JT Poston birdied six of the first eight holes and made two clutch putts late to grab a one-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the PGA Tour Memorial tournament.<\/p>\n
Poston fired a seven-under par 65 to overtake fellow American Ryan Gerard, finishing on nine-under 135 after 36 holes in the event, hosted by legend Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.<\/p>\n
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“I was hitting my irons good and controling them well and made a ton of putts, which was nice to see,” Poston said.<\/p>\n
“It helps to get off to a great start, making birdies early and seeing a few putts go in, makes it easier to be patient, feel like you don’t have to press.”<\/p>\n
Poston, who turned 33 on Monday, seeks his fourth PGA title, his first since the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Poston opened with a 22-foot birdie putt and followed with a 20-footer at the second hole, sank a three-foot birdie putt at the par-three fourth and a 16-footer to birdie the par-five fifth.<\/p>\n
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After a bogey at the sixth, Poston answered with birdies from just inside 17 feet at the par-five seventh and 11 feet at the par-three eighth.<\/p>\n
“When it’s blowing out there, it’s tricky,” Poston said. “The targets are getting smaller and smaller where you’ve got to land the ball.”<\/p>\n
Poston seized a share of the lead with a seven-foot birdie putt at the 13th and took the solo lead on a 20-foot birdie putt at 17, then rescued par after finding bunkers on his first two shots at 18 by rolling in a 10-foot par putt to finish nine shots under the field average of 74.<\/p>\n
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“I’d like to keep staying patient, take it one shot at a time,” said Poston. “I’ve done a good job of that this week. Made a lot of putts, hit irons well, would like to hit a few more fairways with driver.”<\/p>\n
Gerard, who shared the 18-hole lead, fired a 69 to stand on 136. He birdied three of the first six holes but had two birdies and two bogeys over the final six, a three-putt bogey at 18 keeping him from sharing the lead again.<\/p>\n
“Overall proud of how I grinded from the spots I put myself in off the tee,” Gerard said. “Made a lot of grimy kind of up-and-downs and really cool hack-outs, and I just felt like I did a good job of keeping myself in the hole.<\/p>\n
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“No matter where I was or what the position might be, I did a good job of just staying in the hole and grinding until the end.”<\/p>\n
– ‘Could have shot 90’ –<\/p>\n
American Sam Burns was third on 138 with England’s Tommy Fleetwood fourth on 140 and American Eric Cole fifth on 141.<\/p>\n
Reigning US Open champion JJ Spaun, gearing up for his US Open title defense at Shinnecock in two weeks, shot 77 to stand on 144.<\/p>\n
World number two Rory McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion,\u00a0had two bogeys and a double bogey in the last six holes to shoot 74 and stand on 145.<\/p>\n
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Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, trying to become the first player to three-peat at a PGA event since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009-2011, fired a 72 to stand on 145.<\/p>\n
“I was not hitting it very well,” Scheffler said. “Overall, it was a tough day. I felt like I could have shot 90.”<\/p>\n
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