The Memorial Tournament Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Russell Henley birdied his final three holes at the Charles Schwab Challenge to force a playoff with Eric Cole at 12-under par. Then, Henley knocked his approach shot inside five feet and made birdie on the first playoff hole to win the event at an 18/1 pre-tournament price.
Defending event champion Ben Griffin shot Sunday’s low round of 65 to post 11-under and was the leader in the clubhouse for a long time on Sunday. Griffin was attempting to become the first back-to-back winner at Colonial since the legendary Ben Hogan did it at what became nicknamed “Hogan’s Alley” in 1953. He ended up tied for 3rd at 11-under with Mac Meissner and Alex Smalley. Rounding out the top 10 at 10-under and tying for 6th were Gary Woodland, Nico Echavarria, Michael Brennan, and J.J. Spaun.
This week, the PGA TOUR heads to Columbus, OH, for The Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Club.
World No. 1 and back-to-back Memorial winner Scottie Scheffler (3/1) returns to attempt a three-peat. A three-peat in the same event has not been done on the PGA TOUR since Steve Stricker accomplished the feat at the John Deere Classic in 2009-2011.
Rory McIlroy (10/1) returns to The Memorial for the first time since 2024 and still seeks his first career victory at “Jack’s place”.
Cameron Young (14/1) has won two big-time events in the last three months at THE PLAYERS Championship and Cadillac Championship.
Ludvig Åberg (16/1) finished 5th here on debut in 2024 and has five top 5 finishes in his last eight events on the PGA TOUR, while Xander Schauffele (17/1) comes into this week on solid form in his own right with five top 10 finishes in his last eight events.
Matt Fitzpatrick (20/1), Henley (22/1), and Si Woo Kim (22/1) both have recent top 5 finishes at Muirfield Village.
Patrick Cantlay (25/1) is a two-time winner (2019, 2021) here and is part of a list of former Memorial champions, including 2014 winner Hideki Matsuyama (45/1), 2010 winner Justin Rose (70/1), 2022 winner Billy Horschel (300/1), and 2013 winner Matt Kuchar (400/1)
The Event
The Memorial Tournament celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, as it was founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus at his “home course” Muirfield Village Golf Club. There is no title sponsor for the event, but Workday, a cloud computing and enterprise software company, took over as the presenting sponsor two years ago and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, based in Columbus, is the primary charitable beneficiary of the tournament.
Nicklaus first spoke of wanting to host his own tournament at the 1966 Masters Tournament and eventually made it a reality ten years later. Jack has always modeled this event after The Masters and golf viewers with a keen eye will notice various similarities between Muirfield Village and Augusta National.
Like the Masters, tradition is a major focal point at the Memorial. The event honors historical and accomplished figures in the game of golf. This year’s honorees are both World Golf Hall of Famers – 1979 PGA and 1981 U.S. Open champion David Graham and the late Allan Robertson, who was known as the “Champion Golfer of Scotland,” is considered to be one of the unofficial founders of The Open Championship.
The Memorial is a “Signature Event” containing only 72 players this year. It is one of three player-hosted tournaments, along with The Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, that feature a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties plus any player within 10 shots of the lead. With a total purse of $20 million, the winner receives $4 million and 700 FedEx Cup points.
The Field
72 players are in this week’s field at The Memorial Tournament:
The Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club serves as host for the Memorial Tournament and has done so every year since 1976. The course is in Dublin, OH, about 20 miles north of Columbus, where Jack Nicklaus played his collegiate golf at The Ohio State University. Nicklaus designed Muirfield Village, named after Muirfield, Scotland, where he completed his first grand slam in 1966 after winning the British Open, in 1974. The track plays as a Par 72 and will measure out at 7,569 yards.
After the 2020 event, Nicklaus oversaw an extensive course renovation that saw new tees added on five holes, a complete reconstruction of the green complexes with Bentgrass surfaces, and recontoured bunkers. The 15th hole was also completely rebuilt. This renovation also lengthened the course by close to 100 yards.
