The second day of the Memorial Tournament ended the same way it began: with Ben Griffin atop the leaderboard. But this time, he’s got some company.
On a wet day at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Nick Taylor birdied four holes and hit par on the rest, allowing him to pull even alongside Griffin for first place entering the weekend.
On May 29, Griffin shot a 7-under 65 to finish ahead of his nearest competition. That came courtesy of Collin Morikawa, who finished second with a 5-under 67. Friday didn’t go nearly as well for Morikawa, who finished 3 over par for the day to fall back to a four-way tie for eighth.
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Collin Morikawa falls to eighth
After opening the day at 5 under, Morikawa notched birdies on holes 2 and 3, climbing his way toward the top of the leaderboard. He was still 1 under for the day when he hit the back nine, but from there things got more difficult.
Morikawa bogeyed hole No. 10, double bogeyed 15 and, after a birdie on 16, double bogeyed 17 as well to finish the day with a 3-over 75.
Ben Griffin stays tied atop leaderboard as Collin Morikawa hits double bogey
What has been a steady day for the day-one leader saw Ben Griffin leave round two right where he was after round one: at 7 under par and atop the leaderboard. This time, he’s even with Nick Taylor, who shot 4 under for the day after Griffin entered the day with a two-stroke lead.
Griffin bogeyed No. 10, birdied No. 11 and otherwise shot par on the other 16 holes.
Morikawa, meanwhile, was within two strokes of the lead at 5 under but double bogeyed on 15, dropping him into a three-way tie for fifth at 3 under.
Cut line is now at 5 over par
The cut line has moved from 4 over par to 5 over par after Cameron Young bogeyed No. 18. The top 50 players plus ties (and anyone within 10 shots of the leader) qualify for the weekend. Young’s bogey, at least for now, will enable notable players such as Justin Thomas, Matt Kuchar, Matt Fitzpatrick, Hideki Matsuyama and Wyndham Clark to compete in the final two rounds.
Akshay Bhatia moves into tie for third
Two years ago, Akshay Bhatia failed to make the cut in his first Memorial appearance. Last year, he tied for 22nd. Now, Bhatia shot a 3-under 69 to move to 5 under through the first two days, moving him into a tie with Collin Morikawa for third place and two strokes behind the lead.
Bhatia notched a birdie on the 16th hole, sinking a 5-foot putt before shooting par on the final two holes.
Justin Rose goes from edge of cut to safely in the field
The second round of the Memorial Tournament did not instill a lot of confidence in Justin Rose’s chances of sticking around for the weekend. After shooting 6 over par on Thursday, the veteran golfer bogeyed the first hole and faced a real chance of missing his third consecutive Memorial cut.
Then he scored an eagle on hole 3, bogeyed six of his first seven holes on the back nine and shot a 66 after posting a 78 one day prior, giving him the second-best second day of the tournament and putting him tied for 11th overall at par.
“Holing the shot at No. 3 kick-started things,” he said. “Suddenly I was in the red for the day, plugging away. I knew the course was super tough. I knew I probably didn’t need to go super low to make the cut today, which is primary objective was to make the cut.
“But yeah, things really started flowing. I actually felt like I didn’t play that well today. I didn’t really hit my irons all that well.”
Rose won the 2010 Memorial, finished second in a playoff in 2015 and tied for second in 2008. This is his 16th time playing the event.
Ben Griffin birdies to move back into first-place tie
Griffin opened the day with a two-stroke lead atop the leaderboard but dropped one shot off the lead when he bogeyed the first hole on the back nine. That put him at 6 under, one stroke behind Nick Taylor, but he quickly made up for the misstep with a birdie on hole No. 11.
It was a 16-foot putt that allowed Griffin to notch his first birdie of the afternoon and pulled him back even with Taylor at 7 under.
Nick Taylor takes over top spot on leaderboard
Consistency on the back nine has allowed Taylor to take a one-stroke lead with him into the clubhouse. After spending much of the last hour tied atop the leaderboard with Ben Griffin and Collin Morikawa at 7 under, Taylor shot par on the final five holes of the day to finish at 7 under.
