DUBLIN, Ohio — Martin Kaymer is 18 holes away from ending five years without a victory.
He is mildly surprised. He is not the least bit stressed.
And he has plenty of company among contenders at the Memorial for whom winning has become more of a memory than a habit.
Kaymer was bogey-free Saturday at Muirfield Village for a 6-under 66 that gave him a two-shot lead over Adam Scott, setting up a final pairing of two major champions and former No. 1 players in the world in the midst of long droughts.
Four shots behind and very much in the mix are Jordan Spieth — a three-time major champion and former No. 1 — and Hideki Matsuyama, both winless since 2017. Joining them was Patrick Cantlay with a skill set that suggests he should have more than his one victory that came in the fall of 2017.
“We can all play good golf, and it’s quite nice for tomorrow because no one is really holding back,” Kaymer said. “I think you only hold back if you don’t know the situation because then you don’t know how to react and you play safe, defensive. … No one is playing like that in that group.”
Kaymer was at 15-under 201 in his first appearance at the Memorial in 10 years.
The German was on the verge of falling out of the top 200 in the world ranking until a tie for eighth in the British Masters last month. His road back began with an emphasis on the short game, and it paid off in a big way on a course that slowly getting faster.
He holed par putts of 8 feet and 20 feet on the front nine to keep within the leaders, took the lead with a wedge into 3 feet for birdie on the par-5 11th, saved par from a scary bunker shot behind the 12th green with water in front of him, and then holed a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 13 that breaks sharply over the last few feet. Spieth, playing with Kaymer, raised his putter as he watched it break, appreciating the difficulty of it.
Past Duke teammates Boutier, Liu tied at Open
CHARLESTON, S.C. — For those who hate seeing good things happen to Duke, this U.S. Women’s Open is not for you.
The school opponents and critics love to root against was dominating again, with former Blue Devil teammates and champions Yu Liu of China and Celine Boutier of France tied for the lead after three rounds.
Liu rallied from four shots behind when the round began with a 66 to get to 7 under. Her good friend and fellow starter on the 2014 NCAA championship squad, Boutier, shot a 69.
“I don’t know about other people, but when I see Duke players playing well, I kind of want to play well, too,” Boutier said.
