The Punter's In-Play Blog: Scheffler hits the front at Muirfield Village

• Germans still show the way in Austria

• A trio of longshots chanced

• Odds-on Scheffler up by one

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09:50 - June 1, 2025

Yesterday's 44.043/1 in-play pick at the Austrian Alpine Open, Martin Couvra, started round three superbly and he was matched at just 3.5551/20 when he hit the front after playing the first 11 holes in seven-under-par, but he lost the plot completely after that, recording four bogeys in-a-row after triple-bogeying the 12^th!

At 22, the young Frenchman is still learning his trade, so it was an understandable stumble, but he's got his work cut out now.

Couvra sits tied for 19^th and nine off the lead, still held by Marcel Schneider, who's been in front from the start. Here's the 54-hole leaderboard with prices to back at 9:30.

Marcel Schneider -15 2.265/4
Nicolai Von Dellingshausen -14 4.131/10
Jeff Winther -13 7.413/2
Callum Tarren -12 12.011/1
Sebastian Soderberg -10 28.027/1
Jayden Schaper -10 29.028/1
-9 and 120.0119/1 bar

Week after week we witness all sort of drama on the DP World Tour and only last week we saw the 54-hole leader of the Soudal Open, Ewen Ferguson, lose a playoff after trading at as short as 1.041/25.

The man that won the event, Kristoffer Reitan, had been matched at 1000.0999/1 when he trailed by nine with 18 to play so there's still hope for Couvra.

It was impossible to fault the two Germans yesterday, Schneider and Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, who are still at the head of affairs after the pair shot 66 and 65 but both men are in search of their first wins on the DP World Tour and the pressure will ramp up another notch today.

Playing together again today is definitely a plus but it's far from inconceivable that they both struggle under the increased pressure.

Although ultimately making a mess of things, Couvra demonstrated that it is possible to go super low here and both Jeff Winter and Sebastian Soderberg confirmed that when they posted eight-under-par 62s.

With all that in mind, I'm happy to throw a few pounds at some outsiders that may just make a big move.

Sitting in a tie for seventh and six off the lead, Alex Levy, a once tenacious contender who's struggled with injuries, has improved his score every day, and I've also backed the last man to win this event, John Catlin, and South Africa's Brandon Stone, who both sit tied for 10^th and seven adrift.

All three have won from off the pace before and all three are a sporting price this morning.

The furthest Catlin has trailed by with a round to go before winning is four strokes (the 2020 Irish Open), Levy won the China Open back in 2017 having trailed by seven after 54 holes, and Stone shot 60 to win the Scottish Open by four in 2018, having sat 11^th with 18 to play.

Over at the Memorial Tournament, Ben Griffin continues to amaze.

With the belief that mental and physical fatigue would catch up with him after last week's victory at Colonial, I've been against him since Friday morning, but it's impossible not to be impressed by the way he's kept going since his sensational start on Thursday.

He's played superbly around a very tough layout but those that jumped onboard at 1.84/5 during round three yesterday, when he led by five after birdies at six, seven and eight, may be in trouble now.

Griffin followed the run of birdies with four straight bogeys and although he rallied with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15, the defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, finished with four birdies in five holes and Griffin missed a three-footer for par at 18, so he's finally lost the lead. Here's the 54-hole leaderboard with prices to back at 9:45.

Scottie Scheffler -8 1.392/5
Ben Griffin -7 6.05/1
Nick Taylor -5 26.025/1
Jordan Spieth -3 48.047/1
Sepp Straka -3 48.047/1
Keegan Bradley -3 75.0]
-2 and 100.099/1 bar

It's very difficult to look past Scheffler after his stunning finish to round three.

He's successfully converted his last five 54-hole leads, but we probably shouldn't expect a straightforward victory.

As many as seven of the last 12 events staged here have gone to a playoff and he hit a 74 on Sunday to win this event last year by a stroke, having led by four with 18 to play.

Griffin is the man most likely to beat Scheffler and now that he's lost the lead, following his first individual PGA Tour win last week, he should feel as if this is a free hit.

He's playing the best golf of his career so it's all about energy levels. Can he keep going for another day around an extremely demanding course?

Nick Taylor got off to a horrible start yesterday, bogeying the first two holes, and he wasn't at his best all day but he's still in with a chance thanks largely to this remarkable two at the 14^th hole.

Double bogey. Bogey. EAGLE.

A crazy stretch for Nick Taylor ends with a 117-yard hole out! pic.twitter.com/bqKfpjbDE8

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 31, 2025

The Canadian knows how to win and he's an attractive alternative to the front two at a juicy price given he's two clear of the three players tied for fourth.

