The Punter's Debrief: Poston rallies to claim Memorial title

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13:15 - June 8, 2026 - Last week's golf results

Before we move on to this week's sole event - the Canadian Open - which I've previewed here, I've tied up the loose ends from last week after witnessing plenty of drama on the PGA Tour...

Having been matched at as high as 780.0779/1 when the market first opened, JT Poston, who was generally a 400.0399/1 chance to win the Memorial Tournament before the off, returned to the course on Sunday morning with 13 holes of round three to play and work to do.

Trading at 3.613/5, he'd led the event by a stroke at halfway, but it was Sam Burns that headed the market when play was abandoned for the day on Saturday night after stormy weather caused a second suspension in play.

Poston soon regained control on Sunday morning and he shot four clear of Ryan Gerard by the end of round three.

Trading at 1.68/13, Poston was clearly the man to beat with a round to go but he played quite tentatively in round four with a few lose approach shots and lame chips from just off the green and with just two holes to play, we had a five way tie at the top between Burns, Tommy Fleetwood, Gerard, my 120.0119/1 Find Me a 100 Winner pick, Wyndham Clark, and Poston, who was matched at as high as 48.047/1 when he looked like his chance of victory had slipped through his fingers.

Playing in the penultimate group, Fleetwood, who had hit a low of 2.9215/8 when he eagled the par five 15^th, bogeyed the par four 17^th and Clark hit even money when he had an opportunity to hit the front with a long-range birdie chance at the same hole but he could only finish with a pair of pars.

A missed fairway for Burns at the penultimate hole ultimately did for his chances and Gerard assumed command with this incredible birdie three at the 17^th.

RYAN GERARD!

37 feet to take the solo lead and it's LOUD at @MemorialGolf!

CBS pic.twitter.com/jBEZ1rEq0R

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 7, 2026

With Poston needing to hole an 11-foot par save at 17 just to remain within a stroke of Gerard, the leader was matched at as low as 1.162/13 but Poston stepped up to the plate, holing the par save there before birdying the last to draw alongside Gerard and we were into extra time.

The market couldn't split the two before the off, but it was Poston that went on to win at the second extra hole after Gerard had missed his par putt from six feet.

The KLM Open on the DP World Tour was far less dramatic with the 42.041/1 pre-event chance, Eugenio Chacarra, who was tied for the lead with Sebastian Soderberg and trading at 3.412/5 with 18 to play, posting a one-under-par 70 around The International to win by one.

England's Marcus Armitage was matched at as low as 2.427/5 after he'd got to two-under-par for the day through five holes but he lost the plot after that, shooting a six-over-par 76 to finish tied 14^th, and Finland's Oliver Lindell, who was matched at a low of 3.1511/5, birdied three of the last five holes to put in a late charge but after back-to-back birdies at eight and nine that saw Chacarra go two clear, the Spaniard was the only man in the field to go odds-on.

It wasn't smooth sailing to the clubhouse, but he kept his composure nicely to seal the deal with a straightforward two-putt birdie four at the par five finishing hole for his second success on the DP World Tour following his victory in the Indian Open two years ago.

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09:20 - June 7, 2026

This has been a messy week so far.

After the weather delay on Thursday, the KLM Open on the DP World Tour is back on track with just 18 holes left to play today, but play was suspended at the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour for a second time yesterday afternoon with the leaders having played only five holes of their third rounds and they never made it out again.

The third round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday will resume on Sunday at 7:30 a.m.

Final-round tee times will be approximately 11 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. off Nos. 1 and 10 in groups of three. https://t.co/zqF8p5SmYD

-- PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 6, 2026

J.T Poston and Ryan Gerard are now tied at the top, but both men face par saving putts on the sixth hole when play resumes and it's Sam Burns that now heads the market.

Trailing by a stroke, Burns has found the right side of the fairway on the par five seventh off the tee but there's a long way to go and I'm just going to leave the event alone for now.

My Find Me a 100 Winner pick, Wyndham Clark, faces a seven-foot par save on the par three eighth hole when he returns to the course but trailing by five and tied for fifth, he's still in the hunt.

We look for an exciting finale in Ohio and as always on a Sunday on the DP World Tour, drama is almost guaranteed at the KLM Open, where a dozen players are separated by four strokes.

Here's the 54-hole leaderboard with prices to back at 9:10.

Eugenio Chacarra -10 3.412/5
Sebastian Soderberg -10 6.25/1
Marcus Armitage -9 7.26/1
Oliver Lindell -8 10.09/1
Max Steinlechner -8 15.014/1
Yuto Katsuragawa -8 18.535/2
Angel Ayora -7 17.016/1
julien Guerrier -7 34.033/1
Jordan Gumberg -7 42.041/1
Calum Hill -6 44.043/1
Joe Dean -6 60.059/1
Brandon Robinson-Thompson -6 85.084/1
-5 and 110.0109/1 bar

After a quite brilliant six-under-par 66 in tricky, blustery conditions yesterday, a round that was two strokes better than anyone else could muster, Spain's Eugenio Chacarra has made his way to the top of the leaderboard and to the head of the market.

