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PGA Tour: Weekend at Cromwell

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CROMWELL – What was the song of the day on Friday at the 2025 Travelers Championship?

“Who’s peekin’ out from under a stairway

Callin’ a name that’s lighter than air?

Who’s bendin’ down to give me a rainbow?

Everyone knows it’s Windy.”

With apologies to The Association (music group of the ‘60s), yes, it was quite windy on Friday, especially when Scottie Scheffler was on the course.

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Scheffler remains T-1st along with scorching hot Justin Thomas (64) and veteran Tommy Fleetwood (65), who each dodged the windy conditions to post big time scores to roll into contention for the $4m first place prize this weekend at beautiful TPC River Highlands.

Thomas carded five consecutive birdies (Nos. 11-15) en route to his (64), his ninth consecutive round in the 60s at TPC River Highlands. It’s his 15th career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and second this season (RBC Heritage/Won) and he’s batting .500, 7-for-14 in converting to victory to date.

Thomas’ 4-under (31) tied his lowest back-nine score at this event (fifth time) and he’s a remarkable 34-under in his last nine rounds at Travelers Championship.

Tommy Fleetwood is the only player with multiple eagles through 36 holes (Nos. 13 and 15/R2). Friday marked his seventh career stroke-play round on TOUR with multiple eagles (most recent: 2023 U.S. Open/R4)

Fleetwood’s is a cumulative 6-under on holes No. 13 and 15 combined through 36 holes.

General Notes:

First-round co-leader Austin Eckroat (T5/-7) made his fourth start at the Travelers Championship (T47/2021, T24/2023, T27/2024). He made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2021 Travelers Championship on a sponsor exemption.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy (T9/-5) was 3-over through four holes en route to carding a 1-over (71). McIlroy has finished in the Top-20 in five previous starts at the Travelers Championship (best: T7/2023).

Popular 13-time PGA TOUR winner Jason Day’s (4th/-8) is on track for his best result in 10 appearances at Travelers Championship is T8/2019. His best finish in 11 starts this season was a T3/American Express.

The 70.686 scoring average Friday marked the highest single-round scoring average at Travelers Championship since 2017 (70.824/R2).

Si Woo Kim withdrew during the second round with a back injury.

The Travelers | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

 

T1 Justin Thomas 67 64 131 (-9)

T1 Scottie Scheffler 62 69 131 (-9)

T1 Tommy Fleetwood 66 65 131 (-9)

4 Jason Day 66 66 132 (-8)

Eckroat, Scheffler Lead after 18

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CROMWELL – (Staff Report from PGA Tour Brunch) – Austin Eckroat posted a (62) in his morning round and Scottie Scheffler posted a (62) in the more difficult afternoon round. Today, the tee times will be reversed and we’ll see who is atop the leaderboard come Saturday morning at the 2025 Travelers Championship, held at the TPC River Highlands – just outside of the Hartford, Connecticut city lines.

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Eckroat recorded his bogey-free 8-under (62), a career-low round with the previous best round being (63s), most recently at 2024 World Wide Technology Championship/R4). He played alongside Byeong Hun An in a 9:20am tee-time as the 72 player field marched out in pairs.

Ekroat holds his second career 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR but finished T8th at the 2023 RSM Classic. This weekend, he’s making his fourth start at the Travelers Championship (T47/2021, T24/2023, T27/2024). TPC River Highlands is where he made his PGA TOUR debut at the 2021 Travelers Championship on a sponsor exemption.

Scheffler, the World No. 1, carded his second-lowest opening-round score of the season (61/THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson). This is his sixth career 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR but only his second this season (THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson/Won). He’s 2-for-5 to date in converted an 18-hole lead to victory.

Scheffler, of course, is the reigning FedEx Cup Champion and he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (4.194). He owns two Top-10 finishes in five career starts at the Travelers Championship (T4/2023, Won/2024).

On Friday, Scheffler tees-off at 10:35am with last week’s U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun while Eckroat and An go off at 12:30pm.

The last first-round leader to go on to win The Travelers was Jordan Spieth in 2017.

General Notes:

TPC River Highlands installed a new stone wall along a pond at No. 15-16-17 holes. The added yardage came from new tee box on No. 3 which added 15 yards to the Par-4.

Jordan Spieth was forced to WD after 12 holes of Thursday’s opening round. He was suffering from neck tightness that progressed through the day.

