Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

PGA TOUR

PGA Tour: The Memorial

by

THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Location: Dublin, Ohio, June 6-9
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,571 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @MemorialGolf

PROPS
–Collin Morikawa to beat Xander Schauffele (+105 at DraftKings): Schauffele claimed his first major title in his most recent start and has been a top-10 machine with nine through 11 2024 events. But Morikawa has also rediscovered elite form, posting consecutive fourths and five top-10s over his past five starts. It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Schauffele since his breakthrough major victory, while Morikawa hunts for his first win since October.

–Viktor Hovland as top Scandanavian (+140 at BetMGM): After a rough start to 2024, Hovland reconnected with his previous swing coach and immediately contended until the 72nd hole at the PGA Championship. He also won at Muirfield in a playoff last year, but does have to fend off stiff competition in this prop. Ludvig Aberg (+150) has skyrocketed to sixth in the world with five top-10s already this year, while Alex Noren (+275) has displayed strong recent form that includes six top-20s in his past nine starts.

PGA Tour: MacIntyre Win in Canada

by

HAMILTON 🇨🇦  – Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour event by shooting 2-under par 68 for a one-stroke victory in the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario.

Embed from Getty Images

MacIntyre, a left-hander who earned his PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings, finished at 16-under 264.

Ben Griffin, who was in the final pairing with MacIntyre and also vying for his first title on the tour, had a late rally with three straight birdies, but was unable to sink a putt from the fringe on the last hole. His 65 left him 15 under.

When MacIntyre made the turn, he held a four-stroke lead with six golfers sharing second place. But this tournament had been far from decided, not to mention MacIntyre’s apparent irritation because of noise stemming from a drone from CBS equipment.

Griffin, who was among a group in second place entering the round, had a strange day, with a birdie on the par-4 third hole after his tee shot settled on the seventh fairway. He recovered then, but he had all pars until birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. The putt on the 16th green was from nearly 40 feet.

Third-place finisher Victor Perez of France shot a bogey-free 64, capped by a birdie putt on the final hole.

When Perez finished, MacIntyre had four holes left and only a one-stroke edge. He immediately birdied No. 15 to go up two, with Griffin joining Perez at 14 under.

South Korea’s Tom Kim and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy made charges with 64s to share fourth place at 13 under and Canada’s Corey Conners (65) was sixth at 12 under.

MacIntyre’s lead grew to five shots after a birdie on No. 11. But by the time he bogeyed the next two holes, Kim and McIlroy had wrapped up their rounds to sit just two shots back.

While Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes moved into contention by late Saturday, it was Conners who made a strong push in the final round in an effort for a Canadian to win the event for the second straight year. Nick Taylor won the event last year, but didn’t make the cut this weekend.

Conners had four straight birdies from Nos. 11-14, moved closer with a birdie on No. 17 before closing with a bogey. Hughes (70) finished in a tie for seventh at 10 under.

Kim opened the final round with three consecutive birdies and moved to 6 under for the day through 12 holes.

Griffin and Maverick McNealy (65), who tied for seventh, were the only U.S. golfers to finish inside the top 10.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Riley Wins at Colonial

by

FT. WORTH – Davis Riley accomplished a lot on his final day, five stroke cruise to victory at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge:

  • He secured his second PGA TOUR victory in his 90th start at the age of 27 years, 5 months, 9 days.
  • He earned his first individual victory on TOUR with the other being a team match play tournament at the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Nick Hardy.
  • He earned 500 points to move to No. 55 in the FedExCup standings and entry in the two remaining Signature Events this season (Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and the Travelers Championship).
  • He moved from No. 250 to No. 78 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
  • He won $1,638,000 and a new Chevy Corvette
Embed from Getty Images

Charles Schwab Challenge | Final Leaderboard

1 Davis Riley 66 64 66 70 266 (-14)

T2 Keegan Bradley 68 66 70 67 271 (-9)

T2 Scottie Scheffler 72 65 63 71 271 (-9)

4 Collin Morikawa 68 69 67 68 272 (-8)

Final Leaderboard: (link)

PGA Tour: Murray Died by Suicide

by

FT. WORTH – (Wire Service Report) – PGA Tour member Grayson Murray died by suicide, his parents confirmed in a statement Sunday morning.

