Muirfield’s notorious greens and roughs have been testing players mentally and physically all week. Even the ones who seem to be thriving are struggling internally. Ryan Gerard, who shot 69 on Friday to stay firmly in contention, revealed what players are going through at Jack Nicklaus’s course.

“It’s a grind. Mentally and physically, this place is a monster. Not only because it’s a big walk and I’m dealing with nine million allergies with whatever they’re putting out there. The rough is thick, and I feel like every time you hit a golf ball that’s 50/50, it wants to kind of bounce into the rough and just, like, plop down into the nastiest stuff,” he told the media when asked about why pros are looking tired.

Gerard’s scorecard might look neat with five birdies and just two bogeys. But it’s the par-saves that matter, and he had to earn each one of them. The course stretches to 7,569 yards with elevation changes. On top of it, the narrow corridors and the perplexing greens make every shot a strategic decision. You can not afford to miss the fairway. Gerard nailed driving accuracy on the first round and was amply rewarded. On the second round, he ranked 59th in fairway proximity and had to heavily rely on his flat stick to save the day. Explaining how difficult the course is playing, Gerard shared another crucial point that might just turn out to be the deciding factor this week.

“It’s a test of patience. How motivated, how positive can you stay out there, and how can you really just try and put good swings together even though things might not be going your way for a four- or five-hole stretch at a time? We’ve done a really good job of taking advantage of one or two good breaks,” said Ryan Gerard, who has one win on the PGA Tour at the 2025 Barracuda Championship.

Gerard’s comments were almost an echo of what Scottie Scheffler said a few days back. Muirfield is about placing the ball in the right places and taking advantage whenever you can. On the flipside, Rory McIlroy said the narrow fairways neutralized his biggest weapon: driving distance. The course forces players to not just rely on raw power but on skills with multiple different clubs.

According to Ron Klos, PGA Tour data analyst at Betsperts Golf, Muirfield Village has played to an average of 1.29 strokes over par per round since its last renovation in 2020. That makes it the third toughest non-major venue on the PGA Tour. But apart from that, what makes Gerard’s position on the leaderboard even more impressive is how he got there.

His first round set a pattern. His front nine wasn’t as good, as he dropped three shots total at the par-3 5th and par-5 8th. These two holes are where Muirfield’s greens and tight margins leave almost no room for error. The back nine, though, was a different picture entirely. In fact, at his press conference, he called them “grimy recoveries.”

He caught fire on hole 10 and went on to make five consecutive birdies before succumbing to a lone bogey on the 17th. He holed a 15-foot putt to close out a 67. His round two was messier.

Ryan Gerard admitted post-round that he missed multiple fairways, eight to be precise. His front nine held up pretty well as he carded three birdies with no bogeys for a 33. But the back nine became a survival exercise. He bogeyed 13th and 18th. Despite that, thanks to his strong course management, he still found a way to survive. On the 16th, he did not even target the flag. Gerard shared that he had intentionally played short to avoid the bunker on the right that catches most players.

The mental fortitude Gerard speaks about is going to play a key role. In a recent feature with Golf Digest, Gerard described chess as a lifelong habit that he still plays today, calling it “less about execution and more about planning” and saying it has allowed him to stay competitive and mentally engaged.

Additionally, he has also played violin for 14 years, and he draws a direct connection between musical rhythm and the consistency of his putting stroke. But both of these habits point to the same quality: a mind that stays engaged with the process rather than the outcome, which is a necessity in a course like Muirfield, not just a nice-to-have.

Gerard is not alone in finding Muirfield a sustained test of patience. Other golfers also share similar thoughts.

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Among many who have faced difficulty here, Scottie Scheffler, the two-time defending champion, was the most surprising name. After hitting what he believed was a well-struck shot on the par-3 16th on Thursday, he watched it plop into the water. He then vented his frustration at caddie Ted Scott, a sharp contrast to his usual calm, composed demeanor.

Scheffler almost missed the cut on Friday before mounting a heroic comeback on the back nine. The World No. 1 made three consecutive bogeys and also hit a cold shank. He later quipped that he thought he was going to shoot 90. He carded a 72 on Friday to get safely inside the cut line. But this is not the first time Muirfield has proved to be a puzzle for pros.

Kevin Kisner once directly told Jack Nicklaus, the course architect, that the 16th was the biggest “dogsh*t” hole he had ever seen. He explained that even a perfect shot hops into the rough onto the downslope, while a bail-out right lands in the deep bunker. Nicklaus obviously joked that maybe the course wasn’t for him.

Jack Nicklaus designed the course to test the best golfers. The 16th has often been a subject of criticism over the course of years. Jason Day called it a “stupid hole.” But the course has stood the test of time and is regarded as one of the most revered venues in the PGA Tour. It remains to be seen who will win the $20 million Memorial Tournament after all these hardships.