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Golf Glance: the Memorial’s $20M purse draws elite field

May 28, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Scottie Scheffler walks from the second tee during the final round of the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Charles Schwab Challenge (Emiliano Grillo)
THIS WEEK: the Memorial Tournament, Dublin, Ohio, June 1-4
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,571 yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $3.6M)
Defending Champion: Billy Horschel
FedEx Cup leader: Jon Rahm
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming on ESPN+: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Twitter: @MemorialGolf
NOTES: This is the 33rd event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season and the eighth designated event. … The field includes seven of the top 10 and 38 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … The only player to successfully defend at the Memorial was Tiger Woods (1999-2001). Horschel, who will attempt to join him, has only two top-10s this season and sits at 108th in the FedEx Cup Standings with 10 weeks remaining before the start of the playoffs. … Jason Day, who won two weeks ago at the Byron Nelson, lives in Columbus, Ohio, and is a member of Muirfield Village. His best finish in 13 previous starts was a T4 in 2020. … 2022 Jack Nicklaus Award recipient Chris Gotterup will make his 13th start on tour, with his best finish to date a T4 at the 2022 John Deere Classic. … Reigning U.S. Amateur winner Sam Bennett will make his professional debut. He finished T16 at the Masters. … Tom Lehman holds the tournament scoring record of 268 set in 1994. … Rickie Fowler has five top-10s through 15 starts this season. He had four combined top-10s over the previous three seasons. Fowler qualified for The Open Championship by moving into the top 50 in the world rankings with last week’s T6 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+600 at BetMGM) leads the tour with 11 top-10s season and has finished no worse than T12 in his past 14 starts on tour. He finished third at the Memorial two years ago. … Jon Rahm (+750) won the event in 2020 and held a six-shot lead after 54 holes in 2021 when he was forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test. He is attempting to become the first player to win five times in a season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17. … Patrick Cantlay (+1000) has two wins at the Memorial and four top-five finishes in six career starts. He also holds the tournament scoring average record of 69.96 among players with at least 10 rounds played since 1983. … Rory McIlroy (+1200) is making his 12th start at the Memorial, with his best finish thus far a T4 in 2016.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: RBC Canadian Open, Toronto, June 8-11

LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play (Pajaree Anannarukarn)
THIS WEEK: Mizuho Americas Open, Jersey City, N.J., June 1-4
Course: Liberty National Golf Club (Par 71, 6,656 yards)
Purse: $2.75M
Defending Champion: Inaugural event
Race to the CME Globe leader: Lydia Ko
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. ET; Saturday, 5-8 p.m.; Sunday, 5-7:30 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Streaming: Sunday, 4:30-5 p.m. ET (golfchannel.com)
Twitter: @MizuhoLPGA
NOTES: This is a crossover event with the AJGA. The 120-player LPGA field will compete in a stroke-play format while the juniors will play a Stableford format. After the 36-hole cut to the top-50 and ties, 24 AJGA juniors will each be grouped based on scores with two LPGA players for the final two days. … Michelle Wie West, who stepped away from competition last year, will serve as the tournament host. … Liberty National played host to the 2017 Presidents Cup and was a part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs multiple times. … Jessica Korda is taking an indefinite leave from competition due to a back injury. Her sister, Nelly, is also not in this week’s field due to a back injury.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: ShopRite LPGA Classic, Galloway, N.J., June 9-11.

Champions Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship (Steve Stricker)
THIS WEEK: Principal Charity Classic, Des Moines, Iowa, June 2-4
Course: Wakonda Club (Par 72, 6,851 yards)
Purse: $2M (Winner: $300,000)
Defending Champion: Jerry Kelly
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stricker
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 7-9 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-5 p.m. (All times Golf Channel)
Twitter: @PCCTourney
NOTES: Stricker is seeking his third consecutive victory after winning the first two majors of the year. … Bernhard Langer will make another attempt to break his tie with Hale Irwin with 45 all-time victories on the Champions Tour. … Stewart Cink eagled the final hole to finish third in his Champions Tour debut last week.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: American Family Insurance Championship, Madison, Wisc., June 9-11

LIV Golf League
LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf D.C. (Individual: Harold Varner; Team: Torque GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Valderrama, Andalucia, Spain, Jun 30-Julu 2

–Field Level Media

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