The Memorial Tournament always brings out the biggest and brightest PGA stars, and the 2016 edition will be no different. Superstars like Jordan Spieth and Jason Day will be gracing this year’s event and will be in search of their first-ever victory at Muirfield. But with a stacked field, there are bound to be one or two surprises who can challenge the big guns.
Let’s take a look at some of the names to watch out for in this year’s tournament. And for more under-the-radar golfers, check out our trio of sleepers and long shots who could win the 2016 Memorial.
Jason Day will be back and well-rested after his terrific win at THE PLAYERS in mid-May. The World No. 1 is on some kind of roll, as he’s finished in the top five in four of his last six tournaments, including three titles. He’s the overall favorite at +450 to make it four titles in seven.
Maybe this fine form will carry over to Muirfield and help Day get over his Memorial Tournament hump. Day has historically had his fair share of problems at the course. Here are his finishes in four career starts at the Memorial: cut, T41, T37, and cut.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth is back on the win column. The World No. 2 had a torrid time in recent weeks. He squandering his huge lead at the Masters; missed the cut at The Players Championship; and shot a dreadful 74 at the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson. But he finally grabbed a much-needed win at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, his first title since January.
With that confidence-building win in the bag, Spieth will be a +500 favorite to grab another win at the Memorial. This will be the fourth time Spieth will be taking part in the tournament. He’s improved his finishes from T63 in 2013 to T19 in 2014 all the way up to T3 and just two shots back last year.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is still in search of his first tournament win of the season, but he’s getting close. Since March, McIlroy has landed in the top five in three of six tournaments. In Rory’s most recent outing, though, he finished T12 at The Players after an underwhelming final 36 holes.
The Northern Irishman missed out on last year’s Memorial, but before his absence, he had been on quite a nice Spieth-like upward trajectory in the tournament. He missed the cut back in 2012, before improving to T57 in 2013 and T15 in 2014. Rory is priced at +500 to get win No. 1 of the year in Muirfield.
Sleeper
Bill Haas
Bill Haas would rather forget about May. During that month, Haas missed the cut at Wells Fargo, finished T43 at The Players, and T47 at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational. Talk about rough stretches.
Maybe a trip to Muirfield is just the cure for Haas’ ailing game. Haas (+6,000) has a pretty good recent history at the course, which all started with his impressive T4 finish in 2013. He recorded another top-10 finish in 2014 (T8) before finishing a respectable T18 last year. So don’t be too surprised to see Haas’ name atop the leaderboards once again this weekend.
Long Shot
Spencer Levin
Speaking of bad stretches, Spencer Levin had one himself after he missed back-to-back cuts with Wells Fargo and The Players. But he bounced back in a big way at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he finished T4, by far his best performance of the season.
It might be a long shot, but that could be just the thing that reignites Levin’s game. And if that’s not enough to convince you, then the fact that Levin finished T4 the last time he player at the Memorial might do the trick. Levin is priced at +10,000 to win the title.
Writer’s Prediction
McIlroy (+500) finally claims his first win of the season at Muirfield.
