DUBLIN, Ohio -- The mob of challengers was drawing closer. Carl Pettersson's lead appeared to be as shaky as a prediction of no rain at a Memorial Tournament.

As he stepped to the 11th tee in the final round at Muirfield Village on Sunday, Pettersson was just hanging on. His lead had been shaved to two strokes by Brett Wetterich and the Swede wasn't inspiring a lot of confidence with his swing.

Then a series of huge shots and what he called good breaks turned the tide for Pettersson to win the Memorial by two strokes.

"I hit a few loose ones on the back nine," he said. "Every time I hit it bad, I followed up with a good one," he said later.

At the par-5 11th, he hit his third shot into the deep rough behind the green. A bogey seemed imminent. But he chopped out, the ball landing softly and rolling until it curled into the cup.

"It broke in there perfect," he said. "It was just one of those shots (where) you see the shot and it came out exactly like I envisioned it."

Another turning point came at the par-5 15th. He hit a 256-yard drive into the first cut of rough on the left edge of the inclined fairway and then from an awkward uphill stance he hooked a rescue club into the wet and wiry hay that passes for rough to the left of the green.

"No man's land," Pettersson said.

Pettersson settled himself over his third shot, the ball barely visible from a few feet away. A deep bunker -- with deep furrows that the players had complained about all week -- was situated between him and the green, one of the fastest and trickiest on the course.

"At 15, he hits it left of the green where you absolutely shouldn't put it," tournament founder Jack Nicklaus said. "The greens are soft enough that he can throw it up in the air and stop it on the green."

Pettersson muscled the ball out of the rough to 15 feet. Moments later, he drained the putt to turn what looked like a bogey into a birdie.

That bumped his lead to three strokes -- and it was also his last close call. His closing 71 left him two shots in front of Wetterich and Zach Johnson.

"I played fantastic, but you also have to have luck on your side," he said.

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