Storm wipes third round as Poston, Gerard lead

Storm wipes – Bad weather cut short the third round of the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, wiping out the rest of Saturday’s play. J.T. Poston and Ryan Gerard remained tied for the lead at 9-under par through five holes, while players faced a long Sunday to make up lost time and

DUBLIN, Ohio — J.T. Poston and Ryan Gerard were tied for the lead at 9-under par through five holes when the sky turned on the Memorial. Thunderstorm activity rolled in. and by the time the routine of Saturday golf was meant to sharpen. the second round of bad weather had already wiped out the rest of the third round before it could really take shape.

By then, the leaders had only started building momentum for the afternoon. Poston and Gerard were still level, one shot clear of Sam Burns, who had played six holes. That was the snapshot PGA Tour play had time to capture before daylight became a scheduling problem and the rest of the third round was left unfinished.

Even with four hours of daylight available, the tour moved to end the day with thunderstorms on the way. The third round was set to resume at 7 a.m. Sunday, followed by a final round off both tees in threesomes for the first time all week.

Only 21 players finished the round. Harris English posted the best score, signing for 69 to get to 3-under par total of 213.

For the big names. the storm didn’t just stall progress—it changed the rhythm of every attempt to claw upward. Scottie Scheffler. who was making quite a charge. had the kind of swing that can separate contenders from the pack—until it wasn’t enough. After two bogeys in three holes. the last one came after an iron off the tee into a creek at the final turning point he didn’t get to recover from. He started the day 10 shots behind and bogeyed the first hole. then rose quickly: a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch as he approached the turn. and an 8-foot birdie to start the back nine.

Then came the damage. A three-putt par from about 65 feet on the par-5 11th cost him. and on the par-3 12th he found a back bunker—an area he couldn’t make easy work of—leading to another bogey. On the par-5 14th. his iron drifted left and splashed into trouble. resulting in a penalty stroke that compounded the bogey and left him at 2-under for the round and still eight shots behind overall.

Rory McIlroy was also eight behind, through 16 holes when the weather intervened.

Behind the softening fairways and the stoppages, the Memorial at Muirfield Village felt different in a hurry. Fast and firm and frightening all week. it softened after bursts of rain and even some hail—conditions that didn’t just change ball flight and scoring. but set up a tough challenge for anyone trying to use momentum in the final stretch.

Justin Thomas, who made the cut on the number, didn’t get a break from the disruption. He had needed a superb par save from behind the 18th green on Friday to make the weekend. On Saturday. he played as a single and figured that would give him the best weather. the best conditions to post a strong number. and a chance to salvage the week.

Instead, Thomas chuckled at how the day slipped away. He only played 12 holes in dry conditions before the first delay of 1 hour, 40 minutes. When play resumed. enough rain had fallen to make the course a touch easier. and now 32 players who were still on the course would return to a setup that was softer than what they’d started with.

After finishing with a round of 72, Thomas put it plainly.

“That’s kind of the joy of being first off because you normally get no wind and an easier course,” he said. “But I missed the window. You know, you’ve got to play better.”

For Poston, the storm offered a different kind of leverage: more time. He’ll have a long Sunday ahead to make up for the lost time, and then—because the schedule won’t bend—he’ll be asked to play 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying on Monday.

The upside of stretching the day could still be worth it. A victory or even a runner-up finish would bring enough world ranking points to move Poston high enough to be safe for the top 60 next week, ensuring entry into the U.S. Open.

Memorial Muirfield Village J.T. Poston Ryan Gerard Scottie Scheffler Rory McIlroy Sam Burns Justin Thomas Harris English U.S. Open qualifying PGA Tour bad weather thunderstorms