The course is still a tree-lined, parklands design and has played as the third most difficult course on the PGA TOUR last year at an average round score of 73.29 (+1.29 over par).
The Bentgrass fairways are generous (32.5-yard average fairway width), but trouble lurks with missing fairways as the mix of Kentucky Bluegrass, Ryegrass and Fescue rough will be around 4″ this week. Muirfield Village tends to favor power fade shots off the tee and players with high ball flights.
The sloping Bentgrass greens will be quick and will run about 13 on the stimpmeter. The firm greens are an average of 5,000 square feet (fifth smallest on the PGA TOUR). The layout consists of 68 bunkers (that have all been modified) and 12 water danger holes.
Muirfield Village is a classical, second-shot golf course.
While Memorial is a unique track, there are several Nicklaus designs on the PGA Tour that could provide some correlations:
- Annandale Golf Club – (Sanderson Farms Championship through 2013)
- Glen Abbey (2008, 2009, 2012, 2015-2018 RBC Canadian Open)
- Montreux GCC – Barracuda Championship
- Old Greenwood – 2020 Barracuda Championship
- PGA National – Honda Classic
- PGA West, Tournament Course – The American Express
- PGA West – Nicklaus Private (Humana Challenge through 2015)
- Sherwood Country Club – Thousand Oaks – (World Challenge through 2013 and 2020 ZoZo Championship)
- Valhalla Golf Club (2014 PGA Championship)
Aside from the Nicklaus design links, other courses that are more correlated to Muirfield Village include Augusta National, Innisbrook, Quail Hollow, TPC Potomac, Torrey Pines, Bay Hill, Olympia Fields, Oak Hill, Winged Foot, and Bethpage Black. PGA National and Glen Abbey have the best correlations of the Nicklaus designs.
Nicklaus widens the fairways to really test players on approach and on the greens. Here is what he said upon beginning the renovations in 2020:
“My belief is that tournament golf should be a test to find out who is the best golfer that week. Far too many tournaments have eliminated the rough and firmness of greens, and that is just not my idea of what the game of golf should be. So, I am going to stick with my old-fashioned beliefs about how the game of golf should be played and the way golf courses should be set up. The whole gamut of all shots is what the game of golf is all about. The game should challenge every facet of every club in the bag.”
A majority of the scoring at Muirfield comes on the four Par 5s. They make up the only four holes that play under par, residing in the 550–600-yard range. In the most recent renovation, the four Par 5s were each lengthened to make them more difficult to reach in two shots to make this set of Par 5s the most difficult on TOUR since 2020.
The closing stretch at Muirfield Village includes the 16th, a 218-yard Par 3 over water, the 17th, a big 503-yard Par 4 with a tight corridor off the tee, and the 18th, a 480-yard finishing hole that features an uphill dogleg with multiple hazards.
Here is the official Memorial Tournament scorecard:
WCMH-TV (NBC 4 in Columbus) provides an extensive, aerial, hole-by-hole look at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The Golden Bear himself takes us through the renovation process in this video provided by the PGA TOUR.
Weather
The AccuWeather forecast in the Columbus area shows warm and fairly calm conditions for most of the week, but a good chance for some showers during Sunday’s final round.
