Scottie Scheffler faced the edge of an early exit at Muirfield Village, sitting 4-over through 10 holes and feeling like he was headed for a score near 90. He steadied himself with three straight birdies and shot even-par 71 to keep his 75-consecutive-made-cut
DUBLIN, Ohio — For the first time in a while, Scottie Scheffler wasn’t sure he was going to play the weekend.
Friday at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday turned tense fast. As he walked through the back nine at Muirfield Village. he was sitting 4-over par through 10 holes. already feeling the pressure of every shot. Scheffler made three consecutive bogeys at Muirfield Village, then managed par on the gettable par-5 11th. From there, he knew he’d need even-par golf the rest of the way just to stay alive.
He also didn’t like how it felt. The world No. 1 described his day as a grind, saying, “I felt like I was going to shoot about 90 today.” Without a late flurry, his streak of 75 consecutive made cuts—the longest on the PGA TOUR—would have ended.
He didn’t let it.
Scheffler steadied the round with three birdies over the next eight holes. pulling himself back into weekend range and still within striking distance of contention. His even-par 71 kept him on track for another consecutive start. and it avoided something he’d been trying to prevent: it kept the streak from turning into his first back-to-back over-par rounds since the U.S. Open nearly 12 months ago.
At the same time, he didn’t pretend the round was clean. “That’s maybe some of the worst I’ve hit it in a couple years out there and I still managed to shoot even par around a golf course that requires you to strike the ball really well. ” Scheffler said. His round also included a shanked bunker shot at the fifth. a moment that only deepened the sense that he was fighting the swing rather than freely playing the golf.
Still, he found a way to survive the wobble. Scheffler said good iron swings on Nos. 14, 15 and 16 lifted him when he was “teetering on the edge of an early exit,” and the putter helped too. He holed a 22-foot birdie on No. 15 and a 40-foot birdie on No. 16—two conversions that gave him cushion at exactly the right time.
In the end, it wasn’t a runaway recovery. It was controlled damage. “This tournament was one that definitely could have got away from me. but right now I’m only nine shots back and still have a chance going into the weekend. ” Scheffler said. “With the conditions the way they are. you never really know what’s going to happen around this golf course and just getting inside the cut line you still have a chance.”.
Scheffler’s weekend remains intact: he will play his 76th consecutive weekend. He holds the longest active made cut streak by a considerable margin, with 75 consecutive made cuts. Hideki Matsuyama is next on the list with 25 made cuts in a row.
While Scheffler kept his rhythm enough to stay in, several other high-profile players couldn’t make the turn back into the weekend. Jordan Spieth shot 7-over 79, falling from 1-under to outside the cutline. Andrew Novak also shot 79 after beginning the day 1-under.
Ben Griffin—who challenged Scheffler for last year’s title—found trouble on the back nine, shooting 39 and finishing 7-over. Robert MacIntyre finished 7-over and missed his third cut of the year. Min Woo Lee played his final two holes in 3 over to miss the cut as well.
Scheffler came to Muirfield Village with plenty of history, too. He has navigated Jack’s place excellently over his career. Before winning back-to-back titles, he recorded back-to-back third-place finishes in 2021 and 2023 (Scheffler didn’t play the Memorial in 2022). His worst finish came in his tournament debut, T22 in 2020.
This year. he’s still trying to do something only Tiger Woods has managed before—win three straight at the Memorial. But on Friday, the bigger story was how close it came to slipping away. For now. his streak is alive. his weekend is set. and he’ll head into Saturday knowing how thin the margin was when the swing stopped cooperating.
Scottie Scheffler Memorial Tournament presented by Workday Muirfield Village made cut streak PGA TOUR Friday round even-par 71