Finau, Palmer Lead, Tiger Hangs On

Dublin, Ohio: Tony Finau figured he was on the right track when he shot 59 at Victory Ranch last week in Utah.

That kind of score isn’t happening at Muirfield Village, where the greens are getting firmer by the hour. Finau still took enough confidence from playing with his kids at home during a week off, and it translated into 14 birdies over two days and a share of the

36-hole lead at the Memorial.

Finau recovered from two bogeys after three holes of his second round yesterday, making birdie on the rest of the par 5s and finishing with a wedge to 2 feet for birdie and a 3-under 69.

That put him at 9-under 135 with Ryan Palmer (68), who had only one bogey over two rounds. The way Muirfield Village is playing, both are impressive.

They were a shot in front of Jon Rahm (67), who has another chance to reach No. 1 in the world this week for the first time in his career. US Open champion Gary Woodland had a 70 and was two behind.

For Tiger Woods, it was a matter of making it to the weekend. Woods said his back felt stiff while warming up, and missing a pair of 3-footers didn’t make him feel any better. He managed two birdies and a 7-foot par save on his final three holes for a 76 that allowed him to make the cut on the number at 3-over 147, matching his highest 36-hole score at the Memorial.

“Not very good,’’ Woods said. “I three-putted two holes early, and whatever kind of momentum I was going to create, I stifled that early and fought it the rest of the day.’’

Finau elected to stay home last week instead of playing Muirfield Village twice in a row. He won’t compare Victory Ranch with Muirfield Village, though it inspired him. He was 14-under par through 16 holes until making a bogey on the 17th hole and settling for his second sub-60 round away from the PGA Tour.