2014 Memorial golf tournament: Tee times, pairings for Sunday’s round

There are just 18 holes left in the last big test before the U.S. Open, and the season’s first major winner, Bubba Watson, will stroll to the first tee at the Memorial on Sunday back on top of the leaderboard. Despite a bogey on his last hole Saturday, Watson still posted a 3-under 69 to get to 12-under for the week, one shot clear of another lefty, Scott Langley.

Those two will play in the final pairing on Sunday at Muirfield Village, going off No. 1 at 1:35 p.m ET. Adam Scott may be the new No. 1 player in the world, but since the calendar flipped to 2014, Bubba’s been playing better golf than anyone else on the planet. Even before that Masters win, Bubba had ended the almost two-year drought since that first victory at Augusta with a title at Riviera, and had also finished second twice.

Bubba has been dominant all season and a win on Sunday would lock him into the top spot of the FedExCup rankings probably for the rest of the summer. He’s already a lock for the Ryder Cup, and his approach is entirely different than that stretch following the 2012 Masters. Bubba is a good bet to contend every week he tees it up, whereas back then, he was (understandably) coasting through the year in his nice new green jacket and enjoying time with his new son. Langley has not made a bogey since Thursday and would be a wonderful story, but this is Bubba’s tournament to lose.

Just over half of the 54-hole leaders or co-leaders have closed out wins this season (14 of 27 tournaments), and several of the chasers this week are some of the biggest names in the game. Adam Scott is going for the first back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour since Rory McIlroy pulled it off during the 2012 FedExCup. Scott has clearly settled into his new role as the No. 1 player in the world, and after two weekend rounds of 66 in Fort Worth, he posted his lowest number so far in Columbus on Satturday. His third round 68 puts him three shots back, and he’ll be out one group ahead of Bubba and Langley with Japanese phenom Hideki Matsuyama. His performance the last two weekends has solified his status as the new No. 1.

In addition to the world-class talents of Matsuyama and Scott, Jordan Spieth is back in it again at one of the premier events of the season. Spieth said he finally got some putts to roll in on Saturday, and the 5-under round put him in contention with 18 more to go. He starts the day four shots back at 1:25 p.m. ET.

Muirfield Village is one of the best courses on the annual PGA Tour rota, and regularly rated as one of the players’ favorites. Jack Nicklaus’ sighnature design is said to be modeled after Augusta National, and much like that venue, it leaves a signficant portion of the field in it with only one round to go. Even a player like Rory McIlroy, who we’ve already seen shoot 63 here this week, could close the six-shot gap he’s in right now. And with things firming up a bit more, there’s always the chance Bubba comes back to the talented group of chasers. Last Sunday was the best single day of the year in golf so far, and this one should build nicely off that to create some momentum heading into the U.S. Open. Here’s the full tee sheet for Sunday’s final round: