American Steve Stricker took control of the Memorial tournament in sensational style on Friday, making an ace on his penultimate hole that put him two strokes clear before he signed off with a birdie.
That gave the world No. 8 a five-under par 67 in the second round at Muirfield Village Golf Club and a three-shot lead in the event hosted by Jack Nicklaus.
Stricker struck a six-iron from 186 yards at the par-three eighth, his 17th hole, and watched as his ball bounced a couple of times on the green before rolling straight into the cup.
He immediately raised both arms skyward in delight before being congratulated by his caddie Jimmy Johnson.
Stricker, who had been two shots off the pace overnight, then rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the ninth to complete a sizzling back nine of six-under 30 for a nine-under total of 135.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (72), Australian Rod Pampling (66) and Americans Ricky Barnes (70) and Jonathan Byrd (67) were tied for second at six under.
British world No. 1 Luke Donald (69) and Australian Aaron -Baddeley (68) were among a group of six players who were bunched at five under.
For much of a sweltering afternoon at Muirfield Village where thick rough, tough pin positions and shifting winds made scoring tricky, it seemed that six under would be the leading total by the end of the day.
However, Stricker’s scintillating finish changed all that as the American burst into contention for his 10th PGA Tour title.
McIlroy, co-leader overnight with American Chris Riley after opening with a 66, was disappointed not to take greater advantage of ideal morning conditions at Muirfield Village.
American world No. 4 Phil Mickelson carded a 70 to end the day seven strokes off the pace, one shot better than Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa (71).
The cut fell at one-over 145 with defending champion Justin Rose of Britain and former major winners Jim Furyk, Lucas Glover and Trevor Immelman among those missing out.
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