Collin Morikawa surged in front of the field while Brooks Koepka lingers two shots behind headed to the final round in Bradenton, Fla.
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DUBLIN, Ohio – Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay will look to double down on their success at Muirfield Village. The two former winners here are tied atop the leaderboard, three clear of their nearest competitors, entering the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Morikawa’s 6-under 66 and Cantlay’s 4-under 68 on Saturday left the pair tied at 12 under par. They’ve had success at Muirfield Village, but their position atop the leaderboard is still a surprise. Defending Memorial champion Jon Rahm had seemingly built a six-shot lead after shooting 63, but then was forced to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. South African Branden Grace (67) and Texan Scottie Scheffler (69) are 9 under and tied for third. Max Homa is in fifth place at 6 under after shooting 72. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rahm withdraws from the Memorial Tournament after testing positive for COVID-19 Morikawa produced eight birdies and just two bogeys on Saturday with a near ace on the par-3 fourth hole the highlight of the round. His shot from 208 yards actually dipped down inside the hole briefly before popping out. Ironically, the same thing happened a year ago at the Workday Charity Open on the same hole. “I want to go see the replay right now. It looked pretty good from my end. It landed a lot closer than I thought, but I don’t know speed-wise how hard it was going in because it was about a foot away from the hole. That would have been really cool, but what are you going to do?” Morikawa said. “Today was really solid. The couple bogeys I had were just kind of poor bogeys. But it’s going to happen out here, especially if you’re missing the fairways. And overall, I was hitting some really quality shots. “I stuck to my game and stuck to the game plan. Out here with these soft greens you can get a little aggressive with wedges and put yourself in bad spots, but I thought I played pretty smart and I’ve got to do that tomorrow.” Cantlay’s round featured five birdies and just a lone bogey. “I thought I played really well. I made a lot of clutch putts on the front and didn’t make as many as I would have liked on the back but closed with a good one. My game’s in a good spot. I hit a lot of solid shots today and played really well. So I’m pretty pleased,” Cantlay said. “I really like this golf course and see the golf course really well, and so all the good memories I have here, it’s just easier to stand up and visualize the shot that I want to hit. It’s nice when you have that feeling around a place like I do here.” Both players are also chasing a second victory of the season with Cantlay winning THE ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD last fall and Morikawa saluting at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession. They would be the fourth multiple winner this season, joining Bryson DeChambeau, Stewart Cink and Jason Kokrak. Cantlay is currently 10th in the FedExCup and projects to take over the lead in the standings with a victory while Morikawa sits 23rd and projects inside the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 should he close the deal on Sunday.
One of the toughest holes at Augusta National Golf Club just got more difficult. The 2019 Masters is less than 10 weeks away, and this week the club released its official tournament media guide. Included was a hole-by-hole breakdown, one that featured a sizable shift to the par-4 fifth hole.
With the Korn Ferry Tour season behind us and the end of the PGA TOUR offseason rapidly approaching, graduates from The 25 and The Finals 25 are gearing up for the first event of the 2019-20 season, A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier. Rookies from this graduating class should feel confident in their games translating to the next level, as last season saw three rookies win on TOUR after graduating via The 25 or The Finals 25. Last season’s The 25 winner, Sungjae Im, parlayed his fully exempt status on TOUR into a spot in the TOUR Championship and eventual T19 finish on the FedExCup. Here are the top-10 PGA TOUR rookies to watch, after successfully earning 2019-20 TOUR membership via the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour. 1. Viktor Hovland. The star-in-the-making out of Oklahoma State was one of the top storylines this summer after turning professional. Along with Matthew Wolff and Collin Morikawa, Hovland became a household name over the last six weeks of the PGA TOUR Regular Season, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship. Unlike his compadres, Hovland failed to earn a TOUR card prior to the FedExCup Playoffs and proceeded to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. It didn’t take the 21-year-old long to join Wolff and Morikawa, however, as he finished T11-T2 in the first two Finals events to solidify his TOUR status. BEST 2019 RESULT: 4 (Wyndham Championship) 2. Scottie Scheffler. There was no player on the Korn Ferry Tour who played as high-level, consistent golf in 2019 as Scheffler. The University of Texas graduate racked up two wins, 10 top-10s and missed just four cuts over the course of the season. He also led the Tour in birdies and scoring average during his rookie campaign, taking the No. 1 spot on both The 25 and The Finals 25 to earn fully exempt status on TOUR next season. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Evans Scholars Invitational, Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship) 3. Kristoffer Ventura. Ventura began the season with conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour after playing poorly at Q-School as a result of an appendectomy. He made only one start prior to June, before a T3 finish at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation set up his season. After that, the 24-year-old went on a tear, winning twice in a four-week span and adding another third-place finish at the Regular Season finale. Now the Norwegian reunites with his former college teammates Wolff and Hovland for his rookie PGA TOUR campaign. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank, Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Chevrolet) 4. Tom Lewis. Lewis’ time on the Korn Ferry Tour was short lived, but he made it count. The Englishman decided at the eleventh hour to play in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance — his first and only start on the Korn Ferry Tour – and proceeded to win the event by five strokes. The win secured the No. 63 player in the world a PGA TOUR card and leaves him with plenty of options for the 2019-20 season as he also has status on the European Tour. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance) 5. Harry Higgs. The affable Higgs picked up where he left off after winning the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Order of Merit in 2018. Armed with a silky putting stroke, deft touch around the greens and his signature Wayfarer sunglasses, Higgs had an excellent rookie season on the Korn Ferry Tour in which he only missed four cuts (just one coming after May) and culminated with a win at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. Higgs’ consistency will serve him well at the next level. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper) 6. Doug Ghim. Ghim provided one of the lasting images of the Korn Ferry Tour season as he unleashed a huge fist pump after making a putt on the 72nd hole of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance to secure his first PGA TOUR card. The former Masters low amateur played steady golf all season, ranking 14th in scoring average, but struggled to lock up his card coming down the stretch of the Regular Season. But three-straight solid weeks during the Finals were enough to get Ghim to the next level. BEST 2019 RESULT: T3 (Country Club de Bogota Championship) 7. Maverick McNealy. McNealy had a solid season in 2019 after an up-and-down 2018 rookie campaign on the Korn Ferry Tour. The Stanford alum hovered around a spot in The 25 all season before a third-place finish at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae propelled him solidly into The 25. A made cut was all he needed at the Regular Season finale to earn a spot on the PGA TOUR. BEST 2019 RESULT: 2 (LECOM Suncoast Classic) 8. Michael Gligic. The 29-year-old has been a professional for 11 years, but in 2019 Gligic finally broke through and got to the PGA TOUR. On the strength of a win in Panama early in the season, the Canadian was able to lock up his card several weeks before the end of the Regular Season. BEST 2019 RESULT: WON (Panama Championship) 9. Scott Harrington. Was there a better story in golf in 2019 than Harrington securing his first PGA TOUR card at his hometown event, the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz? The hug he shared with his wife Jenn — who was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 — on the 18th green at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club will be replayed for years to come. After taking time off in 2018 to be with Jenn, the 38-year-old Harrington came back in 2019 with a strong campaign that included four top-10s. None proved more important than the second-place finish in Portland, however, as he locked up his first TOUR card. BEST 2019 RESULT: 2 (WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz) 10. Ben Taylor. After coming up short of a TOUR card in 2018 despite an early-season win, Taylor was able to get the job done in the Finals with a T2 finish at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. Taylor had a solid showing on the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour with nine top-25s, and he ranked inside the top-50 in putting average and birdies. BEST 2019 RESULT: T2 (Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship)