Meanwhile, Griffin bogeyed hole No. 10 after shooting par on each of the first nine holes and Morikawa bogeyed No. 7 as both dropped one stroke behind Taylor at 6 under.
“It was a great round,” Taylor said. “The iron game was very, very sharp. Putting, made bunch of nice 5-, 6-footers on that back nine for par. For me, at this place, I need to be in the fairway. That’s everybody. But if I’m in the rough, it’s pretty much a chop out and try to get up-and-down with a wedge or something. So keeping it in the fairway has been key.”
Watch Scottie Scheffler rep hometown Dallas Mavericks
As the NBA Finals loom, Dallas native Scottie Scheffler expressed his support for his hometown team after having shot a 2-under 70 for a second consecutive day.
Justin Rose enjoying strong second day
The 2010 Memorial Tournament winner, now playing in his 16th tournament here, is pacing for the second-best second day of this year’s tournament. After shooting a 78 on the first day, Rose is 6 under par through 15 holes in the second round to climb back to par.
Rose opened the day with a bogey on the first hole but recorded an eagle on the third hole when his 107-yard shot found the hole. Now on the back nine, Rose has notched birdies on five of six holes to improve to 6 under par today, one short of Sam Burns for the best second round performance so far.
Scottie Scheffler finishes second round at 4 under par
Scheffler opened the second day at 2 under par and quickly made inroads on the leaderboard, notching birdies on three of the first five holes to drop to 5 under.
From there, he double bogeyed hole No. 10, birdied the next two holes to get back to 5 under and ultimately finished the day with the same score as the first day: a 2-under-par 70 to sit at 4 under.
“Solid day,” he said. “If I holed a few more putts probably would have been a little bit of a different score. I felt like I was hitting my lines out there and did a good job of — hit lot more fairways today. Definitely felt better with my ball striking. So overall, 2-under in these conditions was definitely not a bad score today.”
That puts him tied with Akshay Bhatia for fourth. Bhatia is through 13 holes.
Collin Morikawa moves into three-way tie for first
After starting the day two shots in back of the leader, last year’s second-place finisher at the Memorial birdied both the second and third holes of the second round to pull even atop the leaderboard.
Morikawa, Ben Griffin and Nick Taylor are all 7 under. Taylor has played 14 holes today and Griffin is through seven.
All golfers are underway
The final two golfers to tee off for the second round, Bud Cauley and Harry Higgs, have played their first holes of the second round.
Nick Taylor pulls into first-place tie
Canadian Nick Taylor opened the day four shots in back of leader Ben Griffin but has now pulled even with him atop the board. Taylor birdied hole No. 13, dropping him to 4 under for the day and 7 under overall, tying him with Griffin to first place.
Leader Ben Griffin cruising through early holes
The leader after the first day has maintained his standing through the first five holes of the second round. After shooting a 7-under 65 on Thursday, Griffin has shot par on each of the first five holes and still sits alone atop the leaderboard at 7 under.
Nick Taylor is one stroke behind and is through 12 holes in round two while Collin Morikawa opened the day at 5 under and birdied the second hole to pull even with Taylor at 6 under.
Live scores: Who is leading the Memorial Tournament
For up-to-the-minute scoring, see our scoreboard powered by USA Today here.
Sam Burns finishes off impressive second day with birdie
Sam Burns woke up Friday morning at 4 over par and hovering near where the cut line figures to be for the 2025 Memorial Tournament. By the time he left Muirfield Village Golf Club, he was a little soggier but a lot higher on the leaderboard.
Burns shot 7 under par for the day, finishing with a birdie on 18 to shoot 65 for the day and sit at 3 under par through two rounds. It’s the best round of the second day so far, one that saw him finish with birdies on 3, 7, 11, 14, 15 and 18 with an eagle on 5 and just one bogey that came on the sixth hole.
His final birdie came on an 11-foot putt.
Burns’ 65 was six shots better than his previous best round in five years playing the Memorial.
“It’s my caddie Travis (Perkins’) birthday today,” Burns joked. “It’s always fun to try to get him a little extra sleep tomorrow.”