The Memorial Tournament Recent History/Winners
2025: Scottie Scheffler (-10/278); 14/5
2024: Scottie Scheffler (-8/280); 4/1
2023: Viktor Hovland (-7/281); 20/1*
2022: Billy Horschel (-13/275); 60/1
2021: Patrick Cantlay (-13/275); 22/1**
2020: Jon Rahm (-9/279); 22/1
2020: (Workday Charity Open) Collin Morikawa (-19/269); 30/1***
2019: Patrick Cantlay (-19/269); 18/1
2018: Bryson DeChambeau (-15/273); 50/1****
2017: Jason Dufner (-13/275); 66/1
2016: William McGirt (-15/273); 200/1*****
2015: David Lingmerth (-15/273); 250/1******
2014: Hideki Matsuyama (-13/275); 66/1*******
2013: Matt Kuchar (-12/276); 22/1
2012: Tiger Woods (-9/279); 9/1
2011: Steve Stricker (-16/272); 30/1
2010: Justin Rose (-18/270); 80/1
Playoff win over Denny McCarthy – *
Playoff win over Collin Morikawa – **
Playoff win over Justin Thomas – ***
Playoff win over Byeong-Hun An and Kyle Stanley – ****
Playoff win over Jon Curran – *****
Playoff win over Justin Rose – ******
Playoff win over Kevin Na – *******
Memorial Tournament Trends
- 11 of the last 16 Memorial winners were 11th or better after R1. (2023: Hovland 17th, 2022: Horschel 21st, 2018: DeChambeau 16th, 2016: McGirt 44th; 2014: Matsuyama 21st).
- 7 of the last 9 Memorial winners had at least one Top 5 finish within four lead-up starts to the event.
- 9 of the last 13 Memorial winners have been Americans.
- 6 of the last 12 Memorial Tournaments have gone to a playoff.
Statistical Analysis
Nearly all Nicklaus designs are considered to be “second shot golf courses,” and Muirfield Village is no exception. 14 of the last 16 Memorial winners have ranked inside the Top 10 for Strokes Gained: Approach for the week.
In his Memorial victories over the last two years, Scottie Scheffler gained a total of 7.45 strokes on the field. 5.05 of those strokes were gained solely on approach.
Strokes Gained: Approach – Average Per Round (2026 PGA TOUR season)
- Adam Scott 0.812
- Matt Fitzpatrick 0.741
- Kurt Kitayama 0.719
- J.J. Spaun 0.686
- Si Woo Kim 0.673
- Ludvig Åberg 0.627
- Sepp Straka 0.610
- Daniel Berger 0.608
- Ryan Gerard 0.608
- Hideki Matsuyama 0.542
- Scottie Scheffler 0.521
- Nicolai Højgaard 0.499
- Alex Smalley 0.479
- Justin Rose 0.475
- Cameron Young 0.453
- Corey Conners 0.452
- Jake Knapp 0.448
- Wyndham Clark 0.440
- Aaron Rai 0.435
- Xander Schauffele 0.402
The greens at Muirfield Village are the fifth smallest on average for the PGA TOUR, and the Greens In Regulation rate was just 55% last year.
Greens In Regulation (2026 PGA TOUR season)
- Scottie Scheffler 73.23%
- Kurt Kitayama 70.63
- Alex Smalley 70.37
- Matt Fitzpatrick 70.33
- Aaron Rai 70.31
- Ryo Hisatsune 70.25
- Adam Scott 70.24
- Justin Rose 70.16
- Ludvig Åberg 69.57
- Si Woo Kim 69.35
- Daniel Berger 69.21
- Taylor Pendrith 69.16
- Patrick Cantlay 69.03
- Cameron Young 68.81
- Xander Schauffele 68.39
- Sam Stevens 68.39
- J.J. Spaun 68.18
- Ryan Gerard 68.06
- Chris Gotterup 67.89
- Jacob Bridgeman 67.78
- Pierceson Coody 67.78
Bombers like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm have won The Memorial as have shorter hitters like Billy Horschel, David Lingmerth, and William McGirt.
The fairways are generous, but the rough is penal here, so premiums should be put on both Driving Distance and Driving Accuracy. Total Driving combines both Driving Distance Ranking + Driving Accuracy Ranking.
