Winning has become a habit for Scottie Scheffler, except there was nothing typical about his victory Sunday at the Memorial.
He made only one birdie. He closed with a 2-over 74, his highest final round in two years. And victory wasn’t assured until Scheffler had the mettle to put a firm stroke on a downhill putt from 5 feet above the hole to take out the break.
It went right in the heart for a 1-shot victory over Collin Morikawa, and a handshake with tournament host Jack Nicklaus. Their exchange said it all.
Muirfield Village was so demanding with its ultra-firm greens and swirling gusts throughout the afternoon that only six players broke par and the average score was a fraction under 75.
Scheffler, who started 4 shots ahead, never lost the lead. He never felt safe, either, not with Morikawa and Adam Hadwin on his heels all afternoon, and on a back nine where making par seemed like hard work. Par is what it took on the 18th hole.
“This is a tough place to close out,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t do a whole lot great today, but I did enough.”
Just barely.
Scheffler was leading Morikawa by 1 shot and both hit approach shots that bounced hard and high off the green and into the rough. Both chipped to about 5 feet. Scheffler buried his putt to win, and the force of his fist pump to celebrate showed how tough this day was on him, and practically everybody.