JT Poston rattled off six birdies on his first eight holes and then sank two clutch putts to secure a narrow lead after the second round of the PGA Memorial. With a stellar round of 65 (seven under par), Poston overtook fellow countryman Ryan Gerard, who had been leading, and now stands at nine under par (135 strokes) after 36 holes at legendary Muirfield Village, hosted by Jack Nicklaus.
“My irons were sharp, I had good control over them, and I sank a lot of putts – that was obviously nice,” Poston commented on his performance. “When you get off to a start like that, make early birdies and see the putts drop, you can stay patient and don’t have to force things.” Poston, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Monday, is chasing his fourth PGA title – his first since the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.
His surge began with a 22-foot birdie putt, and he immediately followed that up with a 20-footer on the second hole. On the par-3 fourth, he holed out from three feet, and on the par-5 fifth, he sank a 16-footer for another birdie. A bogey on the sixth? No problem! Poston responded immediately with birdies from just under 17 feet on the par-5 seventh and from eleven feet on the par-3 eighth. “When the wind blows out there, it gets tricky,” Poston noted. “The landing zones get smaller and smaller.”
With a seven-foot birdie putt on the 13th, he shared the lead, and on the 17th, he claimed the outright lead with a 20-foot birdie putt. Then came the test of nerves: after landing his first two shots on the 18th in the bunker, he saved par with a 10-foot putt – nine strokes better than the field average of 74.
“I want to stay patient, think shot by shot,” Poston summarized. “I’ve done a good job of that this week. Hit a lot of putts, my irons were solid – now, if I can hit a few more fairways with the driver, things will be good.”
Ryan Gerard, who was still leading after the first day, shot a round of 69 and is in second place with a total of 136 strokes. Three birdies on the first six holes showed what was possible, but on the final six holes, he carded two birdies and two bogeys. A three-putt bogey on the 18th then prevented him from sharing the lead again. A tough break! “I’m proud of how I fought out of the situations I put myself in off the tee,” Gerard said. “Many gritty up-and-downs and really cool recovery shots – I felt like I kept myself in the game well. No matter where I was or what position I had, I kept myself in the game and fought until the end.”
“Could Have Shot a 90”
In third place sits American Sam Burns with 138 strokes, followed by England’s Tommy Fleetwood (140 strokes) in fourth and Eric Cole (141 strokes) in fifth place.
Defending US Open Champion JJ Spaun, who will be preparing for his title defense in two weeks at Shinnecock
