1,181 yards of sheer fear, a black eye for the Buckeye, and a punch to the face.
That was the parting gift at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday on Thursday at Muirfield Village, where playing conditions were challenging and holes 16–18 plagued even the leaders.
That was the least angry I’ve ever been about bogeying the last three holes, I informed my caddie.
Mark Hubbard, who reached 6 under par but carded a 3-under 69, finishing two shots behind the leader (Davis Riley), commented, “I told my caddie that’s the least mad I’m ever going to be bogeying the last three.”
The fact that Hubbard was accepted as a backup is not the cause of that. More importantly, his approach shots on holes 16 through 18 were a 5-iron, 7-wood, and a 4-iron, respectively. That’s a little difficult, he commented.
Given the tragicomedy that befell Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, who participated in a late threesome with Tyrrell Hatton (71), it was quite difficult for some players. As they approached the 18th par-4 hole, Spieth and McIlroy were tied for the lead at 4 under.
What happened next was demeaning. McIlroy attempted a flop shot that went too far, hit a poor chip, missed his first putt from 8 1/2 feet, and tapped in for triple-bogey 7 and a 72 after hitting an errant drive into the rough that was difficult to advance with a baseball swing.
Even worse, following his second shot, he was seen grimacing and gripping his wrist.
With his second shot, Spieth attempted to clear the lip of the same bunker but was unsuccessful. With his third shot, he discovered a greenside bunker but managed to get up and down for a “very fortunate” bogey and a score of 69.
“It seemed like a fantastic round. It was good to win a challenging golf course,” he said.
On this day, experiencing that was unusual. Bo Hoag, an Ohio State product and native of Columbus who registered for a 4-over 76, described the golf course as “The golf course is hard, and it’s a big boy golf course.”
Hoag was matched with Columbus resident Jason Day, who only last month won the AT&T Byron Nelson for his 13th PGA TOUR title.
Day claimed that while he drove the ball effectively, his putting was problematic. It could have been worse, in other words. There were some crashes, and the field average was 74.
Billy Horschel, the defending champion, shot 83 while going through a tough slump. World No. 5 Xander Schauffele dropped two shots into the water on the 12th par-3 hole and finished with a score of 77. No. 1 in the world Scottie Scheffler once more had putting issues and shot 74.
Jack Nicklaus, the tournament’s host, desired a fast, hard golf course, and he got it here.
“I prefer dry golf courses because I believe they bring out the best in golfers. They are forced to consider their play rather than just revert to hitting. Nicklaus, who has won 18 major championships and won the Memorial twice, stated that weather has a way of derailing his plans.
In fact, players were thinking as quickly as they could.
The two golfers with the best two rounds of the day, Riley and England’s Matt Wallace (68, one back), both bogeyed the 18th hole, a 476-yard par 4. Shane Lowry (69) and Danny Willett (69) also did. Sam Burns (71) made eight birdies despite making a bogey, triple-bogey, and bogey on 17 and 18.
Recent course alterations are partly to blame for the carnage.
The 16th par-3 hole might gain 20 yards with a new tee, but this did not occur on Thursday; the hole played to 208 yards.
“Well, if I run into Jack, I’ll let him know that the last three holes are playing incredibly difficult. Therefore, you are no longer required to make them tougher. “Leave it alone; it’s tough enough,” Wallace remarked.
The 2020 Memorial, which Jon Rahm (70) won despite shooting a final-round 75 on incredibly hard greens that were supposed to be pulled up and replaced after the competition, is similar to what is happening now, according to Rahm.
World No. 2 Rahm, who is in first place in the FedExCup standings, said, “Obviously they didn’t really care if they lost them, so towards the weekend they got a little bit out of hand.”
The Memorial Director of Grounds Chad Mark saw the forecast for more hot, dry weather and anticipated that possibility earlier this week when he said to Golfbet, “We’re going to have to add some moisture to the greens to make sure they don’t get unfair.”
That’s most likely a smart move after a day like Thursday.
