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Rory McIlroy and Scotty Scheffler both picked up a few shots to move to one-under par at the Memorial Tournament on Saturday, before the third round was prematurely postponed due to inclement weather.
Both still sit well off the pace set by JT Poston and Ryan Gerrard, who held the full lead at par nine, as heavy rain, wind and even hail began to batter Muirfield Village.
Both McIlroy and Scheffler completed most of their rounds, the Northern Irishman completing 16 and Scheffler just a few short, before play was halted for a second time due to a storm.
The leading players, on the other hand, only managed to complete five holes before inclement weather, which saw a TV tower collapse near the tenth green.
Course officials later announced that play would not resume at 6pm local time.
A further announcement from the PGA Tour account following the suspension said: “The third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday will resume on Sunday at 7.30am (12.30pm UK & Ireland time).
“Final round tee times will be approximately 11am to 12.45pm on holes number 1 and 10 in groups of three.”
It might come at a good time for Scotty Scheffler, who made a charge up to two bogeys on three holes, the last from an iron into the water from the tee.
And that probably won’t help players like Poston who face a long Sunday to make up for lost time and then have 36 holes to qualify for the US Open on Monday.
Poston and Gerrard were tied on nine of the five holes, one shot ahead of Sam Burns, who had par on six.
Even with four hours of daylight available, the PGA Tour felt there was enough thunderstorm activity to call it a day. The third round was scheduled to resume at 7 a.m., followed by a final round from both tees in threesomes for the first time all week.
Just 21 players finished the round, with Harris English (69) posting the best clubhouse score at three under.
Scheffler, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only player to win three in a row at the Memorial, started 10 shots behind and bogeyed the first hole. And then within minutes, or so it seems with Scheffler, he was tied for fourth after a birdie-birdie-eagle approach to the turn, and then an eight-foot birdie to start the back nine.
But then he three-putted from 65 feet, to the back, on the par-five 11th. He found a back bunker on the par-three 12th, a spot where it was impossible to put it on the green, leading to another bogey.
Then on the 14th, his iron drifted left and led to a splash and a penalty stroke, adding a bogey that dropped the world number one to two under for the round, still eight shots back.
Scotty Scheffler hits from the third tee
And it was no longer the same Muirfield village, fast and firm and scary all week, suddenly softened by heavy rain.
No one felt it more than Justin Thomas, who made a superb par to make the cut from behind the 18th green on Friday. This took him to the weekend and he played as a single. Thomas thought that would at least give him the best weather, the best conditions to score well and salvage the week.
But he played just 12 holes before the first delay of one hour and 40 minutes in dry conditions. Enough rain fell to make the course easier. And now the 32 players on the course return to a much softer and easier course.
Thomas could only laugh at his misfortune after his round of 72.
“It’s like the joy of being first because you usually get no wind and an easy course,” he said. “But I missed the window. You know, you’ve got to play better.”
Poston, meanwhile, can ease some of the pressure with another long day of good play. A win or even a runner-up finish would be worth enough world ranking points to move him high enough in the world rankings to be safe for the top 60 next week and advance to the US Open.
Watch the Memorial Tournament live on Sky Sports throughout the week, with coverage of the third round starting on Saturday from 2pm on Sky Sports+. Get Sky Sports or Golf Stream with no contract
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