J.T. Poston made a single bogey and closed with a 7-under 65 to move to 9-under and take a one-stroke lead at the Memorial Tournament.

He ranked No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Approach The Green (7.902) after hitting 27 of 36 greens in regulation; also ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green (8.880) and No. 1 in Proximity (25 feet, 2 inches).

65 was the low round of the day and the American’s lowest 18-hole score in 26 rounds at Muirfield Village (previous: 68/R2/2022).

“I feel like I putted really well. I hit my irons too. I hit it in a lot of the right places and we just did a good job of taking it one shot at a time. This place is tough, especially when it’s blowing like this, so nice to really feel like I played well and shot a low score,” said Poston.

“Yesterday I shot a couple under, played really solid, and felt like I left a few out there with the putter, didn’t quite capitalize on a lot of good iron shots. So I knew I was hitting it well and I knew it was going to blow a little harder today and play a little tougher. I just told myself keep doing what I was doing yesterday and keep giving myself looks. We worked on the putting a little bit yesterday afternoon and felt like it was starting to improve and obviously saw that on the course today. So just trying to keep doing that.”

Poston holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the fifth time on the PGA Tour and is 2-for-4 to date in converting to victory (2022 John Deere Classic, 2024
Shriners Children’s Open).

A three-time winner on Tour he has had two top-25 results in 13 starts this season (T21/Valero Texas Open, T24/Truist Championship).

Fellow first-round co-leader Ryan Gerard carded 13 birdies through 36 holes, the most of any player in the field. He made two bogeys on Friday in a 3-under 69 and lies in second place at 8-under. He finished T23 in his lone start at the Memorial Tournament in 2025.

Fellow American Sam Burns eagled the par-5 7th and made three birdies and two bogeys for a 69. He lies in third place at 4-under.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood made two birdies and three bogeys for a 73 and moved down into fourth place at 4-under. He seeks his first top-3 finish since winning the 2025 FedExCup and has had five top-10s in 10 starts this season.

Two-time defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the USA had made three bogeys before finishing with three birdies in his last six holes for a 72 and T19 at 1-over. He has finished outside the top-25 only twice in his last 52 starts on Tour (T33/2024 BMW Championship, T41/2024 US Open).

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is also tied in 19th place following a 2-over 74 having made a double bogey at the par-4 13th as well as three birdies and three bogeys.

Related: Charlie Woods Qualifies for 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur After Playoff Win in Florida

The 17-year-old shot 3-under 68 at Heathrow Country Club, then beat Eric Zhao in a playoff to secure one of five qualifying spots for the championship at Saucon Valley in July.