Winning has become a habit for Scottie Scheffler, but his victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday was anything but typical. Scheffler secured his fifth PGA Tour title of the year with a hard-fought performance, highlighted by a 2-over 74 final round—his highest in two years.
Despite making only one birdie, Scheffler held onto his lead, clinching a one-shot victory over Collin Morikawa with a crucial downhill putt from five feet on the 18th hole. His composure under pressure earned him a handshake and high praise from tournament host Jack Nicklaus, who acknowledged the toughness of the course.
“You’re a survivor,” Nicklaus told him. “Thanks,” Scheffler replied. “Yeah, you made this place brutal today.”
A Grueling Finish
Scheffler’s win at Muirfield Village was marked by high stress and demanding conditions. The ultra-firm greens and swirling gusts saw only six players break par, with the average score just under 75. Starting four shots ahead, Scheffler never lost his lead, although he felt the pressure from Morikawa and Adam Hadwin throughout the back nine.
“This is a tough place to close out,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t do a whole lot great today, but I did enough.”
Key Moments and Final Push
Scheffler and Morikawa both faced challenging approach shots on the final hole, each bouncing hard off the green into the rough. Both chipped to about five feet, but it was Scheffler who buried his putt to win, celebrating with a forceful fist pump that captured the day’s difficulty.
Reflecting on his journey, Scheffler recalled missing a crucial putt in 2021 and the encouraging words from Nicklaus. “One day you’ll make the putt on 18 and I’ll be walking off to shake your hand,” Nicklaus had told him. Sunday, that prediction came true.
Tournament Highlights
Morikawa, who played in the final group of both majors this year, stayed close to Scheffler, particularly after a 30-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole. Despite shooting a 71, Morikawa was the only player from the final 13 groups to break par. Hadwin, meanwhile, finished alone in third after a tough ending with three straight bogeys.
Scheffler’s final score of 8-under 280 earned him $4 million from the Memorial’s $20 million purse, pushing his season earnings over $24 million and breaking the PGA Tour season earnings record set last year.
Historical Achievement
Scheffler’s victory makes him the first player since Justin Thomas in 2016-17 to win five times in a season and the first since Tom Watson in 1980 to have won five times before the U.S. Open. With this win, he joins Tiger Woods as the only players to win the Memorial, Players Championship, and Masters in the same year.
Looking Ahead
As Scheffler heads to Pinehurst No. 2 for the U.S. Open, he does so as a favorite, riding the momentum of his 11th consecutive top-10 finish. “Either it’s good prep for next week or we just got our butts kicked before going into next week,” Hadwin remarked about the challenging conditions at Muirfield Village.
For Scheffler, it’s another major victory, reinforcing his status as one of the top golfers in the world. He has shown he can win from any position, whether pulling away early or holding off challengers late. Despite a tough final round, Scheffler’s ability to close out the Memorial demonstrates his resilience and skill under pressure.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.