There are 71 players remaining in the field and there is no cut at this Signature Event.

The Travelers Championship is the last of eight Signature Events during the 2025 PGA TOUR Season. It has a $20m purse and the winner pockets $4m.

The Travelers | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

T1 Austin Eckroat 62 (-8)

T1 Scottie Scheffler 62 (-8)

T3 Wyndham Clark 64 (-6)

T3 Rory Mcllroy 64 (-6)

T3 Keegan Bradley 64 (-6)

Low Scores Expected at Travelers

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CROMWELL – The Travelers Championship’s defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, is also the World No. 1, reigning FedExCup Champion and 16-time PGA TOUR winner. Scheffler is in search of his fourth victory of the season (THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, PGA Championship, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday).

Scheffler posted 65 or better in all four rounds en route to victory in 2024 (65-64-64-65).

New England favorite son, Keegan Bradley won the 2023 Travelers Championship and is making his 15th career appearance this week. He owns three Top-10s (T8/2017, T2/2019, Won/2023 at TPC River Highlands.

As a Signature Event, the tournament grants four sponsor exemptions to PGA TOUR members:

  • Luke Clanton: PGA TOUR rookie owns two Top-25 finishes in six starts this season
  • Rickie Fowler: Four top-25s in seven career starts at the Travelers Championship (T13/2010, T13/2013, T13/2023, T20/2024)
  • Tom Kim: Making third consecutive appearance in the Travelers Championship; T38/2023, lost in playoff-P2/2024)
  • Gary Woodland: Four-time PGA TOUR winner making his seventh career start in the Travelers Championship with his best finish being a T20 in 2015

All prior Signature Event winners this season are in the field: Hideki Matsuyama (The Sentry), Rory McIlroy (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am), Ludvig Åberg (The Genesis Invitational), Russell Henley (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard), Justin Thomas (RBC Heritage), Sepp Straka (Truist Championship), Scottie Scheffler (the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday).

World No. 3 Xander Schauffele has 66 consecutive made cuts on TOUR, the longest active streak and sixth-longest streak in TOUR history (Tiger Woods/142, Byron Nelson/113, Jack Nicklaus/105, Hale Irwin/86, Dow Finsterwald/72).

International players have won 15 of 27 events this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria/(twice), Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland/(3x), Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden, Karl Vilips/Australia, Viktor Hovland/Norway, Min Woo Lee/Australia, Garrick Higgo/South Africa, Ryan Fox/New Zealand/(twice).

PGA Tour Pros Await the Crowds

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CROMWELL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Scottie Scheffler needs no more reminders that his caddie, Ted Scott, was on Bubba Watson’s bag when he won the Travelers Championship three times.

“After a few holes, that can get pretty annoying listening to Teddy talk about when Bubba won,” Scheffler joked with reporters Tuesday about his practice rounds with Scott at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn.

How annoying?

“If you keep saying when Bubba won here, I’m going to hit you with my club,” Scheffler said with a laugh.

The top-ranked Scheffler is the defending champion this week at the Travelers Championship, where he defeated Tom Kim in a playoff last year. He is coming off a T7 finish at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday and has won three of his last five events, including the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

In all seriousness, and even though Watson (Travelers champion in 2010, 2015 and 2018) is left-handed, Scheffler said Scott has helped him to put the signature event’s 6,844-yard, par-70 layout in perspective.

“What we talk about on that golf course is I think there’s a stigma around it that you have to make a ton of birdies, but it’s really about getting the most looks,” Scheffler said. “There’s certain holes where you have to play really conservative and play to the middle of the green and just get as many looks for birdie as possible.”

Scheffler shot 65-64-64-65 to finish 22 under par last year, then bested Kim on the first playoff hole with a par at the 18th.

“The Travelers is a great golf course in the sense you get very rewarded for good shots,” he said. “If you start hitting offline, you can be punished pretty severely. The closing stretch enhances that, and that’s why you have such great finishes there year after year.”

Scheffler, 28, said he appreciates the small-town atmosphere and friendly reception from the fans in Connecticut.

“I think playing in front of the crowds that we get out there is really fun for us. The crowd is always really, really good there,” he said.

“… It’s great. You get such a big crowd, and they’re always rowdy and they’re having fun, and it gets loud in there. You have those finishing holes like 18, the scene around 18 green every year is always so special for us.

