DUBLIN, Ohio — Winning has become a habit for Scottie Scheffler, but his victory Sunday at the Memorial was anything but typical.
He had just one birdie and a 2-over 74 in the final round, his best score in two years, and the victory was not assured until Scheffler showed his mettle with a downhill putt from five feet above the hole to thwart the break.
His one-stroke victory over Collin Morikawa and his handshake with tournament organizer Jack Nicklaus said it all.
“You’re a survivor,” Niklaus told him.
“Thanks,” Scheffler said. “You’re right, you made this a terrible place today.”
Scheffler endured more stress than he would have liked and got the win everyone expected, his fifth victory of the season just one week into June, and now faces another tough test at the U.S. Open next week.
Muirfield Village was a very tough course with very firm greens and swirling gusts of wind throughout the afternoon, so only six players broke par, with the average score just under 75.
Scheffler started the day four strokes behind and never relinquished the lead. He was hounded all afternoon by Morikawa and Adam Hadwin and struggled to make par on the back nine, never feeling at ease, his last par coming on the 18th hole.
“It’s hard to end it here,” Scheffler said. “We didn’t do particularly well today, but we did good enough.”
just in time.
Scheffler was leading Morikawa by one stroke, but both their approach shots bounced hard and high off the green and into the rough; both were chip shots from about 5 feet. Scheffler made the putt for the win, and the force of his fist-pumping celebration spoke to just how tough the day had been for him, and for just about everyone else.
Making the day even more special were his memories of playing with Nicklaus at the Memorial and holding his newborn son, Bennett, at his first PGA Tour event.
Scheffler was reminded of the time in 2021 when he missed a 6-foot putt on the final hole, eliminating any chance of a playoff. As he walked off the green, Scheffler recalled Nicklaus telling him that one day he’d make that putt on the 18th hole. “When that happens, I’ll walk away to shake his hand.”
“It was pretty special to think about that as I walked up to hold his hand,” he said.
Playing in the final groups of both majors this year, Morikawa made a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 12th hole and stayed close to Scheffler the rest of the way. Morikawa shot 71 and was the only one of the final 13 to break par.
Adam Hadwin was with them but finished with three consecutive bogeys for a final score of 74, leaving him in sole third place.
Scheffler received $4 million in compensation on Sunday, more than his 2023 total.
Scheffler finished at 8-under 280 to win $4 million in the signature event and the $20 million prize money, bringing his total earnings for the year to more than $24 million and breaking the PGA Tour single-season earnings record he set last year (and it’s only June) in this era of rising prize money.
He also became the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to win five PGA Tour events before the U.S. Open.
That’s next week at Pinehurst, where Scheffler enters the U.S. Open as the overwhelming favorite to win, his 11th consecutive top 10 finish.
Morikawa won $2.2 million, giving him a comfortable lead in his quest to place fourth on the U.S. team for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Hadwin was one stroke behind the leader before finishing with two bogeys over the first nine holes, and stayed in contention for the lead until he made two bogeys on the final hole for a 74. Still, his third-place finish earned him the second spot as a Canadian, ahead of Olympic qualifier Corey Connors.
The players who go to Paris will be determined by their world rankings after the US Open.
Scheffler had just one birdie, a 10-foot putt on the sixth hole, and missed two birdie opportunities inside 10 feet on the back nine to give himself some breathing room.
But it was on the par-3 16th hole that he made his biggest mistake.
Scheffler and Morikawa both missed the ball about 90 feet into the very slippery green. Scheffler hit it weakly with his putter and it landed 15 feet short. Morikawa chipped it from the collar and hit a mediocre chip about 20 feet short.
Morikawa missed his par putt, and Scheffler made it to take a two-stroke lead.
But Scheffler missed his final shot on the 17th hole and then held a one-stroke lead again on a tough 18th hole, finishing with a final putt.
Up next is what is arguably golf’s toughest test, but the players felt like they had just completed it at Muirfield Village.
“You can look at this two ways,” Hadwin said, “either it’s good preparation for next week or it just costs us money going into next week.”
For Scheffler, it was another win, his 11th of his career and 12th in the world championships. Scheffler has a history of finishing strong to win by large margins or come from behind. When it was close at the start, Scheffler pulled away. This time, he nearly lost his four-stroke lead.
It was his highest final-round score since his 74 at the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews, but it goes down as another big win against a strong field: He’s now won three signature events (the other two are at Bay Hill and Hilton Head), in addition to his second green jacket at The Players Championship and the Masters.
