DUBLIN, Ohio — Justin Suh signed for a 6-under 66 at the Memorial and then made a few stops to speak with the media. His putter stayed with him the entire time, which probably was wise.
The way it behaved Friday, when he holed eight putts from the 10-foot range or longer, he might not want to let it out of his sight.
Suh made one last birdie on the 18th that gave him a one-shot lead over past champion Hideki Matsuyama, with two-time Memorial champion Patrick Cantlay another shot behind.
“On the first hole, I made a 12-footer for par on the fringe. I just kind of kept the confidence with the putter going,” Suh said.
Two of his longer putts were to save par, and there were plenty of birdies along the way on another sunny, hot afternoon at Muirfield Village.
Matsuyama and Cantlay played in the morning, two players who consider the course Jack Nicklaus built among their favorites all year. Matsuyama’s putting was equal to Suh produced in the afternoon, rolling in big birdie putts on his way to a tournament-best 65.
Suh was at 8-under 136 going into the weekend as he aims for his first PGA Tour title.
David Lipsky (69) joined Cantlay at 6-under 138. The group four shots behind included Rory McIlroy (68) and Jon Rahm (70).
EUROPEAN TOUR: Maximilian Kieffer stayed atop the leaderboard after the second round of the European Open, though a late double bogey cut his lead to one stroke on Friday in Hamburg, Germany.
Kieffer, tied for the lead after the first round, carded a 2-under 71 to stay a shot in front of Tom McKibbin (69), David Law (66) and 2017 European Open winner Jordan Smith (71), all at 5 under.
Law recorded the best round of the tournament, his 7-under 66 including an eagle on the par-five 18th.
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