DUBLIN, Ohio — It’s not the fifth major, but the Memorial Tournament is held in high regard among PGA Tour players.
And not just because Jack Nicklaus is the host.
Muirfield Village Golf Club, rated No. 15 in the United States by Golf Digest, is a favorite on tour, the hospitality is considered as good as any tournament all season — milkshakes, anyone?! — and the perks of being a winner can make a player’s career.
Winning at Jack’s place brings a three-year tour exemption, not the standard two for other PGA Tour events, as well as a hefty $1.5 million payday, and a handshake from Nicklaus behind the 18th green on Sunday.
At the 1981 Memorial, former tour pro Mark Hayes said, “One day I think [the Memorial] will be bigger than Augusta.” While that hasn’t come to fruition, the first week of June is a staple on the PGA Tour’s must-see calendar of events.
Three Who Could Win
■ Dustin Johnson: You know you’re in another world when back-to-back finishes of T12 and T13, as Johnson had at the Players Championship and the Byron Nelson, are considered out of form. But expectations are ratcheted up a notch when you’re the top-ranked player in the world and you’ve won six times since last year’s U.S. Open, including three straight victories in the spring. Johnson has two top-five finishes at the Memorial.
■ Jordan Spieth: In four Memorial appearances, Spieth never has missed the cut, finishing T63, T19, T3, and T57. His scoring average in 16 career rounds at Muirfield Village is 71.13, just outside the top 10 — and that includes a third-round 82 in 2013. Spieth’s been inconsistant this season, but he’s coming off a second-place finish last week at Colonial and seems primed to win now that he’s rediscovered his smooth putting stroke.
■ Jon Rahm: The last three winners at Muirfield Village have been first-time winners. Rahm wouldn’t be able to continue that streak, but a victory this week would be just the second win of the talented Spaniard’s career in his first trip to the Memorial. Since turning pro after last year’s U.S. Open, Rahm has risen all the way to No. 9 in the world. In 21 events as a professional, Rahm has eight top fives.
Three Who Won’t Win
■ Steven Bowditch: The Australian has two career wins on the PGA Tour, most recently in 2015 when he peaked at 54th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he has since tumbled to unforeseen depths. Dating to January, Bowditch has missed 14 consecutive cuts, tumbling to 816th in the world. The number of rounds in the 80s since 2016 is staggering — 14. Through his struggles, the good-humored Bowditch has kept a lighthearted attitude.
■ Kyle Reifers: The hometown kid, a Dublin native who played Muirfield Village growing up, tied for 20th last year, his career-best finish at the Memorial. Reifers, always a sentimental favorite, is a streaky player — eagles, birdies, and others. His putting is suspect, and on Muirfield’s treacherous greens, it’s hard to win if you aren’t exquisite. Reifers currently sits 140th in the FedEx Cup standings.
■ Vijay Singh: The 54-year-old Fijian, already a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, enters the Memorial in good form after missing his previous seven cuts. He contended at The Players Championship, and last week finished runner-up to Bernhard Langer in the Senior PGA Championship. Singh, the 1997 Memorial champion, has finished inside the top 10 six times in 23 starts at Muirfield Village. He tied for 11th last year, shooting 10-under par, but topping a world-class field at 54 years old seems to be a stretch.
X-factor
■ The par-5 15th hole: With a difficult finishing triumvirate looming, No. 15 presents a significant opportunity for the leader or chasers to create a Sunday roar. The par 5 routinely is one of the easiest holes of the week, yielding a surplus of birdies and eagles. Play too aggressive, though, and a high score can come into play, thanks to a narrow fairway, a creek that crosses 100 yards from the green, and a severely sloped putting surface with a greenside bunker to the right.
Contact Kyle Rowland at: krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110, or on Twitter @KyleRowland.
First Published May 31, 2017, 4:20 a.m.