Embed from Getty Images

The death of Murray was announced by commissioner Jay Monahan on Saturday, one day after the 30-year-old golfer cited illness following his withdrawal from the Charles Schwab Challenge at Fort Worth, Texas.

On Sunday morning, his parents, Eric and Terry, provided the following statement:

“We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone. It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.

“We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and — it seems — by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed.

Schauffele, Morikawa in Front at PGA

by

LOUISVILLE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – It was moving day at the PGA Championship. And there were plenty of top golfers that made a move up the leaderboard during the third round of the event on a sun-drenched day at Valhalla Golf Club.

Embed from Getty Images

Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa are at the top of the leaderboard at 15-under-par, but six players are within two shots of the lead and 15 will begin Sunday’s round at 10 under or better.

Schauffele overcame a double-bogey at No. 15 and finished his round with back-to-back birdies to post a 3-under-par 68. He’s tied with Morikawa, who shot a 67.

“A lot of guys took it low to climb their way up,” Morikawa said. “I assume tomorrow is going to be the same.”

Sahith Theegala shot 67 and is one shot back at 14 under, while Shane Lowry tied the course and PGA record with a 62 and is at 13 under along with Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland. Another shot back at 12 under heading into the final day are Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre.

“There’s blood in the water,” said Schauffele, who led after his opening round 62 and after the second round.

“There’s so many guys on that leaderboard there,” Hovland said.

The third round will begin at 7:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, and the final pairing of Schauffele and Morikawa will tee off at 2:35 p.m.

It marks just the second time since 2005 that six players were within two shots of the lead at the PGA. There were also six players within two shots after 54 holes during the 2020 event at TPC Harding.

And, according to Elias Sports Bureau, it will mark the most players to start the final round of a major that are double digits under par. The previous record was seven, which was done three times, the latest at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews.

“Look, I’ve played against all these guys; it’s not like any of these guys are new,” Morikawa said. “They all have their accolades within themselves, and really anyone can go low.”

Schauffele, who had nine birdies during his opening-round 62, had it to 15 under with three birdies in his first 14 holes. But he flew it over the green on the par-4, 15th hole and into the deep rough.

It led to a double-bogey 6, but he recovered with a wedge shot to about 2 feet for birdie on No. 17. A third shot chip on the par-5 18th hole led to another birdie.

“I mean, you summed it up for me; it was easy going there the first round,” he said. “Everything felt super easy. Felt like I’ve had to work for a lot of my birdies the last two days. Haven’t been able to make many putts. I feel like I’m still hitting the ball pretty nice. If I can just get the putter going a little bit, it should free me up.”

Morikawa got his one bogey out of the way on the second hole. He then made birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 10, 15, and 18. The two-time major champion had a chance at the Masters last month but finished tied for third.

“I’m going to tap in just kind of that mental state I’ve been in, not only those two, but in other tournaments I’ve played well in,” he said. “I think the goal for me tonight before my tee time is just to be as mentally sharp by that first hole. I think looking back at a month ago at Augusta, I felt sharp in everything, but I feel like I could have had a little bit of self-talk before I went out on that first tee and really just not got ahead of myself. Not that I did, but two holes really cost me back there. Tomorrow is just going to put everything I have out there and see how it plays out.”

Theegala made bogey at Nos. 5 and 6 but recovered. He made six birdies in his final 10 holes to post a 67. His birdie at No. 18 pulled him to within one shot of the lead.

Lowry, the 2019 Open champion, matched the lowest round ever in any of the four majors. Four players had previously posted 62s in the majors, including Schauffele, who did it in the U.S. Open last year and the first round this week.

Lowry was 29th heading into the third round and quickly jumped up the leaderboard. He shot a 29 on the front nine, reeling off four straight birdies at Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5. It was the first time anyone had shot a 29 over nine holes at Valhalla during four PGAs.

But the round could have been better. He had three birdies on the back nine and could have added another at 18. Lowry hit his drive into the right rough at the par-5 hole and then his second shot went to the left rough. He then missed an 11-foot putt for a birdie that would have given him a 61.

