Scheffler equals course record with 61 to seize three-shot lead in Memphis
Scottie Scheffler birdied his first five holes and shot a nine-under-par 61 at TPC Southwind on Friday, tying the course record and opening a three-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the St Jude Championship in Memphis BBC Sport.
The round was the fourth time Scheffler has carded a 61 or better on the PGA Tour. He made six further birdies against bogeys on the 8th and 12th holes, and at 13 under par he sits three clear of Im Sung-jae and Viktor Hovland, tied for second at eight under. Ludvig Aberg is a shot further back at seven under BBC Sport.
Scheffler arrived in Memphis atop the FedEx Cup standings — the season-long points race that decides the PGA Tour's overall champion. The St Jude Championship is the first of three play-off events; the top 50 in the standings after this week advance to next week's BMW Championship BBC Sport.
The TPC Southwind course record of 61 was last set by Justin Rose in the third round of the 2023 St Jude Championship. The par-70 layout plays at 7,288 yards PGA Tour.
Reigning FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood is the highest-placed British player at six under, level with Jordan Spieth, who opened with a bogey-free 65 on Thursday BBC Sport. Matt Fitzpatrick sits at three under and Aaron Rai — who collected his first major at the US PGA Championship in May — at two under BBC Sport.
Rory McIlroy had a day to forget. He finished round two at four over par, 17 strokes behind Scheffler. There is no 36-hole cut at FedEx Cup play-off events — meaning every player in the field continues into the weekend regardless of score BBC Sport.
Scotland's Robert MacIntyre will not be joining them. He withdrew before Friday's play with a knee injury, having shot a 12-over 82 in Thursday's opening round. MacIntyre sat 31st on the FedEx Cup points list, and with only the top 50 advancing to next week, his place in the field at the BMW Championship is now in doubt BBC Sport.
The tournament carries a $20 million purse Associated Press, with the winner collecting 750 FedEx Cup points PGA Tour.
What makes Scheffler's 61 stand out is how it started. Five birdies in the first five holes — each one a tap-in for momentum — meant he was already on the course record pace before the turn. A bogey at the 8th slowed him, and another at the 12th briefly raised the possibility of a round that might fizzle. Instead, he kept making birdies on the way home. For a player already leading the season standings, a round like this is less about statement-making and more about widening the gap while the gap is there to widen. The rest of the field now needs something special, and the Memphis heat — 94°F with barely a breeze — is not the kind of weather that rewards chasing.
