SMITH LEADS AT MEMORIAL
Cameron Smith believes he is playing the best golf of his life, and it shows. He is in the lead at Memorial, a tournament where the Australian doesn’t have a great history.
Smith elicited one of the loudest cheers of a glorious afternoon Friday at Muirfield Village
— another anomaly for this weather-plagued tournament — when he holed out with a downhill chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th that carried him to a 3-under 69.
He kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day by doing what Smith does best. He holed a 15-foot putt for par on the next hole and twice made 6-foot par putts for bunker saves down the stretch.
“I think I’m just happy with the way I stuck in there,” Smith said. “Really happy with where my short game’s at. I feel like I’m rolling the ball really good. Just need to sort out that longer stuff.”
As for his history at the Memorial?
In six previous appearance, Smith only made the cut twice and both times and finished outside the top 60. His best round was a 71.
But this is a new Smith, the winner of The Players Championship and the Sentry
Tournament of Champions, the No. 3 player in the world ranking.
So his rounds of 67-69 to reach 8-under 136 and be in the lead going into the weekend is hardly a surprise, even at Muirfield Village.
“I think my game’s in a good spot. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be,” he said. “I’m playing some of the best golf of my life, and I feel I’m getting more consistent with the longer stuff. So just looking forward to everything coming up.”
Billy Horschel putted for birdie on every hole and made four of them for a 68 that left him in the group two shots behind with Torrey Pines winner Luke List, PGA Tour rookies Cameron Young and Davis Riley, and Jhonattan Vegas.
Rory McIlroy had a 69 and was three shots behind. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay closed with two big par putts for a 69 and was at 3-under 141.
The cut was at 2-over 146. Among those missing out on the weekend were Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English, both returning from injuries. DeChambeau (hand surgery) had not played since the Masters. English (hip surgery) had not played since the Sony Open in January.
McIlroy, meanwhile, has been picking up a little momentum since his closing 64 at the Masters for a runner-up finish. He finished four shots behind at the Wells Fargo Championship and three shots out of a playoff at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy surged into the mix at the Memorial with a fairway metal that was high and true and into a freshening breeze to 6 feet for eagle on the par-5 fifth toward the end of his round. His momentum was slowed by a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 eighth, but his 69 left him in reasonable shape going into the weekend.
Jon Rahm overcame a shank on the second hole — he made birdie on the next one — to scratch out a 70 without his best iron game. He was at 2-under 142, six shots behind. Rahm won in 2020. He was six shots ahead after three rounds last year until his positive COVID-19 test knocked him out of the final round.
GOLDSCHMIDT HIT STREAK AT 25
Paul Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, Corey Dickerson went deep twice and the St. Louis Cardinals routed the Chicago Cubs 14-5 on Friday.
Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar also went deep as the Cardinals rolled to their fourth win in five games.
Goldschmidt hit a three-run drive in the third for his 12th home run. The sixtime All-Star closed in on his career-high 26-game hitting streak with Arizona in 2013 and extended a personal best by reaching base in his 39th consecutive game.
Goldschmidt has 10 homers and 36 RBIs in his last 22 games, a stretch that began May 11,. He has a National League-leading .349 average and 47 RBIs, tied for the NL lead with the Mets’ Pete Alonso.
MINOR LEAGUERS SUSPENDED
Pittsburgh infielder Rayber Romero, Colorado pitcher Stalyn Sanchez and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Geremias Valencia were suspended for 60 games each Friday following positive tests under baseball’s minor league drug program.
Romero, on a Florida Complex League roster, and Sanchez, in the Dominican Summer League, tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol, the commissioner’s office said Friday.
Valencia, in the Dominican Summer League, tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Clostebol.
Twenty-six players have been suspended this year under the minor league drug program.