Total Driving (2026 PGA TOUR season)
- Scottie Scheffler 53 (29 Driving Distance + 24 Driving Accuracy)
- Ludvig Åberg 61 (12 + 49)
- Matt Fitzpatrick 62 (56 + 6)
- Cameron Young 65 (27 + 38)
- Kurt Kitayama 68 (15 + 53)
- Min Woo Lee 76 (8 + 68)
- Jake Knapp 91 (10 + 81)
- Sam Stevens 98 (34 + 64)
- Daniel Berger 99 (54 + 45)
- Xander Schauffele 102 (18 + 84)
- Ryo Hisatsune 107 (77 + 30)
- Gary Woodland 107 (3 + 104)
- Adam Scott 108 (20 + 88)
- Tommy Fleetwood 109 (100 + 9)
- Robert MacIntyre 110 (77 + 33)
- Harris English 111 (76 + 35)
- Rickie Fowler 111 (77 + 34)
- Corey Conners 112 (107 + 5)
- Keegan Bradley 114 (51 + 63)
- Pierceson Coody 114 (13 + 101)
Muirfield Village has the toughest set of Par 5s on the PGA TOUR and three of the four range from 550 to 600 yards.
Strokes Gained Par 5s 550-600 Yards – Average Per Round (Last 36 Rounds)
- Alex Fitzpatrick 0.32 (12 Rounds)
- Jake Knapp 0.28 (33 Rounds)
- Ludvig Åberg 0.20
- Xander Schauffele 0.19
- Scottie Scheffler 0.19
- Alex Noren 0.18
- Maverick McNealy 0.17
- Jordan Spieth 0.17
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.16
- Patrick Rodgers 0.15
- Matt Fitzpatrick 0.13
- Eric Cole 0.13 (33 Rounds)
- Nicolai Højgaard 0.12
- Shane Lowry 0.12
- Rory McIlroy 0.11 (26 Rounds)
- Jacob Bridgeman 0.11
- Alex Smalley 0.10
- Russell Henley 0.10 (34 Rounds)
- Patrick Cantlay 0.10
- Nick Taylor 0.09
Not a single Par 4 at Muirfield Village plays under par. Seven of them play between 450-500 yards.
Strokes Gained: Par 4s 450-500 Yards – Average Per Round (Last 36 Rounds)
- Gary Woodland 0.20
- Scottie Scheffler 0.18
- Alex Smalley 0.16
- Justin Rose 0.15 (32 Rounds)
- Rory McIlroy 0.12 (26 Rounds)
- Min Woo Lee 0.12
- Kurt Kitayama 0.11
- Ludvig Åberg 0.10
- Xander Schauffele 0.10
- Akshay Bhatia 0.09
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.09
- Jake Knapp 0.08 (33 Rounds)
- Patrick Cantlay 0.08 (35 Rounds)
- Maverick McNealy 0.08
- Si Woo Kim 0.07
- Pierceson Coody 0.07
- Keegan Bradley 0.07
- Nick Taylor 0.07
- Sam Burns 0.06
- Shane Lowry 0.06
- Aaron Rai 0.06 (32 Rounds)
- Corey Conners 0.06
The Scrambling Percentage at Muirfield Village is only a little over 54%, whereas the PGA TOUR average is 60.5%. The greens are well protected by deep bunkers, plus there are tight and awkward chipping/pitching lies as well.
Scrambling (2026 PGA TOUR season)
- Russell Henley 70.45%
- Scottie Scheffler 68.87
- Cameron Young 68.02
- Matt Kuchar 67.78
- Mac Meissner 66.80
- Denny McCarthy 66.27
- Xander Schauffele 66.11
- Nick Taylor 66.06
- Hideki Matsuyama 66.04
- Tommy Fleetwood 65.95
- Patrick Cantlay 65.92
- Brandt Snedeker 65.88
- Matt Fitzpatrick 65.53
- Jake Knapp 65.38
- Min Woo Lee 65.37
- Sahith Theegala 65.03
- Rickie Fowler 64.84
- Jordan Spieth 64.83
- Eric Cole 64.69
- Ben Griffin 64.67
Three of the last five Memorial winners ranked 3rd for the week in Strokes Gained: Around The Green.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green – Average Per Round (2026 PGA TOUR season)
- Brandt Snedeker 0.590
- Scottie Scheffler 0.496
- Eric Cole 0.494
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.473
- Jason Day 0.469
- Matt Fitzpatrick 0.448
- Ben Griffin 0.445
- Nick Taylor 0.436
- Harry Hall 0.426
- Sungjae Im 0.419
- Tony Finau 0.373
- Patrick Cantlay 0.355
- Sahith Theegala 0.338
- Hideki Matsuyama 0.322
- Cameron Young 0.319
- Ludvig Åberg 0.315
- Justin Thomas 0.303
- Akshay Bhatia 0.299
- Min Woo Lee 0.296
- Si Woo Kim 0.286
Muirfield Village played as the third most difficult course on the PGA TOUR last year. Since the 2021 renovations, the winning score has been kept within a range of -7 to -13. Players not only get tested on their second shots but also around the greens and runs of bogeys can happen in a hurry.
