The Muirfield Village Golf Club is known as “the house that Jack built” and is Jack Nicklaus’ signature course. It is also the site of this week’s PGA Tour stop for the Memorial Tournament that begins Thursday in Dublin, Ohio.
Field Level Media’s golf experts break down the field, which includes seven of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. They also provide the latest odds, wagering trends and best bets.
THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Dublin, Ohio, June 2-5
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,533 yards)
Purse: $12M (Winner: $2.16M)
Defending Champion: Patrick Cantlay
FedExCup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS)
PGA Tour Live: Daily feeds on ESPN+
Social Media: @MemorialGolf (Twitter)
NOTES
–Muirfield Village, which has played host to a PGA Tour event every year since 1976, underwent a significant renovation that was completed in 2021.
–This is one of three events with elevated status on the PGA Tour (The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational) that offer larger purses along with 550 FedEx Cup points and a three-year tour exemption for the winner.
–Bryson DeChambeau, who has withdrawn from his past two events while continuing to recover from wrist surgery, is hoping to play this week.
–Five of the past eight Memorials have been decided by a playoff.
–Bo Hoag will make his third consecutive start in the event as a sponsor exemption after finishing T13 last year. His grandfather, Robert Hoag, was involved with Nicklaus in establishing Muirfield Village Golf Club. Other sponsor exemptions include former FedEx Cup champion Brandt Snedeker and former Florida State star John Pak.
BEST BETS
–Jon Rahm (+1000 by BetMGM) won the event in 2020 and held a six-stroke lead after 54 holes last year before being forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test. He is the sportsbook’s biggest liability this week as the Spaniard leads with 7.9 percent of the bets and 14.1 percent of the handle backing him. Rahm has also been backed by 8.2 and 10.3 percent of the action, respectively, at +800 at DraftKings.
–Rory McIlroy (+1100) has three consecutive top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at the Masters. He opened the week at +1000 but has drawn a modest 4.2 percent of the bets and 3.5 percent of the handle.
–Cantlay (+1600), the 2011 Jack Nicklaus Award winner who also won the Memorial in 2019, is trying to join Tiger Woods (1999-2001) as the only players to win the event in consecutive years.
–Collin Morikawa (+2000) has five victories on Tour, three of which have come on Nicklaus-designed courses. One was the 2020 Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village, and he lost in a playoff against Cantlay last year. Morikawa is the second biggest liability at BetMGM as he has drawn 6.0 percent of the tickets and 8.5 percent of the bets.
–Jordan Spieth (+2000) has three top-10s including a victory in his past four starts. He has been backed by 6.0 percent of the handle at +2200 at DraftKings.
–Cameron Smith (+2200) ranks second on tour in scoring average (69.153) but has only made the cut twice in six previous event starts and has only broken par once in 16 rounds. He is also being offered at +2200 at DraftKings, where he is second in the field with 8.0 percent of the handle.
–Viktor Hovland (+2500) has drawn the third-most bets at BetMGM with 4.7 percent.
–Shane Lowry (+2500) has been backed by 7.5 percent of the handle, making him the third-biggest liability at BetMGM.
–Tour rookie Cameron Young (+3300) has three consecutive top-three finishes, including a T3 at the PGA championship, as he has risen to No. 30 in the world rankings. He has longer odds at +4000 at DraftKings, where he is fourth in the field with 5.9 percent of the handle backing him to win.
–Field Level Media