Scottie Scheffler defends at the Memorial, first to do so since Tiger
Scottie Scheffler defends at the Memorial, first to do so since Tiger
Trevor Immelman tagged Scottie Scheffler with a new nickname.
'We might have to start calling him The Closer,' CBS's Immelman remarked on the network's broadcast of the Memorial.
Later, his CBS colleague Ian Baker-Finch compared Scheffler to the Hall of Fame closer for the New York Yankees.
'He never loses,' he said.
On Sunday, Scheffler converted his ninth straight 54-hole lead since the 2023 WM Phoenix Open. This time the world No. 1 shot 2-under 70 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, to win the 2025 Memorial Tournament by four strokes over Ben Griffin. Scheffler, who signed for a 72-hole total of 10-under 278, became the first golfer to win consecutive Memorial Tournament titles since Tiger Woods pulled off the three-peat from 1999-2001. It also marked Scheffler's third PGA Tour title in his last four starts and sweet No. 16 for his career.
Scheffler paced himself with a pair of 70s in the first two rounds before making his move with four birdies in his final five holes on Saturday. It added up to 68 and his first bogey-free round at Muirfield Village in 19 career rounds to assume the 54-hole lead by one stroke over Griffin.
'Obviously, Scottie Scheffler's the best player in the world, but No. 1 can be beat,' Griffin said before the final round.
Not this time. Scheffler was shaky early, missing the first four greens, but his short game kept bailing him out. Griffin's three-putt bogey at the fourth stretched Scheffler's lead to two. He tacked on a birdie at the par-5 seventh to improve to 9 under. Scheffler's streak extended to 31 straight holes without a bogey until dropping a shot at No. 10, his lone hiccup on the weekend. As Scheffler is apt to do, he bounced back with a birdie at 11, pouring in a 14-foot birdie putt. After that, all of his closest competitors fell by the wayside.
'You can't count on him shooting even tomorrow, so, it would take something special,' said Spieth, who finished T-7, of the difficulty he faced in chasing down Scheffler. 'What impresses me the most is his club face control is elite. It's maybe the best there's ever been as far as club face control. So his consistency is ridiculous. And then that just leads to his distance control being phenomenal.'
Case in point, Scheffler drilled a fairway wood from 250 yards at the par-5 15th that landed near the hole and hopped 14 feet past the hole to set up a 2-putt birdie.
'All he has to do is stay out of trouble and make pars,' tournament host Jack Nicklaus said. "[Don't do] something silly, which I don't expect out of Scottie Scheffler.'
Griffin eagled 15 and sank a 28-foot birdie at 16 to keep it interesting until he doubled 17. He shot 73 and remains the hottest golfer on the planet not named Scheffler. He has two wins, a runner-up at Memorial and a T-8 at the PGA Championship in his last six starts.
The other winner for the week? Rickie Fowler, who played on a sponsor exemption, closed in 73 to finish T-7 and earn a spot in the British Open in July as the top finisher not previously qualified.
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