“Yeah, it was pretty good; I enjoyed it,” Lowry said. “I enjoyed every minute of it, obviously. … Look, I went out there with a job to do today, and my job was to try to get myself back in the tournament, and I definitely did that.

“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62. I knew what was at stake (at 18). Just didn’t hit the ball hard enough. Had it on a good read and just broke away from the hole.”

DeChambeau chipped in for eagle at No. 18 to get to 13 under, while Hovland made birdies at Nos. 17 and 18.

The weather is expected to be in the 80s and sunny on Sunday, setting the stage for a frantic finish.

–Field Level Media

From Age 20 to 35, McIlroy Wins at Wells Fargo

by

CHARLOTTE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Rory McIlroy’s eagle on the par-5 10th hole added to his final-round momentum on his way to winning the Wells Fargo Championship for the fourth time Sunday at Quail Hollow Club.

Embed from Getty Images

The Northern Irishman shot a final-round 6-under-par 65 for a tournament total of 17-under 267, good for a five-stroke advantage on runner-up Xander Schauffele, who had 71 in the final round.

Beginning with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9, McIlroy overcame Schauffele. The 34-foot eagle putt at No. 10 matched Schauffele’s eagle from the seventh hole, and McIlroy pushed his advantage to four shots with another birdie at the par-3 13th.

In a six-hole span, McIlroy charged from two shots behind to a four-shot lead.

McIlroy excelled at times when it might have looked challenging. On the 14th hole, he blasted out of a sand bunker and sank the ensuing putt for a birdie. He knocked in a shot from a greenside bunker for another eagle on No. 15.

McIlroy also won the tournament in 2010, 2015 and 2021. The margin of victory in 2015 was seven shots, something that appeared likely again until a mishap on the final hole when his approach shot bounced into the water behind the green and he ended up with double bogey.

The tournament’s only other multi-time winner is Max Homa, who has won it twice. He finished tied for eighth this year at 4 under after a final-round 69.

Schauffele, who led after each of the first three rounds, held a one-shot edge on McIlroy entering Sunday. It was a two-man showdown in the last round.

Clark Looks to Defend at Wells Fargo

by

CHARLOTTE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The last time Wyndham Clark found himself in the field for the Wells Fargo Championship, he didn’t have a single win on the PGA Tour to his name.

What a difference a year can make.

Clark will be gearing up for this year’s edition of the event as a defending champion for the first time ever. After taking the Wells Fargo title in 2023, he added two more victories to his ledger, prevailing at the U.S. Open last June before winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just three months ago.

In seven events since Pebble Beach, Clark has missed the cut twice, but he has also come away with three top-five finishes. He landed in second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 10, then tied for second at The Players Championship a week later.

Clark most recently finished T3 at the RBC Heritage, and he’s been able to find the silver lining when it comes to finishing just behind the leader.

“I just think the more times I put myself in contention, the better I get even if I don’t win. So recently coming up short in Bay Hill and at The Players, I learned a lot,” Clark said. “I mean, even though I had won three times prior to those two second-place finishes, I still was learning. I just think the more I put myself in that situation, the better I’m going to get and learn.

“And as you put yourself in those positions, you want to be in those positions more. So that’s really what I look forward to every week when we tee it up on Thursday.”

Even though another one of his titles will be on the line in just over a month at the U.S. Open, Clark insists that he isn’t overlooking the Wells Fargo Championship by any means.

“This is one of my favorite Tour events, one of my favorite golf courses,” Clark said of the Wells Fargo, which is held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C. “If there’s anything that I before the year get excited about, it’s this event. So I’m really focused on this week.

“It’s fun, it’s my first chance to defend. I don’t know what that’s like, so it’s been exciting. Hope I can go out and have a great week and play my best and maybe defend it. Yeah, no, I’m focused on this week.”

Clark carded a 19-under 265 at Quail Hollow last year for the lowest 72-hole score in the history of the Wells Fargo. He beat Xander Schauffele by four strokes.

–Field Level Media

Pendrith Takes CJ CUP Byron Nelson

by

McKINNEY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Taylor Pendrith of Canada birdied the par-5 18th hole to beat Ben Kohles and win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in a dramatic finish on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch on the outskirts of Dallas.