The 26-year-old Spaniard successfully converted a one stroke 54 hole lead at the Indian Open to win his only DP World Tour title to date in March last year but he finished fourth, beaten by three, a month later in China having been tied at the top with 18 to play and he was very disappointing when blowing a four stroke 54 hole lead when defending his title in India back in March.

An isolated bad round in-contention should probably be forgiven but he lost his way badly in Delhi having been matched at as low as 1.162/13 when he led by five after the turn on Sunday.

Chacarra bogeyed three of his last four holes to let Alex Fitzpatrick in at the end and that performance is enough to put me off backing him here at around the 5/23.50 mark.

As highlighted yesterday, the man alongside him, Sebastian Soderberg, is not one to trust in-contention and this could very easily be won by someone coming from off the pace.

The previous three KLM Open winners at The International have been tied for the lead, trailing by a stroke, and two clear with a round to go but Marcus Kinhult and Joe Dean contested the playoff here two years ago having sat tied for six and three back after 54 holes and the front two look vulnerable this time around.

I was tempted by the classy Finn, Olver Lindell, who trails by two, and if he can hole a few more putts, the brilliant young Spaniard, Angel Ayora, is a huge danger from three back but I'm happy to chance a pair of Englishmen trailing by four - the aforementioned Joe Dean and Brandon Robinson-Thompson.

Having came close here two years ago from slightly off the pace, Dean is a very obvious pick at a juicy price and Robinson-Thompson is very capable of going low from off the pace.

Robinson-Thomspon, who won on the HotelPlanner Tour by eight strokes two years ago, has shot multiple low rounds on the DP World Tour, with his 61 in round one in Bahrain the lowest, and I like his chances from just off the pace.

He's let 18-, 36-, and 54-hole leads slip this year but he's a classy performer capable of devasting hot runs and I was more than happy to chance him modestly at 90.089/1.

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09:45 - June 6, 2026

After an early suspension of play on Thursday evening, and due to a loss of over three hours play, the second round of the KLM Open on the DP World Tour has only just finished, with those drawn AM-PM returning to the course to enjoy some more benign conditions this morning after a couple of blustery days.

The often-flaky Swede, Sebastian Soderberg, who lost an eight shot 54-hole lead at the Scandinavian Mixed two years ago, leads Julien Guerrier by a stroke but the 40-year-old Frenchman isn't one to go to war with either.

His sole success on the DP World Tour was at the Andalucía Masters two years ago when he beat Jorge Campillo at the ninth extra hole!

New Zealand's Daniel Hillier, who sits tied for the third and two off the lead, is the market leader but he trades at bigger than 5/16.00 on the Betfair Exchange, demonstrating just how wide open the event is at the midway point.

The third round is already under way and the leaders tee-off at 11:15 UK time but I'm going to leave the event alone for now.

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Poston the pick at Muirfield

Over on the PGA Tour, conditions have been really tough over the first two days at the Memorial Tournament and at the halfway stage, only 11 of the 72 players in the field are under-par.

With the wind strong, and particularly so in the afternoons, it's been a real grind, even for the best players on the planet, but someone always finds a way to carve out a great score, no matter how tough it is, and that man yesterday was JT Poston.

His remarkable seven-under-par 65 was four shots better than anyone else managed yesterday and the pre-event 300.0299/1 chance is the man to beat at halfway.

Here's the 36-hole leaderboard with prices to back at 9:30.

JT Poston -9 3.613/5
Ryan Gerard -8 4.3100/30
Sam Burns -6 6.86/1
Tommy Fleetwood -4 11.010/1
Eric Cole -3 48.047/1
Xander Schauffele -2 21.020/1
Patrick Cantlay -2 29.028/1
Wyndham Clark -2 50.049/1
Scottie Scheffler +1 22.021/1
Rory McIlroy +1 55.054/1
-1 and 85.084/1 bar

If we disregard Jon Rahm, who had to withdraw from the tournament when six clear through 54 holes due to a positive Covid test in 2021, 20 players have held a clear lead at halfway at Muirfield Village and nine of them went on to win, suggesting Poston is a perfectly fair price at odds in excess of 5/23.50.

It's almost exactly 10 years since Poston finished only sixth at the Air Capital Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour having been tied for the lead at halfway but he has a reasonable record on the PGA Tour when leading or tied at halfway.

He lost a protracted playoff to Seamus Power at the ISCO Championship in 2021, having been matched at 1.041/25 in-running.

Having led by a stroke after 36 and 54 holes he really should have won but he double bogeyed the par five 15^th and bogeyed the 16^th on Sunday before losing at the sixth extra hole.

Poston won the 2022 John Deere Classic by three strokes having led by four at halfway and by three through 54 holes and although he finished a disappointing fifth at The Heritage in April 2024, having been tied at the top at halfway, he won the Shriners Childrens Open by a stroke in October 2024 having been tied at halfway.

Poston owes his lofty position to a remarkable performance with the putter yesterday and that's the big negative.

Only two of his eight birdie putts were inside 10 feet yesterday and his 24 putts covered a distance of 134 feet!

It would be truly remarkable if he could repeat anything close to that today but the battle-hardened 33-year-old three-time PGA Tour winner is still a very fair price at more than 5/23.50 and I'm happy to play him modestly at that price.

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