Having backed Scheffler before the off, and having opposed Griffin and backed Taylor after round one, I'm leaving this one alone for now and I'll be back tomorrow with the Debrief.

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09:40 - May 31, 2025

Here are the 36-hole leaderboards at this week's PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, with prices to back at 9:30.

Memorial Tournament
Ben Griffin -7 5.85/1
Nick Taylor -7 8.415/2
Akshay Bhatia -5 13.012/1
Scottie Scheffler -4 2.915/8
Shane Lowry -3 19.018/1
Jordan Spieth -3 23.022/1
Sam Burns -3 34.033/1
Collin Morikawa -2 21.020/1
Xander Schauffele -2 21.020/1
Russell Henley -2 38.037/1
Tom Hoge -2 120.0119/1
Level par and 160.0159/1 bar

Austrian Alpine Open
Marcel Schneider -11 3.6553/20
Nicolai Von Dellingshausen -9 11.521/2
Callum Tarren -8 22.021/1
Daniel Hillier -7 13.525/2
Jayden Schaper -7 15.014/1
Eugenio Chacarra -6 12.523/2
Andy Sullivan -6 28.027/1
Calum Hill -6 28.027/1
Brandon Wu -6 46.045/1
Daniel Gale -6 100.099/1
Haotong Li -5 18.535/2
-5 and 44.043/1 bar

The first-round leader at the Austrian Alpine Open, Marcel Schneider, backed up his opening 63 with a very solid 66 and he's the man to beat at halfway.

At the age of 35, the three-time HotelPlanner Tour winner, is looking to win on the DP World Tour for the first time but it's perhaps not surprising to see him in contention here given the closest he's come to winning on the DP World Tour was when he finished second in this event back in 2020, when it was co-sanctioned with the lesser Tour.

The first of Schneider's HotelPlanner Tour wins was in the Swiss Challenge back in 2018 and he won that event wire-to-wire by six strokes, but he had to wait three years before adding to his tally in Czechia and Portugal.

He also won his second event, the Kaskáda Golf Challenge, wire-to-wire, by a stroke, so he's clearly capable of making the running but he's in unknown territory here on the DP World Tour, having never been any closer to the lead than two strokes at halfway.

Schneider finished third at the Singapore Classic in 2023, having trailed by two in third at halfway, and on the five occasions that he's been as close as three back at this stage, he's finished 13^th, seventh, sixth, 25^th and 14^th.

It's very difficult to gauge how he'll cope with the situation over the weekend, but all things considered, I don't want to play him at less than 3/14.00.

Fellow German, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen is his closer pursuer but the dangers to the frontrunner look to be lurking a little further back.

Calum Hill and Andy Sullivan, who have both won on Jack Nicklaus designs before, are interesting contenders and if Haotong Li can eliminate the occasionally devasting wild tee shot, he's a big danger.

I'm happy to stick with my pre-event pick, Eugenio Chacarra, and I can see him improving over the weekend.

The Spaniard was drawn with the European Ryder Cup captain, Luke Donald, over the first two days and I'm far from convinced that will have helped his cause.

Like Li, Chacarra, has made a few too many big mistakes over the first two days so he needs to eliminate the errors, but he looks very dangerous form five adrift if the leaders tread water today.

I was very tempted to leave the event alone and see where we are after three rounds but the recent Turkish Airlines Open winner, Martin Couvra, who trails by six, looks fractionally big.

At 22, he looks to have a big future and he's no bigger than 33/134.00 on the High Street so I was happy to take a small chance at 44.043/1.

Over at the Memorial Tournament, although having to contend with the wet weather yesterday morning, the pre-event favourite, Scottie Scheffler, was matched at as low as 1.875/6 after he started his second round nicely, and afternoon starter, Collin Morikawa, has been matched at as short as 3.1511/5, but to varying degrees, both men finished their second rounds in disappointing fashion.

Having turned for home in three-under-par for the day, a double-bogey at the 10^th halted Scheffler's momentum.

He recovered nicely, making back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, but a bogey at 14 was his only deviation from par after that. It was a disappointing end to the round, but it was a decent finish compared to Morikawa's!

Playing in the easier afternoon conditions, the two-time major winner looked like he may even lead at the halfway stage after birdies at two and three, but he played the remainder of the course in five-over-par, thanks largely to double-bogeys at 15 and 17.

Scheffler still heads the market with the two co-leaders, Ben Griffin and Nick Taylor, next up.

Having backed Scheffler before the off and Taylor yesterday, I'm going to leave the outright market alone but it's an interesting market.

