The Memorial Tournament returns to its traditional spot in the PGA Tour calendar after being postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Muirfield Village has undergone an extensive remodel since Jon Rahm‘s victory last summer. Field Level Media’s golf experts provide the best bets and tournament notes as the Memorial gets underway Thursday in Dublin, Ohio.
TOURNAMENT
- the Memorial Tournament, Dublin, Ohio, June 3-6
- Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,609 yards)
- Purse: $9.3M (Winner: $1.674M)
- Defending Champion: Jon Rahm
- FedEx Cup leader: Bryson DeChambeau
HOW TO WATCH
- TV: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12:30-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS).
- PGA Tour Live: Thursday-Friday 7:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups); Saturday, 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3-6 p.m. (Featured Holes); Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30-6 p.m. (Featured Holes).
NOTES
- This is the final of three “elevated” events during the PGA Tour season, offering an increased purse along with an additional 50 FedEx Cup points to the winner.
- Muirfield Village, known as “The House That Jack Built,” has undergone a comprehensive renovation under the direction of Jack Nicklaus since last year’s event, including major changes to the 12th and 18th putting surfaces.
- The field includes seven of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, although world No. 1 Dustin Johnson is not playing this week.
- Muirfield hosted the two tournaments with the lowest scrambling percentage on the PGA Tour during the 2019-20 season.
- Tom Lehman holds the tournament scoring record of 268 set in 1994.
- Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington is in the field coming off his fourth-place finished at the PGA Championship. Fellow former major champions Vijay Singh and Danny Willett are among other sponsors exemptions.
BEST BETS
- Rahm (+1100 at DraftKings) seeks to join Tiger Woods as the only players to successfully defend at the Memorial. He leads the Tour with 10 top-10s this season. However, Rahm is not among the top 10 players in terms of winning handle or outright winner bets at DraftKings and not among the top five in either market at PointsBet.
- Justin Thomas (+1400) has had limited success with only two top-10s in seven previous starts at the Memorial. He has one top-20 finish in six starts since winning The Players. Thomas is being backed by a modest three percent of the handle and winning bets at DraftKings.
- Viktor Hovland (+1400) is the co-second betting favorite at DraftKings, where he has been backed by four percent of the handle and three percent of the winner bets. He finished solo third and T48 in the consecutive events held at Muirfield last year. Hovland is leading the field with 10.1 percent of the handle and 7.6 percent of the bets at PointsBet.
- Rory McIlroy (+1600) has yet to win the Memorial. He did win two starts ago, following it up with a T49 at the PGA Championship. He is not among the most backed players at either sportsbook.
- Collin Morikawa (+1600) has been struggling with his putter the past few weeks. He did win the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield last year and is third at DraftKings with six percent of the handle and five percent of the winner bets.
- Spieth (+1600) has eight top-10 finishes this season, one more than he had in the previous two seasons combined. He is second at DraftKings with six percent in both markets.
- DeChambeau (+1800) won the event in 2018 and leads the Tour in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained total and in driving distance. He has been the most popular bet at DraftKings, where he has been backed by 10 percent of the handle and six percent of the bets.
- Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama (+2500) won the 2014 Memorial at 22 years old to become the youngest winner in tournament history.
TOP LONGSHOTS
The biggest potential liability for PointsBet is Harold Varner picking up his maiden PGA Tour win this week. A +10000 longshot, Varner has been responsible for 6.5 percent of the outright winner bets at the book, second behind only Hovland.
The 30-year-old posted his best PGA Tour finish to date with a T2 four starts ago at the RBC Heritage.
The second biggest liability is rising star Will Zalatoris at +2800. Also seeking his first win on Tour, Zalatoris is being backed by 6.4 percent of the bets and 7.2 percent of the winner handle at PointsBet.
He has a solo second at the Masters and a T8 at the PGA Championship among his past six starts but is coming off a T59 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
