The Golden Bear is the host again this year and has some changes in store for the TOUR and world’s best players.
Check it out:
46th Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village Golf Club
Dublin, Ohio
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,543 |
| Par: | 72 (36-36) |
| Greens: | 007 Bentgrass; 5,000 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | Tournament speed; brand-new greens haven’t been in the ground 11 months. |
| Rough: | Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and rye at four inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards | 68/13 (water in play 13 holes). |
| Architects: | Jack Nicklaus (1974). |
| Course Record: | 61; John Huston (1996). |
| Tournament Record: | 20-under, 268; Tom Lehman (1994). |
| 2021 Purse: | $9.3 million; $1.674 million and 550 FedExCup points (winner). |
Notes:
- Field of 121.
- Top 65 and ties play the weekend.
- Muirfield Village Golf Club has hosted every event.
- Invitational field, expanded purse and winner exemption.
2020-2021 Season Winners
*- First-time winner
**- First-time winner AND rookie winner
| Event | Winner |
| Safeway Open | Stewart Cink |
| 120th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Corales Punta Cana Championship | Hudson Swafford |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Sergio Garcia |
| Shriners Hospitals for Children | Martin Laird (playoff) |
| CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK | Jason Kokrak* |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Patrick Cantlay |
| Bermuda Championship | Brian Gay |
| Vivint Houston Open | Carlos Oritz* |
| 84th Masters Tournament | Dustin Johnson |
| The RSM Classic | Robert Streb |
| Mayakoba Golf Classic | Viktor Hovland |
| Sentry TOC | Harris English |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Kevin Na |
| The American Express | Si Woo Kim |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Patrick Reed |
| Waste Management Phoenix Open | Brooks Koepka |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Daniel Berger |
| The Genesis Invitational | Max Homa |
| WGC – Championship at The Concession | Collin Morikawa |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Bryson DeChambeau (2) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Justin Thomas |
| The Honda Classic | Matt Jones |
| WGC- Match Play | Billy Horschel |
| Corales Puntacana | Joel Dahmen* |
| Valero Texas Open | Jordan Spieth |
| 85th Masters Tournament | Hideki Matsuyama |
| RBC Heritage | Stewart Cink (2) |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Cameron Smith/Marc Leishman |
| Valspar Championship | Sam Burns |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | KH Lee |
| 103rd PGA Championship | Phil Mickelson |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Jason Kokrak (2) |
Check out HORSES FOR COURSES for more details and angles for this week.
Previous Winners
(*Playoff)
| Year | Winner | Score | Notes |
| 2020 | Jon Rahm | -9 | Closed with 75 and won by three hahahaha. Dominant. |
| 2019 | Patrick Cantlay | -19 | Bogey-free 64 to close to win by two. Lowest final round winning score; missed tournament record by a shot. |
| 2018 | Bryson DeChambeau | -15 | Won first-ever three man playoff after three putting the 72nd hole. Defeated Byeong-Hun An and Kyle Stanley. |
| 2017 | Jason Dufner | -13 | Set 36-hole record; Posted 77 in Round 3 and still won by three. |
| 2016 | William McGirt | -15 | Playoff winner over Jon Curran. First TOUR victory. |
| 2015 | David Lingmerth | -15 | Playoff winner over Justin Rose. First TOUR victory. |
| 2014 | Hideki Matsuyama | -13 | Playoff winner over Kevin Na. First TOUR victory. |
Facts and Figures:
| Lowest Rounds 2020: (entered this week) | 66; multiple players. |
| Defending Champion(s): | None entered. |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None entered. |
| First Time – TOUR: | Rose 2010 joins the others mentioned above as most recent. |
| First Time – Event: | Hideki Matsuyama is the only one besides the inaugural winner Roger Maltbie in 1976. |
| Odd Fact: | Only three of the last 16 winners have won by three shots or more. |
| Odd Fact II: | Last three winners have needed no more than three tries before winning. |
Quick Thoughts
Jack’s back and his MVGC is dressed up and ready to go.
I’ve written enough about this in HORSES FOR COURSES and posted a PGATOUR.COM article in my OAD column so don’t make me rehash it all here.
I remember when the regrassed the greens Valspar. Ripped out the old put in the new. They were FIRM and SLOW. Can’t cut new greens down like you can with mature greens so I’d expect that again this week. I’d expect head scratching because of the speed, the new hole locations and the general difficulty of learning a new layout.
Let’s find guys who are tough, grind out some pars and can find GIR.
Par-5 scoring should provide the relief with four chances to make up ground.
Those who know they won’t have to putt lights out this week should have pep in their step and that’s my angle this week.
Last Week: Charles Schwab Challenge
Great duel on Sunday as the top two were never challenged from the B Flight. I’m not happy with myself as I didn’t have Kokrak on my radar as I let the PGA Championship cloud my judgment. Lived. Learned. Moving on.
