Memorial Tournament Tips

The Memorial Tournament was founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus and is played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

There are two golf courses located at Muirfield Village, The Country Club at Muirfield and the signature Muirfield Village Golf Club, where the Memorial Tournament is held annually.

Muirfield Village Golf Club has hosted several national championships and international team competitions including the 1992 U.S. Amateur, the 1987 Ryder Cup, the 1998 Solheim Cup, the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2013 Presidents Cup.

Course Overview

Muirfield Village was founded and designed by Jack Nicklaus and officially opened in May 1974. It is named after Muirfield in Scotland where he won the first of his three British Open titles. His victory at Muirfield in 1966 completed the first of his three career Grand Slams.

One of the main features of the tournament is a yearly induction ceremony honouring past golfers. A plaque for each honouree is installed near the clubhouse at Muirfield. Nicklaus himself was the honouree in 2000.

In June 2014, the PGA Tour approved a resolution to grant the winner a three-year playing exemption, one more than other regular Tour events and on a par with winners of the World Golf Championships, The Tour Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Muirfield Village GC is a 7,300 yard+ Par 72 with 71 bunkers and water in play on 11 holes. Like most of Nicklaus’ designs, the challenge increases as you near the hole. Muirfield Village is a proper test of golf and a good warm-up event for the US Open. The fairways are fairly generous but the rough is demanding.

The greens are tough and it’s a tricky place to get up-and-down. This is again one of those weeks where accuracy will win over power and a good scrambling game won’t go astray. Expect players in the mix to have a healthy percentage of greens in regulation with first class putting and a low scoring average on the four gettable Par 5s.

2020 Memorial Tournament | Jon Rahm

Winning Score -9 (279)

Last year, Jon Rahm secured his 4^th PGA Tour victory by winning the Memorial Tournament. He signed for a final round +3 (75) for a -9 (279) total, three strokes clear of his nearest rival Ryan Palmer. His final round was not without drama when on the 16^th hole he was given a two-shot penalty when his ball moved while addressing the shot.

His victory meant he took over the top spot in the world rankings from Rory McIlroy. In doing so, he joined Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach No. 1 in the world.

Tee-to-green is where all the magic happened for the Spaniard. He topped the pile in the Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green category which equated to a gain of 15.462 strokes for the tournament or just over 87% of his overall gain. Other stats for the week include T6 for Driving Accuracy, 66^th for Driving Distance, T4 for GIR and 32^nd in Strokes Gained Putting.

2019 Memorial Tournament | Patrick Cantlay

Winning Score -19 (269)

Last year, Patrick Cantlay captured his second PGA Tour title wining by two strokes from Adam Scott. He closed with an impressive bogey free final round -8 (64) to finish on a score of -19 (269) for the week.

It was Cantlay’s first victory since winning the Shriner’s Hospitals Open in November 2017 and earned him a handshake from tournament host and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.

Cantlay finished 2^nd in the Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green category gaining an impressive 14.566 strokes on the field average for the week. This accounted for three-quarters of his overall gain. His approach play was dialled-in finishing 5^th for the Strokes Gained Approach-The-Green stat. He also finished inside the Top 10 for Strokes Gained Putting, but this only accounted for 25% of his overall gain. Other stats for the tournament include T51 for Driving Accuracy, 4^th for Driving Distance, T11 for GIR and 3^rd for Putts per GIR

2018 Memorial Tournament | Bryson DeChambeau

Winning Score -15 (273)

In 2018, Bryson DeChambeau emerged victorious, beating Byeong Hun An and Kyle Stanley in a playoff. DeChambeau, the 54 hole leader, bogeyed the last hole for a final round -1 (71) and -15 (273) overall. It was his second win on Tour having won the John Deere Classic the previous year.

Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green (12th) contributed 56% of DeChambeau’s strokes gained on the field average while Strokes Gained Putting (6th) accounted for the balance (44%). Other key stats for the week include T58 Driving Accuracy, 4th Driving Distance, T12 for GIR and T27 in Putts per GIR.

2017 Memorial Tournament | Jason Dufner

Winning Score -13 (275)

The 2017 winner, Jason Dufner, captured the title by 3 strokes from Anirban Lahiri and Rickie Fowler for his 5th PGA Tour victory. He joined tournament host Jack Nicklaus as the only Ohio-born winners of the Memorial.

On his way to victory, Dufner set the 36-hole scoring record but undid much of his good work with a +5 (77) on the Saturday. A final round -4 (68) with two lengthy weather delays, was enough to get the job done.

Winning Score -13 (275)

Dufner’s game tee-to-green was sublime. He gained an impressive 16.532 strokes over the field average for the week in Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green. He finished with a negative Strokes Gained Putting losing a total -0.368 to the field. The negative stat was down to his poor showing in the third round when he shot a +5 (77). Other stats for the week include 29th in Driving Distance, T7 in Driving Accuracy, 1st in GIR and T7 in Putts per GIR.

Memorial Tournament Winning Formula

The following table details the Average Strokes Gained in each of the key strokes gained categories for the past four champions of the Memorial Tournament.

Graphing the above Average Strokes Gained gives a visual check on the likely key areas required for success at this week’s Memorial Tournament.

The Memorial Tournament Tips

Collin Morikawa 16/1 (E/W) – this is his second look at Muirfield Village having finished a modest T48 last year. Has 5 x Top 10’s from 16 starts this season including a victory in the WGC Workday Championship. Followed up a T8 at the recent PGA Championship at Kiawah Island with a T14 in last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge. The tee-to-green monster features 6^th in this week’s Stats Analysis, he is also 6^th on Tour for Birdie Average and 1^st for GIR. The California native is an exceptional talent and always worth a look every time he tees it up. Willing to overlook Event Form based on other compelling arguments.

Corey Conners 33/1 (E/W) – sticking with the Canadian golfer again this week. Finished T22 last year in only his second look at Jack’s place. Has 15 x Top 25’s from 22 starts this season including a T17 in PGA Championship and a T20 in last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge. Around Colonial he was 8^th in SG: Tee-To-Green and 9^th in SG: Approach-The-Green. The ball-striking maestro places inside the Top 15 in this week’s Stats Analysis. History tells us that you don’t necessarily need a red-hot-putter to get the job done this week which is a plus for the 29 year old. Only a matter of time before he adds to his maiden victory at the 2019 Valero Texas Open. Good each way value.