PGA Tour 2023 - The Memorial Tournament

[Splatt]

G’day Golfers,

Get ready to buckle up because we’re back in designated event territory. That means all of the Tour’s big names will be teeing it up, but if I’m honest, this is probably one of the events that didn’t need designated status as it has always been a favourite amongst the Tour's most recognisable names, so they would have probably turned up anyway.

The Memorial Tournament is hosted by Jack Nicklaus and is one of the Tour’s longest-running events, debuting in 1976. The course opened only 2 years before it debuted on the PGA Tour and is a Jack Nicklaus/Desmond Muirhead design. Its name is not a play on one of the designer's surnames, its name is an homage to Muirfield, Scotland, where Nicklaus won one of his three Open Championships in 1966. Nicklaus's personality is all over this course and so is the man himself.



Muirfield Village GC is a par-72, 7,533-yard course that is known for its thick rough, firm greens and intimidating distance (in a general tournament, unlike most PGA Tour events, the 4 par-5’s are the only holes that have a scoring average below par). After its last major renovation in 2020, it gained 100 yards in length; in fact, the renovations started directly after the tournament with contractors starting as the competition was finishing up on the 18th.

 

 

Billy Horschel is the defending champ here after shooting a 13 under par in difficult conditions for a 4-shot victory over Aaron Wise. Horschel’s 3rd round score of 7-under 65 propelled him to the top of the leaderboard, but it was his steady final round that sealed the deal, including a 53-foot eagle from the back of the par-5 15th. Billy will no doubt be wanting to back up that performance with a title defence, but his form so far this year has been far from his usual self. He has played 15 events and missed 6 cuts, add to that no wins, runner-ups, and only 2 top-10 finishes, the odds are certainly stacked against Billy this year.

Some big names are teeing it up this week, including 10 of the WGC top-15 (but there’s no Michael Block, so is it really one of the strongest fields in golf??)

Field Highlights

·         Scottie Scheffler – Currently ranked number 1 in the world and playing like it. Interestingly, on the No Laying Up podcast this week they examined Scottie stroked gained stats and his putting is seriously below average, not that you would notice looking at his results. Last week he gained 0.65 strokes around the green, gained 1.81 strokes approach, gained 1.45 strokes off-the-tee, and lost 1.05 strokes putting. It’s really a testament to the rest of his game that he can lose that many strokes putting and still finish 3rd. Everyone else needs to watch out if his putting lines up with the rest of his game, because he may win everything in sight.
 

·         Jon Rahm – Rahm skipped last week after a disappointing T-50 finish at the PGA Championship. Rahm just didn’t look like his usual dominating self at the PGA, but after 4 wins on the PGA Tour this season and 2 on the DP World Tour, I think he can be forgiven for the occasional misstep. Driving distance will be important this weekend, but also driving accuracy, so if Rahm can put together a good swing off-the-tee then he’ll be one to keep your eye on.
 

·         Rory McIlroy – All eyes have been on McIlroy since he missed the cut at The Masters and then controversially skipped the next designated event. His first event back was a lacklustre T-47 at the Wells Fargo Championship, but he rallied himself and put together a great tournament at the 2nd major of the year, the PGA Championship, with a T-7 finish. He played some great golf during the final round and almost looked like putting together a comeback for the ages, but it never materialised. Like Rahm, if his driving is on point this week we should see him at the top of the leaderboard.
 

·         Patrick Cantlay – It’s hard to imagine Cantlay won’t be in the winner's circle soon. He has played 13 events this season with 12 cuts made, 11 top-25 finishes, 7 top-10 finishes, and 1 runner-up. That is a pretty impressive 22-23 season resume, add to that a win or two and I imagine he’ll consider it a successful season. He is trending in the right way towards his first win of the season with 3 top-10 finishes in his last 4 events, one of those was a designated event and one was a major.
 

·         Viktor Hovland – Ditto to Cantlay. If Hovland doesn’t win an event soon then there’s something wrong with the world of golf. Of the 15 events he’s played this year, Viktor is yet to miss a cut. He’s also played exceptionally well in the higher stakes events such as the majors and designated events. At The Masters, he finished T-7 and at the PGA Championship, he finished T-2, starting the last round in the final pairing with the eventual winner, Brooks Koepka.

The rest of the field can be found here.

This year’s Memorial tournament is set up to be a barn-buster. It normally is a great event in its own right, but this year's designated status has only elevated it to major-lite status.
There’s only 1 more event after this before the US Open, so the pros will surely be in their final stages of major prep.

