Now scheduled before the U.S. Open, the Memorial Tournament will serve as a suitable preparation for the challenging conditions that competitors will encounter at Pinehurst No. 2 the following week.
The field will be restricted to 73 golfers because this is a flagship event, with the top 50 players and ties, which includes players within 10 strokes, making the cut. The Travelers’ game the week after the U.S. Open will be a no-cut tournament, making this the final flagship event of the season with a cut. Robert MacIntyre, the winner of last week’s tournament, will miss this one after winning the Canadian Open with his father in the winner’s seat.
In between this week’s competition and the RBC Canadian Open, a few players in the field will be accruing flight miles as they travel to U.S. Open qualifying events. Adam Scott is trying to maintain his run of appearing in major tournaments by staying at 60th in the global rankings after this week, after Cam Davis defeated him in a two-for-one playoff to qualify for the U.S. Open.
Muirfield Village Golf Club is a constantly changing challenge for players on the PGA Tour today. Over the years, Jack Nicklaus has made changes to the bunkers and redid the greens four years ago. Big hitters need to be accurate if they want the best shot into greens because several of the fairways narrow at the 320-yard mark. Despite the course’s length, shorter drivers of the ball have been able to contend here; Denny McCarthy’s two consecutive top-five performances serve as an excellent illustration.
Even if the driving distance does not increase year over year, my model will nevertheless give strokes acquired from tee to green additional weight. Gained strokes on golf courses longer than 7,400 yards will contribute to the average score on challenging Par 3s. A spot for course history will exist in my model.
Course information
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
Designed by: Jack Nicklaus
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,569 yards
Average green size: 5,000 square feet
Features: The most difficult set of Par 3s on any PGA Tour golf course. Given the length of the course, the small greens are appropriate given that the average green in regulation is far less than that of a typical PGA Tour stop. The 16th hole, a par 3 that boasted the highest scoring average of any par 3 on the PGA Tour in 2017, 2020, and 2023, has undergone renovations. The new tee box is located 30 yards to the right of the old one, and it alters both the green’s appearance of depth and angle. On the stimp meter, the bent grass greens run at 13 or higher. Four inches is the basic rough cut, and it will be a
Odds are from BetMGM and update live. Buy tickets to see your favorite team on StubHub.
Betting slip
This week, Collin Morikawa (+1400) will finally be hitting all the right notes with his swing. He was finally able to find consistency with his irons at the PGA Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge, having gained more than two strokes off the tee in every measured event since The Players Championship in May. In those two tournaments, he improved his approach by more than seven strokes overall. In 2020, he took first place here at the Workday Charity Open, and in 2021, he placed second at The Memorial. Last year, he was gaining almost five strokes on approach and was on fire, but he had to WD after hurting his back.
By all measures, Patrick Cantlay +2500 has not performed well this season. Despite this, he has two top four results in prestigious competitions. Cantlay often gained more than two strokes on the field off the tee in 2023 thanks to the driver, who was a weapon. Since The Sentry in January, he has not improved his tee game by more than two strokes in any given week. He has gained 1.2 or more strokes around the green in five consecutive games, indicating that his hands are still quite good. It is difficult to see Cantlay at this number in a venue where he has placed third the previous five years and won twice.
Since missing the cut at the Masters, Justin Thomas +3000 has been playing much better. Although he has not done very well here in the past, his style of play should well for this course. In the last three tournaments combined, he has improved his game by more than 1.1 strokes off the tee and more than 8.5 strokes around the green. Thomas was just a frigid putter away from making the cut at the Masters.
Sleepers
In three of his last four tournaments, Sam Burns +5000 has improved his tee score by more than 1.1 strokes. Over the course of his last ten rounds, he has improved his approach stroke total by more than 7.4 strokes, suggesting that he has finally found his game. He gained strokes in every category as he concluded T16 here.
With three top 18 finishes in his previous four competitions, Tony Finau +6500 has not dropped more than.3 strokes to the field on the greens and has been in contention. In his last two tournaments, he improved his approach total by over 12 strokes, and at the Charles Schwab Challenge, he drove the ball exceptionally effectively. The last two times he played at The Memorial, he improved his ball striking by more than ten strokes overall.
DFS Plays
$12,500 for Scottie Scheffler only improved by 2.8 strokes throughout the Charles Schwab Challenge approach. He had not gained more than three strokes on approach since February, so this was the first time. Since January, when he placed outside the top 10, he has not completed. In his last two attempts, he placed third here, so I do not see why you can not afford him this week.
Following his PGA Championship victory, Xander Schauffele $10,900 has made some intriguing statements this week. Some of the most honest remarks I have ever seen from a major winner came from him when he discussed his thoughts when playing No. 18 on his route to winning his maiden major championship. Despite improving by more than 4.5 strokes on approach in four of his previous five visits, he has not placed higher than eleventh in any of his previous six golf championships held here. nearly the course of his last two events, he has improved his ball striking by nearly 25 strokes.
