Now comes the hard part.
It’s one thing to hold the lead at the Memorial Tournament. Quite another to keep it as pressure mounts and chasers close in.
Who said it? “It’s always easier to come from a little bit behind.”
Answer: Memorial founder and host Jack Nicklaus, who came from behind to win eight of his record 18 major championships. But the Golden Bear also excelled at slamming the door, winning 10 of 12 majors when holding the lead outright or tied after 54 holes.
“I don’t remember which ones I choked,” he said, making it clear that in his view losing a lead equals gagging. Not that he wants to remember, but the Bear lost the 1971 Masters to Charles Coody and 1977 British Open to Tom Watson when tied entering Sunday.
“It’s a little harder on you to be leading, but it’s probably, at least historically, it gives you a better chance to win,” he said.
If Nicklaus knew how to cross the finish line first when hitting the last straightaway, Tiger Woods already was leaning for the tape when the competition was rounding the turn. Woods was 14 of 15 in majors when in the solo lead or tied with 18 holes to play. The lone loss was to Y.E. Yang in the 2009 PGA Championship.
“Tiger won every one of his from being in front except the last one, when when Y.E. Yang beat him up at Hazeltine,” Nicklaus said. “And I think that sort of shocked Tiger that somebody could do that.”
Hey, it happens, whether in majors or at the Memorial Tournament, where over the 50-year life of the event the golfer who led after 54 holes went on to win less than half the time (23 of 50) at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Scottie Scheffler closed the deal the past two years after entering the final round with leads of one (2024) and four (2025) shots, but in 2023 Rory McIlroy entered the final 18 holes tied for first with David Lipsky and Si Woo Kim and all three coughed up the lead as Viktor Hovland went on to win in a playoff against Denny McCarthy.
Sleeping on Memorial Tournament lead can cause nightmares
Sleeping on the 54-hole lead, as it is known in golf, can lead to nightmares the next day during the final 18 holes. But no one was sleeping on it Saturday night because, due to a late afternoon weather suspension, 36-hole leader J.T. Poston and 31 other players failed to complete their third rounds. They are scheduled to return to the course at 7:30 a.m. Sunday to finish. Poston and Ryan Gerard, both through five holes when the weather horn sounded, co-led at 9 under when play was called for the day, but could be well down the leaderboard by the time the four round begins at about 11:15 a.m.
It can’t be easy heading to the first tee when leading after 54 holes, knowing what’s at stake – and who is lurking, looking to steal the lead from you. But it beats the alternative of having no chance to win.
“There’s something about holding on and sleeping on a lead and knowing, ‘All right, I’m going to have a chance to win this tomorrow.’ That’s the ultimate,” said Wyndham Clark, who has closed two of his four tour wins by shooting 60 on Sunday. That’s called leaving no doubt.
What is Clark’s recipe for staying ahead of the field with 18 holes to play?
“The biggest thing is just believing that things are going to go your way, rather than reacting to what’s going on,” he said. “You just continue to believe that good things are going to happen.
“I’ve only won four times, so I’ve had more that didn’t go my way. But the difference between the ones I won, versus the ones I didn’t, is I’m so patient.”
Staying patient is key to closing out 54-hole leads
Remaining patient is key to holding leads. The tendency is to get too quick with the swing, wanting the round to hurry up and be over. Instead, it is essential to slow things down and not rush the process.
Aaron Rai, who won the PGA Championship three weeks ago in Philadelphia, explained that not getting ahead of yourself is crucial to closing out wins.
“As cliche as it sounds, it takes just a huge amount of patience and a lot of just presence in the moment,” Rai said. “I’ve sometimes done that very well at other tournaments in the past, but I’ve sometimes done the opposite and got a little bit ahead of myself and got a little bit too involved in what could happen or what I need to do, what I don’t need to do, and focused on the situation rather than the golf course.”
Patience should not be confused with becoming conservative. Sometimes it pays to play smart; aim for the middle of greens instead of pins. But the safe approach can backfire.
“Sometimes you get up and then you maybe go a little more conservative, when you should remain aggressive,” Clark said.
There’s still a lot of golf to play Sunday. Maybe too much for some. Let’s see who handles the nerves best coming down the stretch.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Memorial Tournament host Jack Nicklaus knew how to close out leads
Reporting by Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