Make sure you put your picks in.

 

May your drives find the fairway

 

SPLATT

[GolfSpy_APH]

I think this is the week for Cantlay.

No idea why for sure, but seems like a week he is well setup for.

[Splatt]

29 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

I think this is the week for Cantlay.

No idea why for sure, but seems like a week he is well setup for.

I agree. He's definitely trending towards it.

Maybe a win here and then in some serious contention at the US Open

[rkj427]

Personally, I am hoping for Rahm.

It was a huge disappointment when he had to withdraw while leading in the past, and I would like to see him get his just reward this year.

[Nick_D]

With Hovland being in the mix so often the last few weeks I'd love to see him finally finish one, he's my pick alongside Rickie. 

[DoubleBogeyDad]

My one and done picks were Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa, so have rooting interests there. I'd also love to see Hovland close one out in the US.

Edited June 1, 2023 by SpencerKelly
Typing is hard

[Splatt]

David Riley the first round leader at 5 under par.
Then we have Matt Wallace solo-2nd at 4 under, then 7 players (Danny Willet, Adam Hadwin, Mark Hubbard, Shane Lowry, Aaron Eckroat, David Lipsky, and Jordan Spieth) tied for 3rd at 3 under par.

You can't win it in round 1, but you can certainly play yourself out of the competition.
Looks like Billy Horschel won't be defending his title shooting a 12 OVER par in round 1.

[DoubleBogeyDad]

Yikes. Horschel strikes me as a guy that could absolutely psych himself out of playing well in a title defense. Especially considering it seemed to mean a lot to him to win at Jack's place last year.

[Splatt]

Say what you will about Horschel, but the man wears his heart on his sleeve:

You can see and hear how much golf means to him and how devastated he must feel after falling so short in round 1.
 

 

[Kenny B]

I admire him for coming out today and playing after that round yesterday.  Probably not going to happen, but I 'd like to see him shoot a low number today.

[RockinG430lst]

Fair play to Billy to come out and give that interview

A lot of players would have just skipped the media yesterday.

[Splatt]

10 hours ago, Kenny B said:

I admire him for coming out today and playing after that round yesterday.  Probably not going to happen, but I 'd like to see him shoot a low number today.

Even par 72 for Billy today.

He still missed the cut, but what a turn around

[Kenny B]

Look at Rickie!!  Hope he can continue his good play through the weekend.

[Rickp]

A lot of top golfers headed home for the weekend, let’s see what happens.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Haven't watched much but the highlights. 

Not that baby is sleeping time to watch a little!

[BringerofRain]

I too have not watched any golf but it’s not my fault the memorial is the weekend of Diablo 4 launch. 

[fixyurdivot]

Lost coverage early morning when TGC switched me to the Champions Tour and then onto the Mizuho.  I'd like to see Sei Woo Kim or Morikawa get the win.

[HeathS16]

I have enjoyed the golf this week.  Should be a good Sunday! 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Things are getting spicy! Rory with a lot of struggles. Scottie in the mix and the clubhouse and Denny leading the way with 9 to play. Should be a fun finish and one that I won't be staying awake for. 

[fixyurdivot]

I bench Harris English last week and he nearly wins.  I bench Denny McCarthy this week and he might win.  I suck at fantasy golf.

[DoubleBogeyDad]

Playoff finish! Didn't get to watch live but saw the highlights. Tough break for McCarthy with the lie in the rough on 18. Hovland looked really strong down the stretch, certainly played well enough to win. Some clutch putting on 18 and the playoff hole to take it down.

The Morikawa WD was not kind to my one and done. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Great finish and very happy to see Hovland pull this one out. 

Been so good for a while now and getting this win where other top names couldn't quite get it done should be a big boost to his confidence!

[Rickp]

Hovland wins in playoff!!!  He finally broke thru good for him, I think this is only the beginning for him.

[LICC]

It is amazing how Sheffler was by far the best in the field in ball striking and the worst in putting. He needs to figure out his putter fast.

[DoubleBogeyDad]

I could see Hovland ripping a few in short order here ala Schauffele and Finau last year.

[vandyland]

The course looked like it played so so hard. The greens very were firm and it seemed like if you missed the fairway you had almost no chance of holding greens. Felt like a true tournament test vs a lot of the TPC birdie fests. I wouldn't want to watch that every week but the Memorial has carved out a niche for itself.