Power Rankings: The American Express

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.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Ryan Palmer shot a bogey-free round of 6-under 66 at the Valero Texas Open to lead by two shots over Kevin Chappell, Dylan Frittelli and Matt Kuchar after Friday’s second round. RELATED: Leaderboard | Top 10 Valero Texas Opens | Martin sees bigger picture at Valero Texas Open Palmer, at 10-under, surged into the lead with consecutive birdies midway through the back nine. Chappell, the 2017 tournament winner, had the day’s low round of 65. Frittelli also got away with no bogeys during his 66, and Kuchar shot 69 with four-straight birdies on the back. Palmer’s last TOUR win came in 2019. He took the lead with a 5-foot birdie putt at the par-5 14th. At 15 he converted another birdie putt inside 10 feet. “It’s a golf course, if you get it offline, you’re going to struggle,” Palmer said. “I was able to keep the ball in front of me. When I’ve missed fairways, I’ve gotten fortunate breaks, I think. So the weekend, it’s a matter of just avoiding those big misses.” Hideki Matsuyama withdrew after nine holes Friday with a sore neck, leaving early ahead of his Masters title defense next week. Defending champion Jordan Spieth was making a move, getting to 4-under for his round after a short birdie putt on his 14th hole. He was in good shape for par at the next after chipping to three feet away— where he three-putted. The double-bogey put him on the projected cut line, ultimately making the weekend by two shots at 2-under. It wasn’t as good for some other notable names. Bryson DeChambeau triple bogeyed the first hole and missed the cut. Rory McIlroy failed to break par in his two rounds and missed the cut. J.J. Spaun is in a group of players three shots back of Palmer. He led during the morning at 10-under when he dropped an 18-foot birdie at his 14th hole. He finished with three bogeys. “I’m still in a good position — there’s a lot of golf left,” Spaun said. “It got kind of tough with the finish, and two bad swings made me make a couple bogeys. Still happy to have a shot.” Those joining Spaun at 7-under include U.S. Open champions Lucas Glover (66) and Gary Woodland (67), Charles Howell III (67) and Brendon Todd (69). Kuchar bogeyed three of four holes in the middle of his round. Starting at the 14th, Kuchar made four-straight birdie putts of 10 feet or more. He said there was nothing special about the run. “I don’t think so — they fall where they fall and you never know,” he said. “You try to stay as positive as you can thinking they’ll fall at some point. You never know in a round of golf, and it’s nice that they fell at some point today.” Chappell’s only TOUR win came here five years ago. His 65 had no bogeys on the card. He eagled his 11th hole and finished with two birdies, a 17-footer on the finishing hole. “I just feel at ease around this place,” Chappell said. “My soul and this golf course get along. I really enjoy being here. I’m excited about where my game is because I’ve don’t think I played great yet. It’s not like the ball is coming out of the middle of the clubface every time and flying where I’m looking, but I’ve been able to scramble and get the ball in the hole.”

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