ben made things interesting down the stretch, but overall it was a great week.”
Scheffler entered Sunday with a one-shot lead, and his competitors failed to apply any significant pressure. Birdies at the seventh, 11th and 15th holes gave Scheffler some breathing room in a final round two-under par 70, with his only dropped shot coming at the 10th – his first bogey in 32 holes.
Griffin finished with a 73, one ahead of Austria’s Sepp Straka, while Nick Taylor trailed by a shot in fourth place.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood tied for 16th place, and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre tied for 20th. Ireland’s Shane Lowry fell down the leaderboard to share 23rd place after a disappointing 77.
Rickie Fowler secured his spot at next month’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush after finishing joint seventh, marking his best performance of the season.
The 36-year-old American, who is not participating in next week’s US Open, secured the one spot available for a top-10 finish for players not already exempt. His superior world ranking meant he overtook Brandt Snedeker, with whom he was tied.