Embed from Getty Images

Pendrith was stuck on 22 under for five straight holes, parring Nos. 13-17 while playing partner Kohles made impressive birdies at the 16th and 17th greens to tie and then pass him for the lead.

But, with the tournament on the line, Kohles missed the 18th fairway and came up short of the green, landing between two bunkers. He couldn’t get his third shot up onto the green, and once he finally did, he missed a 5-foot par save. That reopened the door for Pendrith, whose lag putt from 41 feet left him 3 feet for the winning birdie and his first career PGA Tour victory.

Pendrith posted a final-round 67 to go 23-under 261 for the week. Kohles’ 66 powered him to the runner-up finish, and Swedish veteran Alex Noren placed third at 21 under after a Sunday 65.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Furyk and “Fluff” Part Ways

by

McKINNEY (Texas) – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan and Jim Furyk have parted ways amicably after 25 years together. Cowan, who was on the bag for Tiger Woods in the late 1990s, is returning to the PGA Tour.

Embed from Getty Images

Cowan is working with Taiwanese pro C.T. Pan at this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas.

“It’s hard to part ways after 25 years,” Cowan said, per USA Today’s Golfweek. “Sometimes the right thing to do is staring you right in the face and you’ve got to have the guys to do it.”

Furyk, 53, and Cowan have worked together since the 1999 Masters.

The timing of the move for Cowan is based on simple economics, as Furyk has been sidelined with injuries over the past two years. His best finish in three starts on the Champions Tour this season is a T33 at the Hoag Classic in March.

“We play for $2 million. They play for $8, $20, $25 million,” Furyk wrote in a text to Golfweek. “I knew it was a good opportunity for him, and C.T. has been playing pretty good. (Fluff) was hesitant. Because he’s a great person at heart. But I pushed and we both knew it was best for him and his family.”

Pan, 32, has earned $674,187 so far this season, compared to $19,464 for Furyk.

Furyk’s son, Tanner, is scheduled to caddie for the 2003 U.S. Open champion at three to four events this summer.

PGA Tour: Third Round at CJ CUP

by

McKINNEY, TEXAS – PGA TOUR rookie Jake Knapp shot (64-64) over the opening two rounds, becoming the third player to shoot 64 or better in first two rounds of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson. The others? Scottie Scheffler/64-64/2023, Tiger Woods/64-64/1997). Pretty good company to keep.

Embed from Getty Images

Knapp, the 2024 Mexico Open at Vidanta winner, seeks to become the first rookie to win twice on TOUR in the same season since Xander Schauffele(2017 Greenbrier Classic, 2017 TOUR Championship).

After equaling his career low round on TOUR with a bogey-free 8-under (63), 18-hole leader Matt Wallace (T2/-13) carded a 5-under (66). The 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship winner and four-time winner on the DP World Tour is making his second start at this event (MC/73-73/2022).

At 16 years, 7 months, 3 days, Kris Kim (T36/-7) became the youngest player to make a cut on the PGA TOUR since Kyle Suppa at the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii and youngest in tournament history with the previous being Jordan Spieth in 2010.

The top five FedEx Cup points earners from the Corales Puntacana Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson will earn spots in the Wells Fargo Championship via the Aon Swing 5, while the Top 10 players in the FedEx Cup standings not otherwise exempt through THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson will qualify via the Aon Next 10.

Aon Swing 5:

  1. Billy Horschel — 300.000
  2. Matt Wallace T2 247.85
  3. Troy Merritt T2 247.116
  4. Chad Ramey MC 167.167
  5. Kelly Kraft 4 165.531

Spieth, the world No. 20 and Dallas native (MC/-4), missed the cut for the second time in 12 appearances (MC/2017). Other notables to miss the cut (at -6) include: Thomas Detry, Matt Kuchar, Robert McIntyre and Kevin Eisner.

CJ CUP Byron Nelson Leaderboard | Round 2

1 Jake Knapp 64 64 128 (-14)

T2 Troy Merritt 67 62 129 (-13)

T2 Matt Wallace 63 66 129 (-13)

4 Kelly Kraft 64 66 130 (-12)

Full Leaderboard: (link)