Scottie Scheffler stepped out of a fairway bunker on the 17th hole of his opening round June 4 at the Memorial Tournament, and his frustration showed.
More: Replay: Memorial Tournament 2026 highlights from Round 1
Advertisement
Opting for a new club, a 7-iron, the Memorial’s champion the past two years jammed his initial club back into his bag with aggression. He didn’t slam it, exactly, but any weekend duffer could relate to the top-player in the world in that moment at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
1 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Ryan Fox warms up on the first hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
1 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Ryan Fox warms up on the first hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
2 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jordan Spieth tees off on the first hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
3 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day hits from the first hole fairway during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
4 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Daniel Berger tees off on the first hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
5 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day hits out of a bunker on the first hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
6 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jordan Spieth tees off on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
7 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day tees off on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
8 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jordan Spieth hits from the second fairway during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
9 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jordan Spieth walks the second fairway during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
10 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day tees off on the third hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
11 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Corey Conners hits onto the fourth green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
12 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Golfers tee off on the fourth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
13 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Pierceson Coody tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
14 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Brian Campbell tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
15 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Daniel Berger hits out of a bunker on the fourth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
16 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Ryan Fox hits onto the fourth green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
17 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Daniel Berger putts on the fourth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
18 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Patrons watch along the fourth fairway during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
19 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day reacts to his putt on the fourth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
20 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Jason Day tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
21 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Patrons react to a shot by Adam Scott on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
22 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Adam Scott celebrates hitting out of the bunker on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
23 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
A volunteer holds flag signs on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
24 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Keegan Bradley tees off on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
25 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Corey Conners tees off on the second hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
26 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
A bird flies in front of Hideki Matsuyama on the first fairway during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
27 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Hideki Matsuyama hits onto the first green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
28 / 28
See highlights from opening round of Memorial Tournament golf
Andrew Novak walks across the first green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
Scheffler had just taken a double bogey on the 16th hole, a par 3 into a tricky wind, and his 316-yard drive to start the 17th landed on the beach to the right of the fairway. It was that kind of day for Scheffler, whose sour luck abruptly changed.
Scheffler’s shot from the bunker traveled 177 yards, landed 15 feet, 6 inches from the hole in the short grass off the green, and he chipped in from there for a birdie.
“That one, I kind of hit thin, and you get a good bounce, and I end up on the fringe and I chip in,” Scheffler said. “So, you’re just like, ‘All right.’ What a game. I felt like I didn’t get anything out of the round. All of a sudden, you just get a lucky bounce and you’re like, ‘OK, well, I’m going to try to smile.’ It’s still hard.”
Scottie Scheffler hits out of a bunker on the fourth hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
It could’ve been harder.
Advertisement
Scheffler, who’s trying to become the second golfer to win the Memorial three straight years, is tied for 33rd after the first round. His work is cut out to catch a lead pack of four golfers at 5 under going into the June 5 second round, but Scheffler is within six shots of the lead.
“Like, this one, is it really that slow of a start?” he said. “How low are the scores this afternoon? You know what I mean? All I can do is compete with kind of the hand I’ve been given, and teeing off last on this golf course is challenging. A day like today, I’m not sure, from where our tee times were, if there was going to be very many low rounds out there.”
Scottie Scheffler walks to the 17th green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
Scheffler and Aaron Rai teed off at 1:35 p.m., and only two pairs in the field of 72 teed off later. That’s a lot of time for fast greens to add more speed as they harden, making Jack Nicklaus’ course even more of a bear when combined with occasional wind gusts.
Advertisement
Scheffler and Rai will start the second round at 10:35 a.m., right in the middle of the pairings.
“The wind is just hard to predict,” Scheffler said. “There’s a lot you’ve got to think about, and I think it gets even more challenging when the greens are this firm and the wind is unpredictable, especially on a day where the wind felt like it was going to be lighter, and it was for most of the day. … I think it just shows kind of how tough the golf course is.”
Scottie Scheffler hits the ball out of the bunker by the 18th green during the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 4, 2026.
Rai, winner of this year’s PGA Championship, found it just as challenging. He also finished +1, like Scheffler, and trails the lead group of Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood, Ryan Gerard and J.J. Spaun by six strokes.
Advertisement
“[The greens are] extremely firm,” Rai said. “That’s what we expect from this course. That’s why it’s a pleasure to play here. It’s quite a challenge.”
Especially when shots that initially look good break bad due to course conditions, like what happened to Scheffler on his double-bogey 16th hole. His approach to a 206-yard par 3 landed short of the green and bounced into a water hazard despite feeling like he’d got all of his 7-iron.
“That’s just another really good iron shot, and the wind switched from down off the right to pretty significantly in off the right,” Scheffler said. “All you can do is just try to hit good shots. It can be very frustrating sometimes when you feel like you’re hitting good shots and then you’re going to the drop zone.”
The Golf Channel broadcast picked up Scheffler’s frustration in a heated chat with caddy Ted Scott as they walked to the drop zone.
Scheffler battled again to save par on the 18th hole, keeping a fantastic drive in the fairway 328 yards off the tee box, but his approach to the green found another bunker. Getting up and down out of that mess for a par to stay at +1 felt like a fitting end to a difficult start.
Advertisement
“It was just one of those deals where I felt like I was hitting some good shots, really,” Scheffler said. “I made a sloppy swing on [Hole 14] and outside of that, I hit what I felt was a lot of quality iron shots and didn’t really get much for it. I think that that’s the nature of how the golf course is, and kind of how difficult it can get.”
Dispatch reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Scottie Scheffler’s bid for Memorial three-peat off to difficult start