Jon Rahm surges into the lead and 3 things to know after Round 3 at the Memorial

The leader did not miss on the back nine. One of the second-round leaders missed a few times. Two hours saw an eight-shot swing between the two. Here are three things you should know after the third round of the Memorial, the second of back-to-back events at Muirfield in Dublin, Ohio. 

Jon Rahm leads 

Standing on the 13th hole, Jon Rahm was four shots out of the lead. When he walked off it, he was one back. When he walked off the 18th, he was three shots ahead before finishing four shots up. Rahm didn’t miss.

Rahm birdied the par-4 13th after an approach shot to within 13 feet. He birdied the par-4 14th after an approach to within 5 feet. He birdied the par-5 15th after an approach to within 4 feet. He birdied the par-3 after a 26-foot putt. He finished with a 4-under 68, one of only two players to break 70 on Saturday, for a 12-under total and a four-shot lead over Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer, the second-round leaders. 

“I hit great tee shots on 13, 14, 15 that set up opportunities for birdie, and then after a couple of really good wedge shots, a great flop shot on 15 and a lucky putt on 16, well, I’m fortunate to be ahead,” Rahm said.  

Who’s contending?

Walking off the 11th hole, Finau held a three-shot lead. Walking off the 12th, he held a one-shot lead. 

On the par-3 12, Finau hit four shots around the green. His first shot, and second overall, went about 3 yards after being caught in a poor lie near the right greenside bunker. The next shot nearly went off the green. He two-putted from there. 

On 14, Finau knocked it into the water and bogeyed. On 17, he hit another shot about 3 yards after again being caught in a poor lie near a bunker and double-bogeyed the hole. He finished with a 1-over 73. 

“Yeah, it was good, and then it wasn’t good,” Finau said. “Ran into some speed bumps on the back nine. Man, this golf course can get you in a heartbeat. You just try and put your best foot forward every hole, every shot and try and play as well as you can. The greens are firm. There’s enough wind up there to think about. They’re fast. A little disappointed in my finish, but look, I’m in a good position going into tomorrow, and it’s going to be tough tomorrow.”

Palmer was 1-under for his round before bogeying 16 and 18 for a 1-over 73. Finau and Palmer are the only two players within six shots of Rahm – Danny Willett is six back, and Jason Day and Henrik Norlander are seven back. 

How did Tiger Woods do?

Tiger Woods barely made the cut. He could make the top 25. 

Woods, playing his first tournament since mid-February due to ailment and the PGA Tour’s three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus, had four birdies on his way to a 1-under 71. It repeats his first-round score. It also follows a 4-over 76 that had him close to missing the cut for the first time in his 18 starts at the Memorial.

Woods is now three shots from the top 25. 

“Yeah, I was moving better today and felt like I did the first day, and consequently I could make the passes at the golf ball like I did the first day,” Woods said. “Unfortunately I didn’t make any putts today, so hopefully I can make a few more tomorrow.”

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.

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