Sunday 7 June 2015 19:59, UK
Justin Rose put himself on course for a second Memorial title after he opened up a three-shot lead on the third day at Muirfield Village.
Rose, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour title in this event in 2010, fired a superb six-under 66 to reach 15 under and earn a commanding advantage over Francesco Molinari and overnight leader David Lingmerth.
But Rose's fellow Englishman Andy Sullivan slipped five strokes off the lead following a torrid back-nine on a day when most of the headlines were dominated by Tiger Woods hacking his way to a horrific 85 - the worst round of his 19-year professional career.
World No 6 Rose got off to a bright start when he converted a pinpoint approach to the second, and he soon raced into a share of the lead with a run of three consecutive birdies from the fifth before a rare, wayward drive at the ninth cost him his only bogey of the round.
He responded with a birdie at 11 and rolled in a 25-foot putt for another at 14, and a sublime pitch to three feet from rough at the next took him clear of the chasing pack as Sullivan began to fall away.
Rose looked likely to drop a shot at the last after his drive finished inches from the water hazard on the left of the fairway, but he defied a tricky stance with the ball well above his feet to smash an eight-iron from 164-yards which almost pitched in the hole.
Molinari in touch
His 12-foot putt for birdie shaved the hole, but he had done more than enough to take over the clubhouse lead ahead of the in-form Molinari, who carded five birdies and two bogeys in a three-under 69.
Lingmerth joined the Italian on 12 under after birdies at two of the last four holes salvaged an erratic 72 which included an eagle, three birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey at the 14th.
Jim Furyk, the 2002 champion, is a further stroke adrift after a typically-solid 70, while Sullivan is among four players tied for fifth on 10 under after he dropped four shots in five holes on the punishing inward half.
Sullivan, twice a winner on the European Tour this year, was jostling with Rose for the lead after four birdies over the first seven holes, but he bogeyed 10 and 12 either side of another birdie at 11 before dumping a 92-yard wedge into water at the 14th.
He did well to limit the damage to a bogey-five, but he then compounded the error by pulling his tee shot to the 16th into more water and ran up a double-bogey before parring in to stay within five of the leader.
Sullivan shares fifth with Hideki Matsuyama, Brendon Todd and Kevin Streelman, who stormed 40 places up the leaderboard with a best-of-the-day 65 which included six birdies on the front nine alone.
Another player to rue a costly finish was Thomas Aiken, who made five birdies in six holes from the third and added one more at the 12th to earn a share of the lead on 13 under, but the South African bogeyed the next and made a mess of the par-five 15th to walk off with a seven before a bogey at 18 completed a disappointing 70.
Live coverage from the final round of The Memorial starts Sunday at 5pm on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
