The Memorial Tournament delivered a finale that had fans at Muirfield Village on the edge of their seats, and according to sources close to the action, the drama is only just beginning. JT Poston, the North Carolina native, walked away with his fourth PGA Tour victory—and his first of the 2026 season—after a chaotic playoff against underdog Ryan Gerard. But insiders are buzzing about what this win could mean for the rest of the season, especially as the U.S. Open looms.
Poston birdied the 18th hole in regulation to force extra holes, then survived a two-hole playoff where a missed short putt by Gerard handed the trophy to Poston. It was a stunning turn of events. Gerard had drained a 36-footer on the 17th and a slick 5-footer on the 18th to force the playoff, but then, as one anonymous observer put it, “the moment got too big for him.” A par putt on the second extra hole just slipped by, and suddenly Poston was hoisting the hardware.
Poston’s own journey to victory was anything but smooth. He started the day with the lead, but a mid-round collapse—bogeys on 9, 12, and 13—dropped him to 9-under. According to reports from the course, his caddie had to calm him down after a frustrating stretch around the turn. But two birdies got him back into contention, and then came that approach shot on the 18th: a laser from the fairway to just 7 feet, 5 inches. He buried the putt to force the playoff. Sources say the locker room was electric after that moment.
Meanwhile, Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood were lurking, each on the verge of stealing the show. Burns was undone by a nightmare approach on 17—he had to chip off a footbridge, and though he nearly salvaged par, the putt slid by. Fleetwood, who started the day six shots back, briefly held the solo lead on the back nine after a stunning second shot on the par-5 15th. But a bogey on 17 crushed his momentum. “He was so close,” one insider told us. “If he had just saved par on 17, we’d be talking about a different winner.”
Wyndham Clark, fresh off a win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson two weeks ago, also had a shot. He was at 11-under after birdies on 15 and 16, but a tee shot into a bunker on the par-3 12th forced a bogey that proved costly. “That one swing was the difference between a playoff and a missed opportunity,” a PGA Tour analyst told us.
What does this mean for the U.S. Open? Next week, the RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto serves as the final tune-up before Shinnecock Hills. Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler were both in the field at Memorial but finished tied for 12th. McIlroy, who shot 68 on Sunday, couldn’t overcome a Friday 74. Scheffler, winner of the last two Memorials, stumbled after a rough Thursday. Sources close to Scheffler’s camp say he’s reportedly frustrated but confident heading into Shinnecock, where he’ll chase the career Grand Slam. If he wins, he’d become the seventh man to claim all four majors—alongside McIlroy and Nicklaus. McIlroy, meanwhile, is looking for his second major of the season after winning the Masters. Only 11 men have won seven majors; McIlroy could become the 12th. The stakes, insiders say, couldn’t be higher.
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