Jordan Spieth (+1000): His record and current form suggests nothing but first choice this week. He knows the place inside and out and people forget it’s the Byron Nelson where he struggles. He’s not struggling anywhere and is the man to beat this week. And he was beaten with a 54 hole lead! Solo second. Bravo Jason Kokrak!
Justin Thomas (+1400): Couple of days off last weekend to recalibrate should help. Played three great rounds before limping home last year with 71. I’ll save him for the emotional return to Memorial, if he’s entered, to honor his late grandfather. T40 and not happening at the moment.
Collin Morikawa (+1400): Some price this but he had no fear last June as he should have won the event.Putter let him down the last two holes but his ball-striking was fantastic. Not much value here but I expect another top 10. Expectation not met: T14.
Daniel Berger (+2000): He’s defended before so he won’t be bothered by the extra duties. Before last year, he had zero success at CCC so I’m interested to see if last year was pent up juice or what. I’m passing. T20 so he definitely likes it here.
Abraham Ancer (+2000): The first win is right around the corner. History is against him clearly this week but he’s hitting it great. Across the board, win, Top 10, Top 20. 67-67 close for T14 was impressive but only garnered one winner from three.
Tony Finau (+2200): Never missed in five tries, runner up 2019. Top 10, Top 20. Splitsville T20.
Patrick Reed (+2200): Texas man closed crazily last weekend so I’d expect a carryover. Top 10 and Top 20 as well. 0-2 as 74 Friday wiped out 68 to open. L. L.
Will Zalatoris (+2500): Another week at home after T17 at TPC Craig Ranch and ANOTHER top 10 major finish hahahaha. Take the top 20 money and run. L. Wall hit. WD pretournament this week. Caution.
Corey Conners (+2500): Ball-striking playing field will level out if the place is soaked so that’s not to his advantage either. T20, solid. Again.
Scottie Scheffler (+2500): Show me this week and I won’t hesitate down the road. MC and youth continues to be young.
Joaquin Niemann (+2500): T32 or better in three starts here. Top 20. Another L, T50.
Justin Rose (+2800): Inspired by Phil? Perfect landing spot after T8 last weekend as he’s posted 14-under and 20-under in two of his last three visits from 2018. Across the board. L. L. W.
Sungjae Im (+2800): The Korean double in DFW??? T10 on debut last year in a deep field. It’s not that easy, is it? MC, nope, not that easy.
Brian Harman (+3000): Last seven here are all T31 or better. Top 20 and run. T8. W.
33-1 or worse
Charley Hoffman (+4000): Playing so well and rakes in the state of Texas. Fits the veteran profile for a winner here as well. Top 10. Top 20. T3 cashes a pair of tickets.
Gary Woodland (+4500): One back after 54 holes last year. Hasn’t put to back-to-back weeks together on TOUR in a bit. Pass. T14, gaining on it! Noted.
Emiliano Grillo (+5000): Small greens at Harbour Town didn’t bother him as he finished T2 to Cink. Rattled off T23-3rd-T19 before MC in the return last year. Top 10. Top 20. T8, two more winners. That’s better.
Matt Kuchar (+6000): No distractions like Palmer this week! Top 10. Top 20. Anddddddddddddddd give those back…T50.
Ryan Palmer (+6600): You know why! Top 10 or bust. Bust. T32.
Harold Varner III (+8000): 36 hole leader last year and T2 at Harbour Town on tiny greens. Top 20. Blew a tire on Sunday, T32, L.
Russell Knox (+9000): Nothing worse than T24 here and cashed three straight on TOUR. Top 20. Great week to MC. L.
Peter Uihlein (+12500): Top 10. Top 20. MC. Enough of this. LL
Rory Sabbatini (+12500): Top 10. Top 20. T20 or better in his last five here. Bad weekend for 73-75 after 3-under thru 36. L L.
Troy Merritt (+12500): Top 10. Of his last three, he’s cashed twice in the top 10. Of his last four, he’s cashed thrice in the top 10. 7th. W. Nice one here.
Joseph Bramlett (+20000): Season best T7 TPC Craig Ranch on Bent. Do it again. Top 10. Top 20. Quick season! MC. LL.
Danny Lee (+25000): Dallas Danny Lee has sub 70 average here and cashed seven straight before the pandemic edition. T40 isn’t sexy but making the cut probably helped in most formats.
This Week – 46th Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide
Jon Rahm (+1000): You saw what happened last week. Same big favorite, same little price. Some will argue that he destroyed this track last year, one nobody had seen before in the way it was set up, and that’s fair. I also remember him pretty hot at Kiawah. Save him for Torrey Pines.