“I always dreamt of winning that tournament. I remember Jordan (Spieth) hitting that bunker shot when I was in college (in 2017) and trying to become a pro. It’s just one of those golf courses where there’s really great opportunity for you to have a very special finish.”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 15

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – As the 2025 NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs come towards a close, and both series going six, maybe, seven games, Major League Baseball grinds on through the dog days of June. By the 4th of July, it will be “Baseball Season,” but, now, the winter sports are holding on to the interest of sports fans and to loyal, yet dwindling, worldwide television audiences.

 

For both the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final, pundits are criticizing the rise of the small market teams. In the NBA, Oklahoma City (Thunder, the No. 47 TV market) and Indiana (Pacers, the No. 25 TV market) are playing some of the best basketball seen in years, yet talking heads are harping on the size of each city.

In the NHL Cup Final, small market (Sunrise, Florida) representing Miami and South Florida as a whole (the No. 18 TV market in the USA), now 2-2 (going into Saturday night’s Game 5) vs. Edmonton (1.6m people in market, no Nielsen TV ratings info).

Here’s a look at the tremendous NHL Stanley Cup promo from TNT:

To help promote the Finals (NBA)/Final (NHL), each league and its broadcasters created/aired terrific promo teases, with the NHL’s shining brightly.

The NBA went with a solid campaign, underlined by Nat King Cole’s incomparable song, “Unforgettable.” The :30 second spot airs during NBA programming but also popped up elsewhere to promote tune-in to the Indiana vs OKC series, and other playoff matchups earlier this spring.

The concept took a storyline created by Goodby-Berlin during the “I Love This Game” campaign, weaving in everyday acts and tasks by the everyday fan into the glorious highlights of NBA action in the playoffs.

The All-Time Greatest Sports Tease

Teasing John Malkovich by CBS Sports

The NBA promos struck a chord of an NFL pre-game tease from years ago, one I’ve highlighted in this space before, for sure.

This aired prior to the 2018 AFC Championship game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots won by the Tom Brady-led Patriots, 24-20.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: This coming week is one of WWYI’s favorite weeks of the year. It’s PGA TOUR comes to New England week with the Thursday morning tee-off at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. Digital Sports Desk (and PGA Tour Brunch) will be on site to cover the tournament.

The Travelers Championship is a TOUR Signature Event and will feature a very strong field, including Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the tournament’s defending champion. This year’s event will be held June 16-22. In addition to Scheffler, every player in the Top 15 of the current Official World Golf Ranking is eligible to play – and 45 of the Top 50 ranked players – has committed to compete. That includes Rory McIlroy (No. 2), who completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters this year and also won THE PLAYERS Championship; Xander Schauffele (No. 3), the 2022 Travelers Championship winner and the reigning Open Championship winner; Collin Morikawa (No. 4); Justin Thomas (No. 5); Ludvig Åberg (No. 6); Russell Henley (No. 7); Sepp Straka (No. 8); and Hideki Matsuyama (No. 9).

“This is an incredible field of world-class PGA TOUR players coming to Connecticut this week, and the competition is going to be something golf fans won’t want to miss,” said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Travelers. “Thanks to the dedication and hard work of countless people and the support from the best fans on TOUR, the Travelers Championship has become a premier week in golf that continues to have a significant impact on numerous worthy charities throughout the region. We’re looking forward to another great tournament.”

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) today announced the Top 30 boys and 30 girls who will participate in the 15th edition of Basketball Without Borders / Asia, which will be held at the Singapore Basketball Centre in Singapore from Thursday, June 19 – Sunday, June 22. … USA Basketball announced the 2025 USA Men’s and Women’s 3×3 National Teams scheduled to compete at the 2025 FIBA 3×3 World Cup June 23-29 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The 2025 USA 3×3 Men’s National Team features Henry Caruso, Mitch Hahn, James Parrott and Dylan Travis, while the 2025 USA 3×3 Women’s National Team includes Morgan Maly, Sarah Strong, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams. On the men’s side, the veteran quartet won the 2024 FIBA 3×3 Men’s AmeriCup last December. … The National Basketball Association, National Basketball Players Association and 2K, a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and publisher of the leading global basketball video game NBA 2K series, today announced they have agreed in principle to terms for a new multiyear global partnership expansion. In addition, 2K has also agreed in principle to terms to extend its longstanding relationships with the NBA G League and USA Basketball. The agreements will enable 2K to continue creating the most realistic, authentic and engaging NBA video game experiences. … Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak was selected to the 2024-25 NHL Second All-Star Team. This is Pastrnak’s second nomination to the NHL Second All-Star Team (2023-24). He previously received First Team honors in 2019-20 and 2022-23. … The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame revealed the matchups for the annual 2025 Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off. The event will take place on Saturday, November 8, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, and will feature a doubleheader: Providence vs. Virginia Tech and George Washington vs. South Florida.