Bogey Avoidance Percentage (Last 36 Rounds)
- Scottie Scheffler 10.2%
- Russell Henley 11.3 (34 Rounds)
- Rory McIlroy 11.5 (26 Rounds)
- Cameron Young 11.7
- Mac Meissner 12.0 (34 Rounds)
- Xander Schauffele 12.5
- Matt Fitzpatrick 12.8
- Ludvig Åberg 13.0
- Alex Smalley 13.3
- Patrick Cantlay 13.3 (35 Rounds)
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 13.6 (32 Rounds)
- Rickie Fowler 13.6
- Tommy Fleetwood 13.6
- Si Woo Kim 13.9
- Bud Cauley 13.9
- Brandt Snedeker 14.0 (22 Rounds)
- Justin Rose 14.1 (32 Rounds)
- Matt Kuchar 14.1 (23 Rounds)
- Shane Lowry 14.2
- Adam Scott 14.4 (34 Rounds)
Selections
Ludvig Åberg 13/1 Without Scheffler (DraftKings)
Åberg was 16/1 just several weeks ago to win The Masters and now the same price to win The Memorial in a field does not have Rahm, DeChambeau, Morikawa, and Hovland here. Perhaps it is starting to become a thing that the Swede has had trouble on Sundays closing out tournaments. The market certainly believes so. Nevertheless, he has six top 8 finishes in his last eight starts. He was 5th here on debut here two years ago and was 3rd earlier this year at Bay Hill, which is another course that is set up for high ball flight players like Åberg.
Patrick Cantlay 25/1 Without Scheffler (FanDuel)
Cantlay is a two-time winner here (2019, 2021) at The Memorial and has two other top-4 finishes. He has finished 7th or better five times here since 2016. Prior to his finish of 35th at the PGA, Cantlay had posted four consecutive top 12 finishes, so he has been playing more consistent golf this spring.
Justin Thomas 33/1 Without Scheffler (DraftKings)
Thomas finished only T-13 last week at Colonial, but ranked 2nd for Strokes Gained: Ball Striking (behind the tournament winner Henley) and was 3rd for Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green while shooting all four rounds under par on a tough golf course. His putter had been good all season but struggled a bit last week until the final round. He has had an up and down form line with a couple top 10 finishes and a couple missed cuts at Muirfield Village but has won on Nicklaus designs at PGA National and Harbour Town.
Kurt Kitayama 48/1 Without Scheffler (DraftKings)
Kitayama has missed the cut here at The Memorial on all three appearances, but he is also a different player now and playing the most consistent golf of his career. He ranks in the top 10 on the PGA TOUR for Strokes Gained: Approach, Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, and Proximity from 175+ Yards. His last four starts include a T-10, a T-18, T-9, and T-8 and is also a former winner at Bay Hill against an elite field.
Sepp Straka 50/1 Without Scheffler (DraftKings)
Straka has finishes of 3rd and 5th here in the last two years. Last week, Straka played in his home Alpine Austrian Open on the DP World Tour, finishing 12th but ranked 5th for Strokes Gained: Approach and ranks 7th in this field for Approach this season.
Placement markets, matchups, and any other bets will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks.
