Buhr Holds Off Welck's Blistering -15 to Capture Memorial Championship
In the scorching Sonoran Desert of Scottsdale, Arizona, the 39th Memorial Championship presented by Discraft concluded with a masterclass in holding serve under pressure. Gannon Buhr entered the final round at Red Mountain - South with a four-stroke cushion and, despite a furious charge from Parker Welck, his steady -13 was enough to secure a two-stroke victory at -40 overall. Buhr's three-round performance (-10, -17, -13) was a wire-to-near-wire clinic, seizing the lead with a bogey-free 1089-rated -17 in Round 2 and never relinquishing it, even as Welck fired the tournament's best round.
The drama of the final round centered on Welck's bogey-free, 1094-rated -15, highlighted by a jaw-dropping 65-foot Circle 2 putt on the 580-foot par-4 17th to grab the late lead in the round. That clutch putt capped a late surge where Welck, who was chasing Aaron Gossage by one stroke through 15 holes, birdied 16 and 17 to post the hot round. Drew Gibson matched Welck's -15 (also 1094-rated) to vault from seventh to a solo fourth-place finish at -35, while Gossage's consistent -14 secured solo third at -36.
While the top of the leaderboard showcased brilliance, the middle of the pack told a story of dramatic divergence. The four players tied for second at -23 after Round 2—Welck, Hunter Hall, Marcus Cathey, and Aviel Gomez—splintered in the finale. Welck surged to second, but Cathey's -2 round plummeted him to a tie for 20th at -25, and both Hall and Gomez shot -8 to finish tied for seventh at -31. Elsewhere in the field, Ethan Switzer delivered the round's biggest rating overperformance, shooting a 1044-rated -10 to exceed his rating by 105 points.
The 7,398-foot Red Mountain - South layout, with its thorny desert vegetation and punishing rough, continued to demand precision. Triston Harrison provided one of the round's highlights by acing the 250-foot 4th hole, the fourth ace on that hole during the tournament. In the end, Buhr's commanding lead built in Round 2 proved insurmountable, weathering the best shot anyone could muster to claim the Memorial Championship title, with Welck's heroic charge falling just two strokes short in a tournament defined by a champion's resilience.