Scottie Scheffler came through a final-round tussle with Collin Morikawa to claim a fifth PGA Tour victory of the season with a one-shot win at the Memorial Tournament.
Scheffler, who had already won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, The Masters and the RBC Heritage in a dominant start to the year, now heads into the US Open with five wins in his last eight starts despite being nowhere near his convincing best on Sunday.
The 27-year-old saw his four-shot overnight lead cut to one at Muirfield Village as Morikawa and Adam Hadwin piled on the pressure, although Scheffler never relinquished top spot as he came through a tough final day at Muirfield Village.
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Scheffler insists his performance at The Memorial tournament wasn’t his best but it was still enough to secure him the victory
Scheffler mixed a birdie with three bogeys during a two-over 74, seeing him end the week on eight under and take the $4m first prize, with playing partner Collin Morikawa finishing a shot back in second after a one-under 71.
“The golf course was playing so tough today,” Scheffler said after his win. “It was so firm, so fast. I mean it was a fun test to golf. I like it when it gets this hard and yeah it was good to battle it out. I didn’t really do a whole lot great today, but I did enough to get the job done.”
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Paul McGinley sings Scheffler’s praises following his victory at The Memorial tournament
How Scheffler edged special Sunday
Scheffler’s overnight lead quickly reduced when Hadwin chipped in at the first and Morikawa rolled in from 15 feet to birdie at the second, lifting both to seven under and within three of the reigning Masters champion.
Hadwin holed another from eight feet at the fourth, which moved him just one back when Scheffler failed to get up and down from the sand at the same par-three, only for the world No 1 to respond with a 10-foot birdie at the sixth to double his advantage.
Adam Hadwin carded a two-over 74 on the final hole
Morikawa temporarily fell five behind when he bogeyed the sixth, although took advantage of the par-five next and then got back within three of the lead when Scheffler missed from seven feet to save par at the eighth.
Hadwin finished his front nine with back-to-back bogeys to reach the turn two behind Scheffler, while Morikawa carded an eight-foot birdie at the ninth and then drained a 30-footer at the par-three 12th – the hardest hole on the course – to get within one of his playing partner.
Scheffler failed to convert birdie chances from inside 10 feet on the same hole and from even closer at the next, although remained one ahead when Morikawa missed from six feet to pull level at the par-five 15th.
Morikawa failed to get up and down to save par from off the 16th green, where Scheffler scrambled a 15-foot par to go two up with two to play, with Hadwin’s slim hopes also ending with successive bogeys from the 16th.
Collin Morikawa threatened throughout the final day but remains without a win this season
Scheffler missed an eight-footer to save par at the 17th and joined Morikawa in sending his approach at the final hole into the rough at the back of the green, although was able to get up and down to hold on for an 11th PGA Tour victory.
Hadwin took third spot ahead of Christiaan Bezuidenhout, while a round-of-the-day 69 from Matt Fitzpatrick lifted him to tied-fifth with Ryder Cup team-mates Ludvig Åberg and Sepp Straka.
“I’m proud of the way I battled,” Hadwin said. “It does sting to kind of finish the way I did, 16 through 18. I had put a Band-Aid on the round for a long time before that, previously, and the Band-Aid came off and it was carnage! So it’s disappointing, but, look, I take a lot of positives away from this week.”
Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Tony Finau and PGA champion Xander Schauffele shared eighth spot on one under, while Rory McIlroy faded to tied-15th after a final-round 76. Viktor Hovland also ended the week on two over, while McIlroy’s playing partner Shane Lowry dropped to tied-49th after a 13-over 85 on the final day.
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