DUBLIN, Ohio — Billy Horschel ended any doubt about his victory at Muirfield Village with an eagle putt from one end of the green to the other on the 15th hole, sending him to a four-shot victory Sunday at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

Horschel was staked to a five-shot lead at the start of a sun-soaked final round and no one ever got closer than two shots. He closed with an even-par 72.

Horschel moved to No. 10 in the FedExCup standings after earning a whopping 550 points.

There still a few nervous moments.

Horschel’s streak of 49 consecutive holes without a bogey ended on the sixth hole. He didn’t make his first birdie until the 10th hole. He had to scramble for bogey on the par-3 12th that dropped his lead to two over Aaron Wise.

Before the long eagle, Horschel saved himself with par putts of 12 feet on the 13th hole and 8 feet on 14.

And then it was over. From the front of the green on the par-5 15th, Horschel’s putt from just inside 55 feet had the perfect line and perfect speed, bending left and dropping in the left side of the cup as he stretched out both arms in a quiet, disbelieving celebration.

“Just like you, big man,” Horschel said to tournament host Jack Nicklaus when it was over.

His lead was up to four shots, and it was a comfortable finish. Horschel finished at 13-under 275 and won $2.16 million, the largest paycheck of his career. As an elevated event, the win comes with a three-year PGA TOUR exemption.

Horschel said he has learned from Tiger Woods and Nicklaus that he didn’t need to do anything special with a five-shot lead unless the moment called for it. It was calling on the 15th hole after Wise stuffed a wedge into 2 feet for birdie.

“If I had to do something special, I was ready for it,” he said. “Making that was huge.”

Wise did what he could in a final round so difficult that no one shot better than 69. He and Joaquin Niemann were the only players to apply any serious pressure on Horschel. He opened the back nine with a pair of birdies sand saved par from the back bunker on the 12th. But he dropped a shot on the 13th just as Horschel was looking shaky.

Wise made a bogey on the final hole for a 71 to finish alone in second.

Cameron Smith, who had the 36-hole lead, also started five shots behind. He had a pair of double bogeys for a 42 on the front nine and was never a factor.

Niemann, who won another elevated event at Riviera in The Genesis Invitational, made a strong move and was creeping within range until his wedge on the 14th found a bunker, leading to double bogey. He answered with two birdies, finished with a double bogey and shot 71. He tied for third with defending champion Patrick Cantlay (71).

Before the handshake with Nicklaus, Horschel was mobbed by his three children. He now has seven PGA TOUR victories. His wife has watched him win. His parents have seen him win. This was the first time his children were there, and they were bouncing on the firm greens.

That might have been as great as any pressure as Horschel felt.

“Having a five-shot lead, knowing it was mine to win, I really wanted to get the monkey off my back,” he said of winning with his kids in attendance.

Horschel moves to just outside the top 10 in the world, the highest he has ever been, thanks to a year that finally has brought some consistency in a hit-and-miss game. He has three victories in the last 15 months, all of them against strong fields — the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year, and now this.

It might even be enough to finally be considered for a U.S. team with the Presidents Cup later this year.

THIRD ROUND

DUBLIN, Ohio — The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday has another player who appears to be running away with the tournament. Billy Horschel will get a chance to finish the job.

One year after Jon Rahm built a six-shot lead — only to withdraw after the third round because of a positive COVID-19 test — Horschel delivered a gem at Muirfield Village on Saturday with a 7-under 65 for a five-shot lead.

Not only did Horschel make seven birdies, he has gone 44 consecutive holes without a bogey on a course where the greens have been getting increasingly firm under more sunshine that this tournament is used to seeing.

Horschel chipped in for birdie on his opening hole. Everything else was simply solid, with only one other birdie putt outside the 10-foot range.

He was at 13-under 203, five shots clear of Aaron Wise (69) and Cameron Smith (72). Horschel cared more about how he was playing — very well — than the size of his lead.

“I just go to the tee understanding I’m leading the tournament. I know I’ve got however many shots I have ahead,” he said. “I’m not going to be protective, I’m not going to be overly aggressive. I’m going to play the way I have the last three days. We’re going to hit the golf shots that are required, and I know if we do that it’s going to give me the best chance to be victorious come tomorrow.”

He will be going for his seventh PGA TOUR victory.

Daniel Berger had a 67 and six shots behind along with Jhonattan Vegas and former Open Champion Francesco Molinari, who hasn’t had a top-five finish since the 2019 Masters.