Nick Taylor climbs to second at midpoint of second round
After starting the day at 3 under par, Taylor is alone in second place as he begins the back nine. Taylor has birdies on holes No. 4, 8 and 9 to drop to 6 under, one stroke behind leader Ben Griffin.
Griffin parred his first hole of the day to remain at 7 under.
Scottie Scheffler birdies as leader Ben Griffin gets underway
One hole after a double bogey dropped him to 3 under par, Scheffler recovered by notching a birdie on hole 11 by sinking a 9-foot putt.
Meanwhile, day one leader Ben Griffin is set to get underway with a 1 p.m. start time. He shot a 7-under 65 to sit alone atop the leaderboard after the first day.
Scottie Scheffler’s double-bogey stalls charge
Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked player in the world, stumbled on the par-4 10th hole after birdieing three of the first five holes in his second round. Scheffler hit his tee shot on No. 10 into the rough and managed to hit his second shot only 66 yards from 209 yards away from the thick grass. Scheffler left his approach shot 43 from the cup and three-putted from there. He stands at 3 under for the tournament, four behind Ben Griffin, who hasn’t started his second round.
Sam Burns having best second-day round at rainy Memorial
As most of the scores trend upward, Sam Burns has reversed his fortunes. After finishing with a 4-over 76 in the first round, he has gotten back under par and is 6 under through his first 15 holes in the second round.
The highlight so far has been an eagle on the fifth hole, where he sunk a 27-foot putt after a 232-yard shot from the left bunker. He’s also birdied five other holes with just one bogey, which came one hole after his eagle after missing a putt by roughly a foot.
He’s tied for seventh.
Face of tour social media shrugs at newfound fame
Michael Kim has become a social media darling among golf fans who enjoy his posts on X describing life on tour (see below). Before he began his online “insider” gig about a year ago, Kim had about 10,000 followers. The number has grown to almost 162,000, but he downplays his somewhat sudden influencer status.
“I don’t think I’m famous in any sense of the imagination,” he said after firing a 1 under 71 that was seven shots better than his opening round. “Unless I’m at a PGA Tour event no one recognizes me, and as soon as it starts becoming too much I probably won’t (continue). There are times when it’s fun and times when I’ve enjoyed what I’ve gotten out of it more than doing it itself. I’m still enjoying the results.”
Max Homa fading after strong first round
Eighteen holes in, Max Homa finished with a 4-under 68 to hold a high place on the leaderboard when Friday’s second round got underway.
It has not gone nearly as well. After opening the day alone in third, Homa is 4 over through the first 13 holes. He bogeyed the 12th hole and followed that with a double bogey on 13, dropping him back to par with five holes to play.
Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler sport backward hat look
It’s not your grandfather’s PGA Tour, or even your father’s. Ben Hogan and Davis Love III wouldn’t be caught dead turning their golf hats backward during tournament play, but the new wave of players see no issue with doing so, as evidenced by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Max Homa going “brim back” on putts, presumably to keep rain from dripping from the brim into their eyes.
Scottie Scheffler continues charge, now at 5 under
Scottie Scheffler birdied the par-5 No. 5 hole with a 5-foot putt and is now 3 under for the day and 5 under for the tournament. Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, who hasn’t teed off yet, are 2 shots behind Ben Griffin.
Memorial Tournament avoids delay despite early rain
Golfers are getting drizzled on at Muirfield Village Golf Course, but the second round got started on time and there have yet to be any weather delays today. However, the National Weather Service says that the chance of rain remains above 50% until 4 p.m., so stay tuned.
Wet conditions not slowing Scottie Scheffler down on Memorial Tournament leaderboard
The rain continues to linger over the course, but Scheffler has birdied two of his first three holes to move up to 4 under and sole possession of third place on the leaderboard. Scheffler entered the second day tied for seventh.
Corey Conners, Max Homa keeping pace near top
Conners has picked up his fourth birdie of the day, improving to 3 under as he opens the back nine. Meanwhile, Max Homa started the day at 4 under but has bogeyed holes 4 and 6 before picking up a birdie on 8 to remain tied with Conners and two others at 3 under.
