Steve Stricker leads despite poor finish

Steve Stricker managed to cling on to his lead at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village after contrasting fortunes on Saturday.

The American, who led at half-way when he began his third round, finished terribly but remained three-under-par after a 69, three ahead of nearest rival Jonathan Byrd going into the final round.

It could have been so much better though, as he led by six at one stage before his late collapse over the last five holes in Dublin, Ohio.

A great start saw him eagle the second from 113 yards, do the same on the par-five fifth and birdied the eighth but in the closing stages his putting deserted him and a misguided tee-shot saw him concede three of his six-shot advantage.

Stricker sits at 12 under par overall on 204.

Pretty much everything went right for Byrd, meanwhile, as a closing birdie in the 18th saw him finish with a 69 to put him firmly in contention. Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe are both four shots behind while Rory McIlroy, the first-round leader, had problems as he double bogeyed the par-three fourth, hit the pond on the 11th to end up with a bogey and needed an eagle on the 15th to finish on 71.

That put the Northern Irishman five off the lead and still in with a chance providing his fortunes improve on the final day.

McIlroy is joined by Mark Wilson and Shaun Micheel after 66 and 67 respectively.

Luke Donald's 73 left him at four under, eight shots off and tied for 17th while Phil Mickelson was a further two back after a bad few days.

Meanwhile, eight-times major winner Tom Watson has been selected as the honoree of next year's Memorial tournament, organisers have confirmed.