Jordan Spieth (+1400): The form is awesome. The only hiccup was Kiawah Island (T30) as the rest have been top 10s. Now, going close at home last week, taking next week off and then the US Open? That would seem a natural checking out point to me. I’ll point out he’s played this event every year since 2013 so he’s conditioned for this. Top 10. Top 20.
Rory McIlroy (+1600): Not at this price. Not at this track. He also WD from the Wednesday Pro-Am. Better check that out before you dive in. I’m sitting this one out.
Justin Thomas (+1600): No value here but it’s better than the normal +1000 that we would get with him in form. He’s not, he said as much today in his presser. Grandma moved to North Carolina so she won’t be there rooting him on. Two things happen for me and they are both extremes so I’m out.
Collin Morikawa (+1600): The days of upper 20s are long gone folks and they should be. This dude has been contending for 18 months and some weeks can’t make anything. Let’s hope this isn’t one! I prefer him on Bentgrass to anything so I’ll have a bite at this number and run him Top 10 and Top 20 as well.
Bryson DeChambeau (+1800): Jack ain’t gonna let that happen, fam. Sorry not sorry.
Viktor Hovland (+1800): 1st in scoring average. 5th in strokes-gained total. Impossible to ignore that. He’ll be happy they changed the course after 77-79 on the weekend last year. These kids don’t have the notes, scar tissue or memories to block out. Hell, they’re playing most of these courses for the first or second time and killing it. No way am I talking you out of him this week.
Xander Schauffele (+2200): He’s going to an arm lock putter this week according to Colt Knost. He’s ninth on TOUR in Strokes-Gained: Putting. I mean…
Patrick Cantlay (+2200): Should have been a course for him to feast on with his past record. Saw glimpses of his game returning after FOUR MC in a row at Kiawah Island. Catching him on the up? Waiting for Torrey? Better value for me down below.
Hideki Matsuyama (+2500): Like him more every minute and this price is easier to digest than a few above. It’s no surprise he came back from Japan in less than stellar form. Last two events he’s played are brand new greens to him so what’s three in a row? Took last week off as well. Paint the Top 10 and Top 20.
Tony Finau (+2800): Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Top 20 machine so top 20 ticket.
33-1 or worse
Corey Conners (+3300): Worst finish in his last eight is T21. Played his college golf in Ohio. 7th in scoring average. Across the board, Win-T10-T20.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+3300): Might be too much meat on the bone, especially if wet. Played it great when it was burned out last year. Pass.
Patrick Reed (+3300): Backed up his last MC with a T6 at Quail Hollow, which is no easy loop. I’d expect another bounce back this week but T20 is plenty.
Louis Oosthuizen (+3500): Leading putter on TOUR on brand-new greens should help. Great putters putt great. Seems like when he plays, he’s in the mix. Never won in the States. Top 20.
Shane Lowry (+4500): Killed it off the tee at Kiawah so that’s encouraging. So is his form coming off a season-best T4 on an impossible PGA Championship. Across the board.
Cameron Smith (+4500): I still have RED ASS from the PGA Championship. I know it’s not the way to bet, got it. His strength is on and around the greens. I’m not heading down that path this week.
Keegan Bradley (+4500): That’s more like it. Great run of golf over the last three months with eight of his last nine T30 or better. Top 10 and Top 20.
Charley Hoffman (+5000): Interesting bystander this week as red-hot form meets terrible course history. I bet he was celebrating when he saw they were renovating. Of his 11 starts he’s hit the top 25 once. I’ll let you show me the way.
Sam Burns (+5000): WD during the PGA. Took a week off and is back. I’ll wait and see.
Gary Woodland (+5000): T14 or better in three of his last six, including 5th and T6 at Quail and Valero, two big ball parks. Top 10, Top 20.
Kevin Streelman (+6000): Not crazy about that number but backing up your first top 10 in a major with a top 20 at Colonial doesn’t scream let-down to me. Prefers bent and blue and that’s the recipe this week. Top 20.
Marc Leishman (+6600): He’s on 10 straight here.
Rickie Fowler (+6600): Missed a putt on 18 at the PGA Championship that would have gotten him in the Masters next year. He’ll know all the ins and outs of the redesign as he’s big friends with Jack. Top 10. Top 20.
Emiliano Grillo (+7000): Feels like he’s in here every week! Two-putt pars are great this week! Top 10. Top 20.
Patton Kizzire (+10000): Back to back T3 on Bentgrass. Top 20.
Long Shots: Do Whatcha Like
Troy Merritt +12500
Doug Ghim +12500
Lucas Glover +15000
Talor Gooch +15000
KH Lee +16000
Patrick Rodgers +25000
Rafa Cabrera Bello +25000
Ben An +30000
Adam Long +30000
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out through Twitter (@mikeglasscott) or email me: mikeglasscott@gmail.com.
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