CWS: Here is your printable bracket for the 2025 College World Series, a double elimination college. baseball tournament ongoing as we type and read: (HERE)

U.S. OPEN and FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL: For WWYI & PGA TOUR Brunch Readers and Subscribers, there’s a new golf training tool that’s making serious strokes on and off the course: XView AI – the first and only markerless app that delivers real-time, full-swing golf analysis using nothing more than your iPhone.

Just like a subscription to PGA TOUR Brunch, it’s the perfect gift for Dads who love their game and their gadgets, as the app is currently being offered in a limited-time promotion through Father’s Day 2025. *Buy 2 months at $49.99 per month for XView AI and get one month free (Offer good now through midnight PT on June 16th).

Enter code: xviewdad25

More Info at: (HERE)

THIS JEST IN: The Houston Chronicle is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Houston Rockets’ back-to-back titles won in 1994-95. During the ‘95 NBA Playoffs, the Rockets faced the toughest road to a title – maybe of all-time.

Let former Chronicle columnist Fran Blinebury explain: (Click Here for his column)

U.S. Open: Spaun Leads After 18

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OAKMONT, (Pennsylvania) – J.J. Spaun (1st/-4) carded his low 18-hole score in a major with the previous low: (67) coming at the 2018 PGA Championship/R4). Spaun’s previous low in a U.S. Open was (75) at (2021/Torrey Pines/R2).

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Thursday marked Spaun’s first career bogey-free round in a major and he was the lone player in the field without a bogey (or worse).

This is Spaun’s seventh time leading/co-leading after the first round on TOUR but he’s 0-for-6 in such instances.

South Korea’s Sungjae Im (T3) and Si Woo Kim (T3) each opened with 2-under (68) and each look to become the first Korean player since Y.E. Yang(2009 PGA Championship) to win a major.

Two-time U.S. Open champion (2017, 2018) Brooks Koepka (T3) eagled No. 4 on his way to 2-under (68). He looks to become the seventh player to win three U.S. Open titles (Jack Nicklaus/4; Ben Hogan/4; Bobby Jones/4; Willie Anderson/4; Tiger Woods/3; Hale Irwin/3).

Now seeking his third win in seven starts, Ben Griffin (T6) opened with 1-under (69) as he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with partner Andrew Novak) and Charles Schwab Challenge. Griffin finished 2nd in his most recent start (the MemorialTournament presented by Workday).

Making his 96th consecutive major appearance (the longest active streak), Adam Scott (T11) posts even-par 70.

World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler (T49) shoots 3-over 73; seeks his fourth win in five starts (THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson; PGA Championship; the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday).

125th U.S. Open | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

J.J. Spaun 66 (-4)

2 Thriston Lawrence 67 (-3)

T3 Si Woo Kim 68 (-2)

T3 Brooks Koepka 68 (-2)

T3 Sungjae Im 68 (-2)

Full Leaderboard: (PGATourCom)

PGA Tour: It’s U.S. Open Time

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OAKMONT, (Pennsylvania) – The United States Open is the 27th of 36 events on the PGA Tour schedule. It is the third of four majors in pro golf with only The Open in Britain remaining.

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Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau will attempt to be the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion since Brooks Koepka (2017, ‘18) and dating back before then to Curtis Strange in 1988 and ‘89. Both Koepka and DeChambeau are on the LIV Golf Tour.

The 2025 field includes:

  • The winners of the last 10 U.S. Open tournaments are in the field (2024/2020/Bryson DeChambeau; 2023/Wyndham Clark; 2022/Matt Fitzpatrick; 2021/Jon Rahm; 2019/Gary Woodland;2018/2017/Brooks Koepka; 2016/Dustin Johnson; 2015/Jordan Spieth).
  • A full house of 49 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking (Only No. 26 Billy Horschel is missing as he is recovering from hip surgery).
  • 32 players in the field competed in the 2016 U.S. Open when it was last played at Oakmont Country Club, including three who finished inside the top 10: (Dustin Johnson/1st, Shane Lowry/T2, Jason Day/T8).