Collin Morikawa $9,800 See above.
Patrick Cantlay $9,400 See above.
Justin Thomas $9,200 See above.
Wyndham Clark ($8,900) is now seeing a decline in his season. Although it is difficult to say for sure, the numbers seem to point to his back ailment from The Players Championship. Since the Houston Open, he has not improved his tee game by more than two shots, and since placing second at The Players Championship, he has not improved his approach game by more than.5 strokes in any competition. In addition, he has dropped strokes around the green in four of his last five competitions. Should he recover this week, it will come as a complete surprise.
Since the Masters, Max Homa ($8,700) has had trouble with his driver. His two consecutive top six results here indicate that he enjoys playing on the new greens, since he has improved his putting in each of his last two events by more than 10.5 strokes. I will take a chance that Homa will overcome his driver’s difficulties and recover from missing the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
8,600 for Jordan Spieth has improved their tee game by 1.9 or more strokes in four consecutive competitions. He battled with his iron game and putter at the Texas Open, which is why he has not finished in the top 10. Despite his good track record here, it is difficult to support him if the wrist ailment is the cause of his struggles.
Before he began to suffer in 2020, Byeong Hun An ($8,400) enjoyed playing in Muirfield Village early in his career, where he had four consecutive top 25 results. He returned to enjoying his golf at Muirfield Village as soon as he was able to regain his PGA Tour card, and in 2023 he improved his ball striking by over 7.3 strokes.
Sam Burns $8,300 See above.
In my model, Alex Noren appears to have lost $8,100 despite missing his cut last week. Before finishing T13 in 2021, he had performed well here and has had an outstanding season overall. His price this week is not great, therefore I am delaying utilizing him in some lineups.
Over the course of his last three tournaments, Russell Henley $8,000 has improved his approach stroke total by more than 11.5. Henley might be neglected in this price bracket, in my opinion. In seven of his past eight competitions, he has improved with his putter and shown great skill around the green.
At the RBC Canadian Open, Shane Lowry ($7,900) overcame a poor first round to reach the cut and perform well the following weekend. It was encouraging to see him make a small improvement, but he was never going to improve his putter game by more than nine shots as he did at the PGA Championship. In five of his last six events here, he has improved his approach score by more than 2.4 strokes.
Tony Finau $7,900 See above.
At last, Tom Kim $7,800 gained strokes at the Canadian Open. On the field, he improved by more than four strokes during the week. In his previous two competitions, he improved his round-the-green total by more than five strokes.
Keegan Bradley ($7,700) has finished in the top 21 three times in a row and has improved his game off the tee by more than 11 strokes in his last two competitions. In four of his past five events, he has improved his approach by more than three strokes. Having gained over 8.6 strokes in the last two years, he truly appreciates the new greens here.
Si Woo Kim ($7,700) has lost more than 12 strokes in his last three tournaments due to his putter struggles. He has finished in the top 18 here four times in a row, and in three of his previous four visits, he has improved his putter.
Since the Masters, Will Zalatoris’ $7,500 has not performed as well. Although he improved by more than 3.5 strokes on approach at the PGA Championship, in his last three competitions, he has lost a total of more than six strokes around the green. Despite his potential, I would not fade him, but I would be cautious about rostering him too much.
Billy Horschel ($7,400) has improved his strokes around the green in six of his previous six measured tournaments, so he enters the week in terrific shape. He placed eighth in the PGA Championship and won in Puntacana. In addition to his five other top-15 performances, he won here in 2022.
The Bezuidenhout Christiaan $7,300 has performed well here with three consecutive top 40 results, but missed the cut in the PGA Championship. He stands out in this pricing category because of his short game.
Low-priced options
Taylor Pendrith $6,700
Austin Eckroat $6,700
Adam Svensson $6,600
Lee Hodges $6,500
One and Done
Each week, we will pick in reverse order of the standings, and we can’t duplicate picks in the same week. Reference this spreadsheet tracking who we have used.
Standings
- Hugh Kellenberger: $7,250,018.63
- Brody Miller: $6,862,921.16
- Dennis Esser: $2,534,966
Esser: With two marquee events and a major championship positioned between them, the next three weeks will determine the fate of a lot of one-and-done players. This week presents Collin Morikawa with his strongest performance of the year thus far, and he gets to start at a location where he has excelled over the years.
Miller: The challenging aspect is that it is a flagship event, and I am running out of excellent top-star possibilities. Colin is not allowed to play. Hovland is still unable to be believed. It feels like the ideal Ludvig Aberg week because driving the ball is so important, but he did not play well at Valhalla because of his injured knee. Forget about it. Life is far too brief. When at Muirfield Village, give me Ludvig so he can meet his first big boy!
Kellenberger: Wyndham Clark, who did a great job at this tournament last year and has been hiding in the shadows for a bit, is my choice. He can make a good pounce at Muirfield Village.
(Photo of Justin Thomas: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