“I’m just happy to be up there,” Molinari said. “Billy is a really good player, but in golf you never know. On a course like this, it’s showing today that if you hit the fairways you get plenty of chances and you can shoot 6-, 7-under par. If you start missing fairways it’s a whole different challenge. I think there’s going to be an outside chance, but it’s just nice to be kind of up there.”

Smith started with a one-shot lead and ran into trouble immediately, with bogeys from the bunker on the first two holes. He played alongside Denny McCarthy, who on three occasions in the first hour was putting for birdie from closer than where Smith was putting for par.

It was a struggle for Smith to get back to even for the day, but by then, Horschel was starting to pull away from everybody.

He took the lead with a wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the par-5 seventh, and then stuffed his tee shot to a front pin within 6 feet on the par-3 eighth. He made birdie on all the par 5s. The four times he missed the green, he chipped in on No. 1 for birdie and made tough saves from bunkers and a delicate pitch behind the 12th green that ran quickly away from him.

Smith saved himself one shot at the end. The greens are firm enough that anything in the rough makes it hard to stop near the hole. Smith’s shot from deep grass right of the 18th fairway bounded to the back of the green with a front pin. The Aussie went with a flop shop that trickled near the hole and settled 3 feet away for par.

Rory McIlroy started the third round just three shots out of the lead, but as everyone else around him was piling up birdies, McIlroy was stuck on pars. He didn’t make his first birdie until the 11th hole and shot 73 to fall nine shots behind.

Defending champion Patrick Cantlay began his round by pulling his tee shot into a stream and making double bogey. He atoned for that with a pair of eagles, finished with three straight par putts from outside 8 feet and shot 69. He was seven beind.

That would appear to be too far back — the largest comeback at the Memorial is five shots, most recently 15 years ago by K.J. Choi. Then again, players have rallied from seven shots behind to win the last two weeks by Sam Burns at Colonial and by Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s any different,” Wise said. “Anything is possible.”

SECOND ROUND

DUBLIN, Ohio — Cameron Smith believes he is playing the best golf of his life, and it shows. He is in the lead at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, a tournament where the Australian doesn’t have a great history.

Smith elicited one of the loudest cheers of a glorious afternoon Friday at Muirfield Village — another anomaly for this weather-plagued tournament — when he holed out with a downhill chip from beyond the green on the par-3 12th that carried him to a 3-under 69.

He kept his one-shot lead over Denny McCarthy and K.H. Lee the rest of the day by doing what Smith does best. He holed a 15-foot putt for par on the next hole and twice made 6-foot par putts for bunker saves down the stretch.

“I think I’m just happy with the way I stuck in there,” Smith said. “Really happy with where my short game’s at. I feel like I’m rolling the ball really good. Just need to sort out that longer stuff.”

As for his history at the Memorial?

In six previous appearance, Smith only made the cut twice and both times and finished outside the top 60. His best round was a 71.

But this is a new Smith, the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship and the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

So his rounds of 67-69 to reach 8-under 136 and be in the lead going into the weekend is hardly a surprise, even at Muirfield Village.

“I think my game’s in a good spot. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be,” he said. “I’m playing some of the best golf of my life, and I feel I’m getting more consistent with the longer stuff. So just looking forward to everything coming up.”

Billy Horschel putted for birdie on every hole and made four of them for a 68 that left him in the group two shots behind with Torrey Pines winner Luke List, PGA TOUR rookies Cameron Young and Davis Riley, and Jhonattan Vegas.

Rory McIlroy had a 69 and was three shots behind. Defending champion Patrick Cantlay closed with two big par putts for a 69 and was at 3-under 141.

The cut was at 2-over 146. Among those missing out on the weekend were Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English, both returning from injuries. DeChambeau (hand surgery) had not played since the Masters. English (hip surgery) had not played since the Sony Open in January.

McCarthy’s name was mentioned prominently even before the Memorial began, and then he lived up to the praise. He took only 25 putts Friday — he only had 24 putts the day before — for a 3-under 69 that put him one shot behind.

For those who don’t pore over the litany of statistics available on the PGA TOUR, it was a little surprising when McIlroy was asked earlier in the week whom he considered the better putters in today’s game. He mentioned Jordan Spieth. Everyone knows him. He was impressed with Sam Burns, a three-time winner over the last eight months.

And he mentioned McCarthy.

Told of McIlroy’s comments earlier in the week, McCarthy smiled and said, “I would like to drive it like Rory.”

“Everyone has the best part of their game. Obviously, putting is part of mine,” said McCarthy, who is No. 5 in the key putting statistic for the season. “Driving the ball is the best part of his game. I’m no slouch around the course, like putting is not the only thing I do well. Everyone brings up my putter; yes, I’m a good putter. But I need to do good things to get to those putts.”

