World number one Scottie Scheffler has surged into a three-stroke lead at the St Jude Championship in Memphis, matching the course record with a brilliant nine-under-par 61 during Friday’s second round. Scheffler, who entered the opening FedEx Cup play-off event as the standings leader, began his day with five consecutive birdies at TPC Southwind. He is now only the third golfer to shoot a 61 in this tournament, joining Jay Delsing (1993) and Bob Estes (2001).
The American’s performance included 11 birdies in total, with bogeys on the eighth and 12th holes serving as the only setbacks. This effort marks the fourth time in his PGA Tour career that Scheffler has carded a round of 61 or better. Reflecting on his start, he noted, “Really just a dream start. Probably one of the best starts I’ve had on tour, to be honest with you. I couldn’t tell you a time where I’ve been lower early in the round.”
Scheffler added, “My swing has felt really good in the past couple weeks, especially playing at home. It was nice to get out there and get things rolling early in the round and was able to keep the momentum going and shoot myself a nice round.”
The leaderboard shows South Korea’s Im Sung-jae tied for second with Norway’s Viktor Hovland at eight under overall, while Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg sits a shot further back at seven under. A group at six under includes Colombia’s Nico Echavarria, England’s Tommy Fleetwood, and Americans Jordan Spieth and Brian Harman.
Further down the field, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas are at three under, while Aaron Rai and E.H. Hall are at two under. Shane Lowry is at one under, Justin Rose is at three over, and Rory McIlroy and J. Smith are at four over. A. Fitzpatrick is currently at five over.
With no 36-hole cut at any FedEx play-off event, Rory McIlroy will hope to improve his standing over the weekend. Meanwhile, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre withdrew before Friday’s play due to a knee injury. MacIntyre, who had struggled to a 12-over 82 during Thursday’s opening round, currently sits 31st on the FedEx Cup points list.
The competition remains intense as players vie for position, with the top 50 in the standings set to advance to next week’s BMW Championship.
11 S Scheffler (US); -8 Im (Kor), V Hovland (Nor); -7 L Aberg (Swe); -6 Nico Echavarria (Col), T Fleetwood (Eng), J Spieth (US), B Harman (US)
Selected others: -3 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Thomas (US); -2 A Rai (Eng); E H Hall (Eng); +1 S Lowry (Ire); +3 J Rose (Eng); +4 R McIlroy (NI), J Smith (Eng); +5 A Fitzpatrick (Eng)
