J.T. Poston shot a 7-under 65 and took a one-shot Memorial lead as wind turned Muirfield Village into a Friday test few players solved.
J.T. Poston surged into the lead Friday at the Memorial Tournament, shooting a 7-under 65 at Muirfield Village on a day when gusting wind made one of the PGA TOUR’s toughest courses even more punishing.
Poston finished the second round at 9-under 135, one shot ahead of Ryan Gerard, after carding eight birdies and gaining major separation from a field that struggled to handle the conditions.
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His 65 was nine shots better than the scoring average, a number that showed just how sharp his round really was.
The wind became the story across the course, and players didn’t hide how difficult it felt.
Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 73 and sits four shots off the lead, was asked whether the course played harder in the afternoon.
“Is that a question?” Fleetwood said. “Yeah, we'll expand on that. It was pretty brutal, actually.”
Justin Thomas needed a strong finish just to make the cut. After a brilliant flop shot behind the 18th green, he saved par from 6 feet and made it to the weekend on the number.
“I can’t put into words how hard that was,” Thomas said. “That was the hardest round of golf that I can remember, major, non-major, it was just insane.”
Poston, meanwhile, looked comfortable in the chaos. He said he recently switched to a Titleist ball designed to perform better in the wind, and Friday gave him the perfect test.
“It’s supposed to help me a little bit in the wind,” Poston said. “So we felt like today was going to be a good test of that and it obviously performed really well. We had a couple shots that I felt like didn’t quite hit them perfect and it hung in there pretty well.”
Asked whether the ball or the putter deserved more credit, Poston didn’t choose.
“Both,” Poston said. “The ball got me there, the putter helped me get it in the hole.”
He needed only 24 putts, rolled in 134 feet worth of putts and gained four strokes on the field with the flat stick. Only two of his eight birdie putts came from inside 10 feet.
“Yeah, sure,” Poston said when asked if he was happy to see the wind. “It’s hard to say I wasn’t when you shoot 65.”
Gerard shot 69 and stayed close despite fighting through trouble.
“Seven fairway,” Gerard said of when the wind arrived. “I was spraying sunscreen and all of a sudden it started going all over the place. And my caddie was like, ‘Oh, I guess it’s windy now.’”
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Gerard said he relied on “grimy up-and-downs” and patience to stay in contention.
“Mentally and physically this place is a monster,” Gerard said.
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