The world’s top golfers will head this week to the famed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for the 2015 edition of the Memorial Tournament. A total of $6.2 million is at stake for the world-class field with the winner grabbing not only 500 FedEx Cup points but also the $1.116 million top prize.
Read on below for our in-depth breakdown of this prestigious PGA Tour event and while you’re at it, you can check out our sleeper picks for this much-anticipated tournament.
Jordan Spieth was sent crashing back to earth at the Byron Nelson Championship last week, finishing in a tie for 30th with a seven-under-par total of 270. That being said, Spieth (+650) still enters the Memorial Tournament as the overwhelming favorite because of his outstanding form this season. Spieth already has eight top-10 finishes this year, including tournament wins at the Masters and Valspar Championship.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Spieth will be making his third straight Memorial Tournament appearance this week. He finished inside the top-20 for the first time last year when he tied for 19th, increasing his tournament earnings to $78,443.78. He also improved his scoring average at this event to 72.25. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the reigning Masters Champion improve on that mark and even claim the victory this weekend.
Another golfer who has had a solid season thus far is Justin Rose (+1,500). After finishing second at the Masters last April, he followed that up with an impressive victory at the Zurich Classic. He birdied the last two holes in that event to clinch the dramatic win, his seventh in the PGA Tour.
Rose will be making his 11th start at this year’s Memorial, where he is ranked fifth on the tournament’s career money list with a whopping $2,198,620. His 71.24 scoring average is ninth-best in this event. He has five top-10 finishes in this tournament including a victory here back in 2010. Rose will look to bounce back from his disappointing performance last season when he missed the cut after opening rounds of 73-72.
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High-Value Sleepers – Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods
One golfer who loves playing here at Jack’s place is Jim Furyk (+2,200). The veteran will be teeing it up at this event for the 20th time in his storied career. He has career earnings totalling $2,534,138.24 and a scoring average of 71.00 here at the Memorial, placing third and fourth in those categories, respectively.
His T-19 finish last season was his 18th made cut here at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He has six top-10 finishes at this event including a win here back in 2002. Furyk has had an excellent season thus far this year, finally ending his winless drought with a victory at the RBC Heritage last April for his 17th PGA Tour win. With the form that he is in right now and his experience in this event, Furyk is a definite threat to win the crown this week.
Another golfer who has fond memories of this event is Tiger Woods. The former world No. 1 has won this competition a record five times, with his last tournament victory coming in 2012. His scoring average of 69.95 is the best here at Memorial, as does his total earnings of $5,047,344.
The Tiger that will compete this week, however, is a different version compared to the one that dominated this event before. This will just be the fifth start this year for Woods who has struggled mightily with his golf game the past couple of seasons. He has missed the cut twice in his last four events with Woods fresh off a 69th-place finish at the Players Championship last month.
He’s still Tiger, though, and you can never count him out from making a run at the title this week. With his vast experience in this tough Muirfield set-up, it wouldn’t be a total shock to see Woods end his epic slump this coming weekend. He is pegged at +2,200 to do just that.
Long Shot – Ernie Els
Ernie Els’ golfing woes continued at the Players Championship earlier this month when he finished in a tie for 66th after shooting a two-over-par total of 290. It has been a disastrous season, thus far for Els who has yet to finish inside the top-10 this year. He has also missed the cut in five of his nine starts on the PGA Tour this season.
If there’s one tournament, though, that can kickstart Els’ campaign this season, it’s got to be the Memorial. He has fared extremely well in this tournament in the past, grabbing the victory here back in 2004. He has recorded six top-10 finishes at Muirfield Village Golf Club and his T-19 finish last year marked his 19th career made cut at the Memorial.
Els will be making his 22nd start here at the Memorial. He has a 71.30 scoring average here and his career earnings at this event now total $2,066,842, sixth-best in Tournament history. He may be struggling for form right now but don’t be shocked to see Els contend at the Memorial this week.
Writer’s Prediction
Jim Furyk (+2,200) grabs his second Memorial title this week.
