World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and No. 3 Jason Day headline this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
Johnson, the current FedEx Cup leader, is trying to regain the form he possessed before his freak accident on the eve of the Masters Tournament. His last two starts have produced a T12 and T13, which is good for most, but not for him.
Day lives in the Columbus area, and he is a member at Muirfield Village. In his last start, he lost in a playoff at the Byron Nelson so his game is on the rise.
Reigning FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy has pulled out of this week’s Memorial due to lingering rib issues. His next scheduled start is now the U.S. Open in mid-June.
The betting field is loaded as usual with seven of the top 10 and 18 out of the top 30 in the OWGR.
A year ago, Jon Rahm was playing college golf and earned the prestigious Jack Nicklaus Award. Now, he’s the No. 12-ranked player in the world, and the Spaniard is hungry for his second win.
Ten players from last week’s BMW PGA Championship made the long trip to Ohio. That group includes Justin Rose, Ross Fisher, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Luke Donald, Russell Knox and Peter Uihlein.
Others that could contend at Muirfield Village are Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and defending champion William McGirt.
Muirfield Village Golf Club is the only course that has hosted the tournament. Built in 1974 by Jack Nicklaus, the first Memorial event was two years later and soon became one of the players’ favorite courses. The layout measures 7,392 yards and plays to a par 72.
Last year, McGirt picked up his first PGA Tour victory by outlasting Jon Curran in a playoff. Clutch par saves clinched the victory for the South Carolina pro who went the last 22 holes at Muirfield without a bogey. Persistence paid off for McGirt and after 165 starts on the PGA Tour, he finally broke through.
Six of Memorial’s past 13 champions have been international players. Before that, just three of the first 27 came from outside the United States.
Tiger Woods is the only player to claim repeat titles. Woods booked three straight victories from 1999-2001, but now he’s facing a different type of booking from a Florida police department.
TV Coverage: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET – Golf Channel. Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. – Golf Channel, 3-6 p.m. – CBS. Sunday, noon-2 p.m. – Golf Channel, 2:30-6 p.m. – CBS.
Current Memorial Tournament Golf Odds
Dustin Johnson +600
Jordan Spieth +1000
Jon Rahm +1150
Jason Day +1200
Hideki Matsuyama +1450
Adam Scott +1750
Rickie Fowler +2000
Brooks Koepka +2200
Justin Thomas +2750
Matt Kuchar +3000
Patrick Reed +3300
Kevin Kisner +3550
Tony Finau +3750
Byeong Hun An +4000
Phil Mickelson +4250
Kevin Chappell +4500
Billy Horschel +5000
Patrick Cantlay +5250
Webb Simpson +5500
Bud Cauley +5750
J.B. Holmes +6000
Brendan Steele +6250
Charl Schwartzel +6500
Emiliano Grillo +6750
Jason Dufner +7000
Keegan Bradley +7500
Shane Lowry +7777
Bill Haas +8000
Danny Lee +8250
Kevin Tway +8500
Kyle Stanley +8750
Marc Leishman +9000
Sean O’Hair +9050
Adam Hadwin +9250
Brian Harman +9500
Bubba Watson +10000
Gary Woodland +10500
Ollie Schniederjans +11100
Pat Perez +11500
Tommy Fleetwood +10000
William McGirt +10550
David Lingmerth +11000
Rafa Cabrera-Bello +12500
Si Woo Kim +12500
Ross Fisher +13000
Zach Johnson +13500
Charley Hoffman +14000
FIELD – Any Other Player +450
(Odds via BookMaker.eu)
Stud
DUSTIN JOHNSON +600 came close last year at the Memorial, missing out on the playoff by a single stroke. Since then, Johnson has elevated his game to another level; in fact, no one is better on the planet. The course should be a perfect fit for the long hitters this week. The driving areas are wide and the par 5s are easily reachable. Johnson takes advantage of his length and grabs his fourth win of the year.
Dud
Stay away from BUBBA WATSON +10000. Something is up with his game as he continues to struggle week after week. I mean, when is the last time you saw him at 100-1. He’s missed cuts in four of his last eight starts and until I see a change, I’m all OUT on Watson.
Flier
TOMMY FLEETWOOD +10000 plays most his golf on the other side of the pond, but he is a proven winner over there. He opened up a few of our eyes when he finished runner-up to Dustin Johnson at the WGC Mexico Championship earlier this year. The price is right for Fleetwood to thrive this week in Buckeye Country.
Check out the latest Memorial Tournament Golf Odds.
