The PGA Tour moves from one iconic venue to another this week as Muirfield Village will host the latest Signature Event of the campaign when The Memorial Tournament, hosted as ever by the great Jack Nicklaus, takes place.
Scottie Scheffler was the man who came out on top here a year ago, as he did in most places where he teed it up, and the world number one is back in the field this week looking to keep hold of the title. A decent field is out to deny him.
Recent Winners
2024 – Scottie Scheffler
2023 – Viktor Hovland
2022 – Billy Horschel
2021 – Patrick Cantlay
2020 – Jon Rahm
2019 – Patrick Cantlay
2018 – Bryson DeChambeau
2017 – Jason Dufner
2016 – William McGirt
2015 – David Lingmerth
The Course
Once again we are back at Muirfield Village this week. This is a typical stop off on tour. Jack Nicklaus oversaw a huge change to the course with all the greens rebuilt and bunkers moved in line to make them hazards a few years ago and this will be the latest spin with the new layout. One or two minor modifications have been made to the track in the last year and the par 72 course now stretches to 7,569 yards so it is a fair length.
The dynamics of the course haven’t changed too much. Nicklaus likes his tracks to be a test with the second shot but the rough has been grown a little longer this week and is at four inches, which with relatively new greens which will be firm, is quite impactful. That might make a little more of a premium on hitting fairways but they aren’t the toughest to hit. Scrambling is often a key statistic around these very small greens. The fact they are still relatively new might bring poor putters into the game.
The Field
This is a Signature Event which means that the field is one of the strongest we will get outside of a major on the PGA Tour although one or two recognisable names aren’t here which is a bit of a shame. The world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler is here though and recent winners with a tee time include Viktor Hovland, Billy Horschel and the man who has won twice in the last decade in Patrick Cantlay.
Other leading lights from America include Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger and the Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. The European charge would have been expected to be spearheaded by Rory McIlroy but he is having the week off which means that Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg and Sepp Straka join Hovland. International players in the field include Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners and Sungjae Im.
Market Leaders
Just as he was last week where he failed to deliver, the defending champion and USPGA Championship winner Scottie Scheffler is the favourite to retain his crown this week. He is no bigger than 14/5 to come out on top here and with the ideal skill set that is no surprise. He defends the title for the first time this week though and the US Open is on the horizon so there are enough reasons to pass him over should you wish to.
Collin Morikawa has surprisingly never won around here although he has been in the frame on a couple occasions and you would imagine that it is only a matter of time before he gets the job done given the fact that this is a second shot golf course and he is one of the better iron players in the game. He has gone very quiet since that incident with not doing press after collapsing in contention recently and I need to see his best form returning before I get involved again.
Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele come next in the betting at 18/1. Schauffele hasn’t hit the heights of a year ago but he tends to fare well on the tougher courses and there aren’t many tougher than this one. Thomas won the RBC Heritage and should be good enough to contend around here but he was fancied by many at the PGA Championship recently only to completely fluff his lines. That might be enough to put a few off.
Patrick Cantlay knows how to get the job done around here having won this tournament twice. He has also finished in the top five on two more occasions but has been relatively quiet this year by his high standards, even allowing for the fact that he has a trio of top 10 finishes on the season. One of those was at the Truist Championship three weeks ago and although he was another big name to miss the cut at Quail Hollow, his record here merits ultimate respect.
Main Bets
Sepp Straka feels like a pretty obvious bet this week. He has already won twice this season and the fact that his last win at the Truist Championship was a Signature Event we know he can handle himself in this company. He is second in strokes gained on approach this season, first in greens in regulation and second in proximity to the hole so he ticks pretty much every iron play box and that is so much of the game here. His putting has improved and when he rolls his rock well he can be hard to beat. He was T5 here a year ago so we know he is getting to grips with the track and with a pair of wins and two more top 10s this term I fancy a strong showing from the Austrian.
I’m also expecting to see a strong showing from Si Woo Kim too. The Korean arrives here in decent form and he was in the mix at the PGA Championship a couple of weeks ago. He particularly seems to enjoy this course since the renovation of it. In four attempts since then his worst finish was T15 so there is clearly something about this course which fits his eye. Kim has made the top 20 in four of his last six starts and his iron play is improving in that time. He doesn’t hit the heights on the season statistics because of a poor start to the campaign but he is coming good at a good time for him and I think he’s a decent bet here.
Outsiders
Akshay Bhatia probably hasn’t hit the heights of last season where he picked up a title this term but he has played well enough to have three top 10s on his season including at the Genesis Invitational and The Players Championship which are events in a similar mould to this one. That tells us that these Signature tournaments inspire him which is never a bad thing. Although things have gone a little quiet for Bhatia recently, he went well for three rounds last week before it got away from him in the last 18 holes and he opened the Truist Championship with a 63. He just needs to put that final round together and I’ll pay to see if he can do it here on a course he was T22 last year.
Rickie Fowler keeps on catching my eye but he is just struggling to close out events at the minute. That was the case again last week where he was in the logjam behind the final ground going into the last round but was one of many who couldn’t get the job done on Sunday. He doesn’t come in here with top 20 finishes in his last two regular PGA Tour events though so he is definitely heading in the right direction. He has four top 10 finishes around here too so we know that he can tame this tough course. If he can hang tough on Sunday this time around there is nothing to suggest that he can’t go well here.
Tips
Back S.Straka to win The Memorial Tournament (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-6)
Back S.Woo Kim to win The Memorial Tournament (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-6)
Back A.Bhatia to win The Memorial Tournament (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with William Hill (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back R.Fowler to win The Memorial Tournament (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Spreadex (1/5 1-6)
