DUBLIN, Ohio — Though he came close, Jordan Spieth didn’t win the Memorial on Sunday. But he left Muirfield Village with his confidence bolstered entering the U.S. Open in two weeks.
Spieth, who finished tied for third at 13-under, shot the low round of the day with a 65.
“This is one of the better rounds I’ve played in a long time,’’ Spieth said. “I thought that if I played great golf I’d shoot 5-‑under today and that was my goal. So to grab a couple extra is nice.’’
Spieth was left to hope that those “couple extra’’ would be enough, but in the end they weren’t.
He was one of the few players to really make some noise in the final round, chipping in for birdie on No. 7 and for eagle on No. 15.
“If my putts weren’t going to go in, I had to find a different way to do things,’’ Spieth said. “I missed a couple of 4-footers for birdie early in the round and … really did a great job of rebounding, recognizing that we’ve got a lot of golf yet.
“I knew I probably needed everything to go perfectly to win.’’
If anything, as well as he played, Spieth left a couple shots out there, failing to make a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and a 19-footer on 17. He did, however, birdie 18, which had been a nemesis of his and many other players this week, making a 7-footer.
“The one on 18 is the exact putt that I struggled with this whole week, and I was pumped to walk up and see that I had it, because I wanted some revenge,’’ Spieth said. “[I was] a little bummed I didn’t get one of those putts to go on 16 or 17. I thought I put good strokes on those. But the putt on 18 was the hardest of the three.
Sunday’s round was Spieth’s 12th consecutive round of par or better, surely a strong sign of good form entering the U.S. Open.
“I’m hitting the ball better and better each week,’’ he said. “I putted well at Colonial, but didn’t strike it great, but struck it better last week and even better this week with my putter being a little off. Everything is kind of coming in place for the U.S. Open.
“But to go four rounds at par or better on this course is special. I’m not sure if there’s a method to the madness, but if I can keep those rounds going the next four out at Chambers Bay, I’ll be in good shape.’’
Despite not winning, Spieth called this week “exactly what we needed for some momentum going into the Open.
“All in all, my game came in here ready,’’ Spieth said. “I wanted to work into contention to feel the nerves. That’s the best way to get prepared for a major. I would have liked to maybe feel the nerves for two solid days on the weekend, but I certainly was feeling it there on the back nine. It felt awesome. It was nice to be back in the hunt.”
Italian Francesco Molinari, playing in his first Memorial, was trying to become just the third first-timer to win at Muirfield Village. It looked good for a while. He had the lead on the back nine at 15-under, but took double bogey on the par-3 16th hole when his tee shot went into the water.
The defending champion, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, was on the cusp of contention all week and finished in a tie for fifth at 12-under.
Phil Mickelson finished a disappointing week with a final-round 75 to close the tournament at 5-over after going 9-over in his final two rounds. Mickelson will play the St. Jude this week before the U.S. Open. … Jim Furyk continued his consistent run, finishing tied for fifth at 12-under.