Corey Conners enjoying solid start
After finishing one above par by shooting a 73 on the first day, Conners has had early success battling the wet conditions in the second round. Connors birdied the second and third holes, dropping to one under par overall and two under par through the first five holes. It’s the best score through the first two-plus hours of today’s play.
Conners finished tied for 20th last year and shot a 68 on the first day, his best round in his six years playing the Memorial.
Social media sensation Michael Kim having a better day
Michael Kim, even par through six holes, already is having a better day than what went down during the first round, when he took a quadruple bogey at the par 3 12th hole, dunking his tee shot into the water then making a mess of his next FIVE shots. He shot 78 for the round. Kim, who has become something of a social media sensation because of his tour insider posts on X, found some respite after his opening round in the company of a couple of canine companions. He also planned to soothe his ills with a clubhouse strawberry Oreo milkshake, which he rated 9.5 out of 10.
Annoying rain greets Andrew Novak and Lucas Glover on first tee
Wet weather already is the leader in the clubhouse as Round 2 of the Memorial gets ready to begin at 7:50 a.m. with speedsters Andrew Novak and Lucas Glover first off. Thunderstorms likely will miss the course — fingers crossed — but a constant drizzle looks probable throughout much of the day. Novak and Glover will pass through it quicker than most. Both players are among the fastest on the PGA Tour at getting to their ball and whacking it. First-round leader Ben Griffin, who holds a two-shot lead over Collin Morikawa, doesn’t tee off until 1 p.m. The course should be even softer and slower by then.
Memorial Tournament leaderboard: Top golfers entering Friday
Memorial Tournament tee times today
What time do the gates open for the Memorial Tournament today?
Patrons can enter for the second round of the 2025 Memorial Tournament starting at 7 a.m.
What TV channel is the Memorial golf tournament on? How to watch
Second-round coverage of the 2025 Memorial Tournament airs on the Golf Channel.
Watch the Memorial Tournament with PGA TOUR Live on ESPN+
What radio station is the golf on today?
The Memorial Tournament will be broadcast on PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio from noon-6 p.m.
Memorial Tournament favorites
Tournament odds from BetMGM as of May 29:
2025 Memorial Tournament prize money: How much is the tournament purse?
Golfers will be vying for a share of a $20 million purse when the 2025 Memorial Tournament begins May 26. The champion’s share will remain $4 million, which is how much defending champion Scottie Scheffler took home last year.
Here’s a look at the payout for the top five finishers in the 2024 tournament:
Position/ Player /Score/ Earnings
Additionally, the winner earns 700 FedExCup points.
— Adam Jardy
Watch the Memorial Tournament with PGA TOUR Live on ESPN+
Who has the most Memorial Tournament wins?
Tiger Woods has the most wins at the Memorial with five (1999-2001, 2009, 2012). Kenny Perry is behind Woods with three (1991, 2003, 2008). If Scottie Scheffler successfully defends his title at Murifield, he will be the first back-to-back winner since Woods.
Here are the Memorial Tournament winners dating back to 1990:
Memorial Tournament records
Who is the 2025 Memorial Tournament Honoree?
Barbara Nicklaus, the “first lady of golf” is the 2025 Memorial Tournament honoree. The wife of Jack Nicklaus is the first non-golfer among 84 prior recipients.
“The Memorial Tournament has held such a special place in our family’s life,” she said last June when the honor was announced. “It’s been wonderful to walk side-by-side with Jack and to watch his dream become our reality over the years. Looking back at the list of those who have been honored since 1976, I can’t express how humbled I am to join this elite group that I have looked up to and respected for so long.”
Born Barbara Jean Bash, she graduated from North High in 1957 and studied nursing at OSU. She met Jack during their first week on Ohio State’s campus as freshmen and were married July 23, 1960. Five years later, the couple moved to North Palm Beach, Florida, where they raised five children: Jack II, Steve, Nan, Gary and Michael.Among other honors, Barbara has received the 2015 Bob Jones Award, given by the United States Golf Association, and the 2019 PGA of America Distinguished Service Award.
— Rob Oller
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Replay: Nick Taylor, Ben Griffin tied atop leaderboard after Memorial Tournament Round 2
Reporting by Adam Jardy, Bill Rabinowitz and Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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