McIlroy, meanwhile, has been picking up a little momentum since his closing 64 at the Masters for a runner-up finish. He finished four shots behind at the Wells Fargo Championship and three shots out of a playoff at the PGA Championship.

McIlroy surged into the mix at the Memorial with a fairway metal that was high and true and into a freshening breeze to 6 feet for eagle on the par-5 fifth toward the end of his round. His momentum was slowed by a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 eighth, but his 69 left him in reasonable shape going into the weekend.

Jon Rahm overcame a shank on the second hole — he made birdie on the next one — to scratch out a 70 without his best iron game. He was at 2-under 142, six shots behind. Rahm won in 2020. He was six shots ahead after three rounds last year until his positive COVID-19 test knocked him out of the final round.

FIRST ROUND

DUBLIN, Ohio — Just being at the Memorial Tournament was a reminder how far Cameron Young has come in the last year. Being part of a six-way tie for the lead Thursday was another reminder how well he is playing.

In his first start since challenging at the PGA Championship, Young finished with two birdies over his last three holes for a 5-under 67 on rain-softened Muirfield Village.

Even with slightly softer greens, the 67 was the highest score to lead after the first round of the Memorial since 2004. And it was the second straight week on the PGA TOUR of a big logjam at the top — eight were tied after one round at Colonial.

Joining Young were Luke List, Cameron Smith and K.H. Lee from the morning wave, and Mackenzie Hughes and Davis Riley each shot 67 in the afternoon.

Bryson DeChambeau, in his first tournament since the Masters because of surgery on his left hand, had a 76. Harris English made his first start since the Sony Open in January because of hip surgery. He opened with a 77.

A year ago, Young was coming off consecutive wins on the Korn Ferry Tour that moved him up some 300 spots in the world ranking to No. 170. Now he is at No. 30, with five top-three finishes in his rookie season, three times a runner-up.

The most recent was at Southern Hills, when Young was tied for the lead heading to the 14th tee in the final round of the PGA Championship. His chances ended with a double bogey on the 16th.

And then he was right back at it at the Memorial, making a 15-foot eagle on the par-5 15th on his way to a 31 on his opening nine holes, overcoming a few bogeys on the front nine and capping off another solid day with a 30-foot birdie putt.

“I think we knew what was possible, but I think I’ve also gotten a lot better throughout this season,” Young said. “And having done well makes it a lot easier. If I was really fighting to keep my card for next year, I think it gets a lot harder. To have been around the lead and then finish high a few times, I think just that comfort level has gone up and I’ve been able to keep going.”

The greens were firm during practice and still rolled well, though players could take aim at flags because of enough rain and cloud cover. That took some adjusting. Muirfield Village was still tough enough that bogeys were easy to find.

List, who picked up his first win at Torrey Pines in January, had only one bogey in his 67. Smith was slowed by a few bogeys on the front nine after making the turn. Lee holed out from fairway on No. 9 for eagle, only to follow with back-to-back bogeys.

Will Zalatoris, who lost in the PGA Championship playoff to Justin Thomas, had eight birdies in his round of 68 and wasn’t sure what to make of his round.

“I did not think 68 with eight birdies was in the cards when I came out Monday, Tuesday,” Zalatoris said.

He figured out the difference quickly, a wedge on the 13th hole that landed near the flag and spun back 15 feet. Earlier in the week, he saw shots like that bound over the green into trouble.

What helped in any conditions was his putting. Zalatoris and 11 consecutive one-putt greens, one of those for bogey, until the streak ended when he missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth.

Defending champion Patrick Cantlay didn’t find nearly as many birdies as everyone else from the morning wave, just two birdies against two bogeys for an even-par 72. Collin Morikawa, who lost to Cantlay in the playoff at the Memorial last year, had two birdies for a 71.

Jon Rahm, who had a six-shot lead after 54 holes last year until having to withdraw because of a positive COVID-19 test, hit two balls in the water on the back nine and shot 72.

Young recalls meeting Jack Nicklaus, the tournament host, at Pebble Beach in 2019 for the U.S. Open when he qualified for his first major as an amateur. It was special for at least one of them.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t remember,” Young said. “He was walking at me and I said, ‘Hi, I’m Cameron.’ And he was very nice. Said hello and kind of moved on. But I was nobody. I just got out of college. So that’s really the only time I’ve been able to interact with him.”

Nicklaus is always by the 18th green on Sunday to shake hands with the winner. That would be memorable.