World No. 32 Ryan Fox won last week’s RBC Canadian Open on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff over Sam Burns. That win moved Fox inside the Top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking to qualify for the U.S. Open. It marked Fox’s second title of the PGA TOUR season (ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic),

A record number of 10,202 entries for qualifying were accepted for the 2025 U.S. Open; qualifying is open to any professional or amateur whose Handicap Index® does not exceed 0.4.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Tiger Woods’ major championship-record 15-stroke victory at the U.S. Open (Pebble Beach Golf Links).

Oakmont Country Club (Oakmont, Pennsylvania) will host the U.S. Open for the record-extending 10th time (1927/Tommy Armour; 1935/Sam Parks Jr.; 1953/Ben Hogan; 1962/Jack Nicklaus; 1973/Johnny Miller; 1983/Larry Nelson; 1994/Ernie Els; 2007/Angel Cabrera; 2016/Dustin Johnson).

Oakmont opened in 1903 when it was designed by Henry Fownes. The course underwent a bunker restoration by Gil Hanse in 2023.

Adam Scott is making his 96th consecutive major championship appearance, dating to the 2001 Open Championship. Only Jack Nicklaus (146) has played in more than 100 straight majors

Johnny Miller’s final-round 63 at Oakmont Country Club en route to victory at the 1973 U.S. Open remains the lowest 18-hole score in a U.S. Open played at Oakmont and Miller is tied for the lowest final-round score in U.S. Open history (Tommy Fleetwood/2018, 2023).

U.S. Open | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Oakmont Country Club (Pennsylvania)

YARDS/PAR: 7,372 yards/Par 70

ARCHITECT/DESIGN: Henry Fownes

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: Apron. $21m/$4 million

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Bryson DeChambeau

PAST RESULTS: (link)

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 750

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup #USOpengolf

U.S. Open | The Basics

The Tee Times at Oakmont start at 6:45am (ET) and go to 2:42pm (ET).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast in PA calls for cloudy skies but temperatures reaching a daytime high of 83-degrees. Winds 2-5 mph with gusts to 12 mph. Some showers expected Friday.

Fox Burns-Up in PGA Tour Playoff

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – New Zealand’s Ryan Fox had a dynamic putt to extend the RBC Canadian Open and later used an awesome rip from the fairway to help secure a victory.

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Fox birdied the fourth playoff hole to win a showdown with Sam Burns and capture the tournament Sunday north of the border.

Fox notched a 4-under-par 66 in the final round, forcing the playoff with a birdie putt from about 17 feet on the last hole of regulation, on the way to his second career victory. Both triumphs have come across his last four tournaments.

Burns shot 62 to set the clubhouse lead and then waited a couple of hours in an attempt to notch his first PGA Tour victory in more than two years.

Burns and Fox finished at 18-under 262 at the North Course of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

The duo played the par-5 18th repeatedly in the playoff until a winner was determined. They each recorded pars the first three times through.

“Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight there for three holes,” Fox said. “It was some pretty average golf from both of us, some average putting.”

Fox drilled his second shot to the green on what became the last playoff hole, while Burns had an approach shot roll off the green.

“That shot I hit on 18 with the 3-wood was probably the best shot I ever hit,” Fox said. “It would have been nice to make (the eagle putt), but hey, I’ll take it.”

Fox’s tee shot on the first playoff hole was in a bunker off the fairway, but Burns’ potential winning putt from inside 6 feet was off the mark. Fox left a 12-footer to win short on the second playoff hole; Burns left his approach shot short on the third playoff hole, but recovered.

Fox had a bogey-free round, rallying with birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to pull within a stroke. He played the 18th by lofting his second shot less than 175 yards down the fairway — clearly aiming to tie and trying to be in good position with his approach — and it worked out.

“I hit some great shots down the stretch in regulation,” Fox said. “Probably got a little lucky on that putt on 18 in regulation, snuck in the left door.”

Taiwan’s Kevin Yu posted 66 for third place at 17 under.

Cameron Young (65) and Matt McCarty (67) tied for fourth at 16 under. The trio of Andrew Putnam (67), South Korea’s Byeong Hun An (66) and Italy’s Matteo Manassero (69) tied for sixth at 15 under.