Griffin, who must be feeling fatigued after last week's victory, is considerably shorter than Taylor to win the tournament, despite the Canadian's excellent record in contention, and having already layed Griffin in the place markets, I'm opposing him again in today's final 2 Ball market.

Taylor is no bigger than 11/82.38 to outscore Griffin on the High Street so I was happy to take a modest chance on him at 2.6613/8.

When interviewed on the course during round two, Griffin said he felt fine, and he certainly played nicely again yesterday, but the interviewer said he'd spoken to his wife and that she'd said he was very tired and that must surely be the case.

I shall doth my cap and pay out if he keeps going but I'm more than happy to be against him.

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09:40 - May 30, 2025

The second round of the Austrian Alpine Open is well underway on the DP World Tour and the first-round leader, Marcel Schneider, who was generally a 160.0159/1 chance before the off, is still in front after 12 holes of his second round but my sole selection, Eugenio Chacarra, has made a nice move and he's now within two.

I'll be back this evening or tomorrow morning with a look at that event, once they reach the halfway stage, but for now I'm going to concentrate on the PGA Tour's Signature Event, the Memorial Tournament, where last week's Charles Schwab Challenge winner, Ben Griffin, shows the way after round one.

Griffin wasn't an entirely convincing winner at Colonial, but he's carried his form over to Muirfield Village and having finished his opening round in style with four birdies in the last five holes, including this remarkable three at 18, he leads by two.

Walking it off in style @bengriffingolf is picking up right where he left off a week ago.

Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/tMznt22zA8

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 29, 2025

Here's the top 10 after the opening round, with prices to back at 9:30.

Ben Griffin -7 7.26/1
Collin Morikawa -5 5.85/1
Max Homa -4 24.023/1
Shane Lowry -3 18.017/1
Keegan Bradley -3 26.025/1
Nick Taylor -3 70.069/1
Scottie Scheffler -2 3.7511/4
Si Woo Kim -2 29.028/1
Andrew Novak -2 40.039/1
Akshay Bhatia -2 55.054/1
-1 and 44.043/1 bar

The defending champion, Scottie Scheffler, rode his luck at times in round one, avoiding water narrowly on a couple of occasions but he's still very much the man to beat after his two-under-par 70 yesterday afternoon.

Having backed Scheffler before the off, it was tempting to just wait and see what today brings but I've got involved in three markets this morning.

In the outright market, I was happy to have a small wager on the prolific Canadian, Nick Taylor, who sits tied for fourth after day one.

He's an in-and-out performer but with five PGA Tour titles to his name, he knows how to win when he gets a sniff and it's perhaps not surprising to see him find a bit of form a week before his national title.

He won the Canadian Open two years ago and since then he's also won the Phoenix Open in February last year and the Sony Open back in January.

All three of those victories came in extra time, demonstrating just how tough a competitor he is when he gets into contention and given he's no bigger than 50/151.00 on the High Street, I was happy to back him at 70.069/1.

I don't have any stats on this but it's not unusual to see someone win a tournament and then start nicely the following week before fading and with that in mind, I'm happy to take on the leader after round one, Griffin, in the place markets.

In the last 30 years, 18 players have held a clear advantage after round one at Muirfield Village and Collin Morikawa, who beat Justin Thomas in a playoff at the Workday Open in 2020 after Thomas had been matched at as low as 1.031/33, is the only one of the 18 to go on to win.

Only six of the 18 men to hold a clear lead after the first round finished inside the top five after 72 holes (33%) and 10 of the 18 didn't even finish inside the top 10.

Admittedly, it's not a huge sample size but it's enough to convince me to take on Griffin at long odds-on in the Top 10 Finish market and a shade of odds-on in the Top 5 Finish market.

Griffin could well have been playing on adrenalin having won his first PGA Tour title as recently as Sunday and you don't have to be off your game by much to score some big numbers here.

The in-form world number five, Thomas, shot 80 yesterday and that wasn't even the worst round of day. Daniel Berger shot 81.

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Austrian Alpine Open Pre-Event Pick:
Eugenio Chacarra @ 34.033/1

In-Play Picks:
Martin Couvra @ 44.043/1
Alex Levy @ 140.0139/1
John Catlin @ 170.0169/1
Brandon Stone @ 220.0219/1

Memorial Tournament Pre-event Pick:
Scottie Scheffler @ 4.03/1

In-Play Trades:
Nick Taylor to win @ 70.069/1

Ben Grifin Top 5 Finish lay @ 1.9110/11
Ben Griffin Top 10 Finish lay @ 1.422/5

Nick Taylor to beat Ben Griffin - Thrid Round 2 Ball @ 2.6613/8

Find Me a 100 Winner column here

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