Welcome to Playing Through’s new morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.
Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.
In this second installment, let’s discuss Scottie Scheffler’s round on Saturday at the Memorial Tournament and how some melted on Moving Day.
So brew a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and settle in as we discuss the top stories in professional golf.
The Memorial Tournament Top 10 after Round 3:
First, let’s take a look at the leaderboard after 36 holes.
1. Scottie Scheffler: -10
T2. Collin Morikawa: -6
T2: Sepp Straka: -6
T2: Adam Hadwin: -6
T5: Xander Schauffele: -4
T5: Ludvig Åberg: -4
T7: Victor Perez: -3
T7: Sahith Theegala: -3
T7: Nick Dunlap: -3
T7: Christian Bezuidenhout: -3
Scheffler holds a comfortable 5-stroke lead over Adam Hadwin, Collin Morikawa and Sepp Straka.
Moving Day was a struggle for Viktor Hovland, who shot a 5-over 77. He fell down the leaderboard, and his meltdown on the back nine ended any hope of defending his title at Muirfield Village.
However, Scheffler was far from perfect on Saturday. A horrendous triple on the par-4 9th made him look human, which caused thoughts to creep in on how the former Texas Longhorn could not win after April.
Scheffler did not let that mishap affect him, though. He added three more birdies and a bogey on 18 to sign for a 1-under 71.
At this point, the heater that Scheffler is on is his to lose. With a five-shot lead heading into the final day of play, the world could see him take home a win at Jack’s Place.
This leaderboard has a little of everything: The No.1 player in the world with a hefty lead, a two-time major champion in Morikawa, the reigning PGA Championship winner, and a few guys looking to take home their first Signature Event victory.
A Scottie Scheffler stat from The Memorial that will make you wonder
Let this stat sink in on what Scheffler is historically doing on the PGA Tour right now.
Scottie Scheffler holds a four-stroke lead after the third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.
13th career 54-hole lead/co-lead in individual stroke-play events on TOUR; 6-for-12 to date converting to victory pic.twitter.com/EYuBRo9DSV
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 8, 2024
Top PGA Tour quotes from The Memorial 3rd Round:
“He’s far and above the No. 1 player in the world, I believe, especially after watching today,” Adam Hadwin said about Scheffler. “I don’t expect him to lose this golf tournament, so one of us is going to have to make a run tomorrow.”
“I think more people are playing the game. I think people would rather play the game than sit and watch us play,” Rory McIlroy said, explaining why he thinks TV ratings are down for the PGA Tour. “Rounds of golf are up. Golf is thriving. I think there’s never been a bigger disconnect between recreational and professional golf, and that’s a big part of the reason.”
Updates from the professional golf world
LGPA
The women are playing on the Bay Course at the renowned Seaview Resort outside of Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the Shoprite LPGA Classic. After the second round, Jenny Shin leads the pack at 10-under.
However, the day’s news was that six-time LPGA winner Nasa Hataoka had been disqualified. She took too long to find her ball and did not follow the rules correctly.
Even Jenny Shin used social media to express her distaste for the ruling.
This is probably controversial. Nasa Hataoka getting DQed because someone thought it was 25seconds over 3mins after the scorecard was signed, should not be happening. Should someone be timing to prevent this? Maybe, however, if I heard correctly, there was a rules official who…
— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) June 8, 2024
Champions Tour
Ernie Els fired off an 8-under 64 to shoot up 21 spots to sit at 9-under and tied for the lead alongside Steve Stricker, who signed for a 6-under 66.
David Duval is in solo third at 7-under. Jerry Kelly and Tim O’Neal are at 6-under. Stricker is eying his first Champions Tour victory of the season after such a tremendous 2023.
LIV Golf
LIV Houston saw a few players pulled out of the tournament on Saturday at The Golf Club of Houston. Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen withdrew because of injuries.
Day two saw some movement on both the individual and team leaderboards. Sergio Garcia’s Fireballs GC sits at 26-under for the teams to lead the Torque GC by four shots. Bryson DeChambeau’s Crusher GC, the Cleeks and the 4Aces are tied in third at 21-under. Brooks Koepka’s Smash and Cam Smith’s Ripper GC are next on the leaderboard at 17-under.
On the individual side, Paul Casey, Carlos Ortiz, Adrian Meronk and David Puig all sit at 10-under to lead the pack heading into the final day of play.
ICYMI: Other top stories from The Memorial
Check out these stories:
“Big Boy Stuff:” Rory McIlroy details important PGA Tour, Saudi PIF meeting after Memorial round
LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau provides ironclad view on handling pro golf’s mental pressures
Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024: 10 golf items that we love and Dad will too
LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau discusses PGA Championship, makes stunning admission
Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland looking to chase down Scottie Scheffler at the Memorial
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