Burns had nine birdies and one bogey. The birdies included five consecutive holes to begin the back nine, and he tacked on one more on the final hole.

“I knew I needed to make birdie there to have a chance,” Burns said during his layoff prior to the playoff. “I knew that was important to make that one.”

With the last pairing just a few holes into the final round, a dozen golfers were within two shots of the lead.

Fox and Manassero began the day sharing a one-shot lead.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry, with an early tee time, stormed to the lead with an eagle on the par-5 first hole (a 4-foot putt) followed with three consecutive birdies. He was undone by playing the last 10 holes in 2 over, ending the round with 67 and the tournament at 13 under.

Yu gained the lead briefly with an eagle on the par-4 second hole on a shot from 91 yards out. He got going again with birdies on three of the last five holes, including the 18th.

“I’m glad I finished great with three birdies in the last few holes,” Yu said. “… Proud of how we fought today, and hopefully coming back next year will have better results.”

Young, who began the round with an eagle, said he thought he was in ideal position until his only bogey came on the last hole when his second shot went awry.

“I couldn’t have hit two better shots on the last hole,” Young said. “I don’t hit 3-wood that far, and it’s blowing straight into the wind, and it decided to bounce all the way to the back woods. I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4. Pretty upset.”

Second-round leader Cameron Champ was back on track with a 67, putting him at 14 under.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: After 36 | The Memorial

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DUBLIN (Ohio) – In steady rain on Friday, Nick Taylor’s (68) tied his low score (R1/2021) as he completed his first bogey free round in 18 career rounds at Muirfield Village to tie for the lead with R1 leader, Ben Griffin.

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For Taylor, this is his third 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and he’s 1-for-2 converting to a victory (2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).

Griffin holds his third career 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR and is also 1-for-2 converting the victory (2025 Charles Schwab Challenge). Griffin is the second player to earn multiple 36-hole leads/co-leads this season (Scottie Scheffler/Texas Children’s Houston Open, THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson) and the first player to hold at least a share of the 36-hole lead in back-to-back weeks on TOUR since Nico Echavarria (2024 Baycurrent Classic, 2024 World Wide Technology Championship).

Brian Campbell withdrew after shooting a 79 on Thursday.

The Cut: The 36-hole cutline came in at (+5), underlining the difficulty of the Muirfield Village course that Jack built.

The Memorial Leaderboard | After 36 Holes

T1 Nick Taylor 69 68 137 (-7)

T1 Ben Griffin 65 72 137 (-7)

3 Akshay Bhatia 70 69 139 (-5)

4 Scottie Scheffler 70 70 140 (-4)

Full Leaderboard: (PGATourCom)

The Memorial | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio

YARDS/PAR: 7,569 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECT(S): Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: $20,000,000/$4,000,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 700

PGA Tour: The Memorial

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DUBLIN, Ohio – Ben Griffin (1st place at -7) earned his first career 18-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR. His previous best 18-hole position: 2nd/2022 RSM Classic/finished T29). Griffin’s 7-under (65) marked his best score in five career rounds in the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (previous best: 72/R1/2023).

Griffin carded the lowest first-round score in the Memorial Tournament since 2019 (Ryan Moore/65/finished T33) and was the only player in the field to birdie each of the last three holes in round one (Nos. 16-18).

Griffin led the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (2.560) and Strokes Gained: Putting (3.843).

Griffin is staying “Hot,” as he entered the week coming off his first individual PGA TOUR victory at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge and five weeks ago, won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with teammate Andrew Novak) for his first career win on TOUR.

Griffin is one of four players with multiple wins on TOUR this year: (Rory McIlroy/3, Sepp Straka/2, Scottie Scheffler/2).

The Memorial Leaderboard | After 18 Holes

1 Ben Griffin 65 (-7)

2 Collin Morikawa 67 (-5)

3 Max Homa 68 (-4)

T4 Shane Lowry 69 (-3)

T4 Keegan Bradley 69 (-3)

T4 Nick Taylor 69 (-3)

Full Leaderboard: (PGATourCom)

The Memorial | Tournament Facts

COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio

YARDS/PAR: 7,569 yards/Par 72

ARCHITECT(S): Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead

OVERVIEW: (PGATourCom)

PRIZE Money – Purse/Winner’s Share: $20,000,000/$4,000,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 700