Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and David Lipsky all took advantage of a pair of poor performances from Friday’s leaders to vault into a three-way tie for first on Saturday after 54 holes of action at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
McIlroy carded a 2-under 70, Kim posted a 1-under 71 and Lipsky had an even-par 72 to climb the leaderboard at Muirfield Village Golf Club. All three currently sit at 6-under-par 210 for the tournament.
Justin Suh, Friday’s second-round leader, dropped 13 spots into a tie for 14th after recording a 5-over 77 on Saturday. Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who was in second after 36 holes, fell into a tie for ninth with his third-round 75.
McIlroy, who finished with four birdies against two bogeys on Saturday, is searching for his 24th career victory on the PGA Tour. With Kim seeking his fifth and Lipsky still trying to get his first, McIlroy believes he could have the upper hand heading into Sunday but knows things can change quickly.
“I mean, look, it’s a, like it’s a big tournament and I’ve got quite a bit of experience in that and you would like to think that gives you a little bit of an advantage,” McIlroy said. “So everyone’s going to go out there (Sunday) and, regardless of where you are in the tournament, this golf course makes you a little uncomfortable anyway.
“With the way the leaderboard is and how bunched it is, it’s just going to come down to who can sort of hold their head the most coming down the stretch.”
Even with the odds stacked against him, Lipsky is confident that he can make a run.
“I feel like I’ve won at every stage of the game professionally. I haven’t broken through on the PGA Tour and hopefully that’s coming soon,” Lipsky said. “But I know I can win, I know I can close out tournaments, and I’m always excited to be in the hunt.”
Denny McCarthy (68 on Saturday), Norwegian Viktor Hovland (69) and Wyndham Clark (70) are among five golfers who are tied for fourth.
With a 7-under 65, Keegan Bradley carded the low round of the day and climbed 52 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for ninth.
–Field Level Media