2022 Memorial Tournament leaderboard: Rookies Cameron Young, Davis Riley among six tied for lead after Round 1
The first round of Thursday’s Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village kicked off in a spot where last year fell far behind as dramatic. After Jon Rahm had to withdraw at the end of the 2021 tournament with a positive COVID-19 test, another star left early on Thursday as Hideki Matsuyama is eliminated for wood 3 is not suitable.
Matsuyama wasn’t in the lead or among leaders like Rahm last year when he left the event, but Matsuyama’s WD delivered an afternoon of Round 1 knock that is always welcome at any tournament ( even if the end result is not as expected). He leaves a really fun leaderboard with young people at the top and horses in the back that will be fascinating to watch developments develop over the next few days.
Let’s take a look at the logjam at the top of this table after Round 1 and try to figure out who shows up when they diverged and made it to the weekend on Friday night in Round 2.
Leaders
T1. Mackenzie Hughes, Luke List, Cameron Smith, KH Lee, Davis Riley, Cameron Young (-5): Smith is probably the one with the most power here, but let’s focus on rookies Young and Riley instead. Combined, they have top 15 in seven of their last eight starts and are perhaps the two most prominent contenders for Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour. While their games are built quite differently, both are in the top six in the field in terms of strokes from tee to green, and both will likely be in some capacity from here. until the end of the event.
This is a terrible tournament that needs to be overcome to get a first win on the PGA Tour as both are trying to do. It’s the sixth best event in 2022 in terms of court power, and Riley (25) or Young (also 25) would be a great fit. 20-year-old young Americans flee passed so far in this season.
Other candidates
T7. Sahith Theegala, Wyndham Clark, Will Zalatoris, Denny McCarthy (-4)
T11. Corey Conners, Abraham Ancer, Jhonattan Vegas, Max Homa, Keegan Bradley, Joel Dahmen, Shane Lowry (-3)
T21. Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Daniel Berger, Adam Scott (-2)
The power here is really mainly in T11 and T21, players are capable of two and three backs respectively and very mixed with 54 holes going forward. Zalatoris is clearly outstanding, and his game seems to be built entirely for the toughest courses (you could argue Muirfield Village is among them). McIlroy doesn’t get it at all, which is what you want to see when trying to predict who will rise in the next few rounds. Schauffele has a top 15 in each of his last 4 starting here. And Fowler – who struggled so hard not to be in the top 20 of the 11 who started this year – had a truly fulfilling day where he hit the mark in every category. The leaders were mostly chubby, but this pack of chasers was certainly fearsome.
What exactly happened to Matsuyama?
I wrote Full summary here, but some of the quotes are amazing. Thereafter, the officer in charge of administering the disqualification set the full time of his press conference. Something that can only happen in golf and that somehow simultaneously makes the sport the weirdest and most exciting in the world.
“When I first had [his club]”I took pictures and scrutinized it myself,” said official Steve Rintoul. “I literally close my arms and rub my nails. One way I can feel it, but the next I can’t. Even though it’s made with the same substance as Wite-Out, it’s enough. thick so you can tell where it’s located on the face.”
“Apply a small, discrete dot with Sharpie to help you align,” he adds. “We have players who do that all the time. But the quality of the club, when we send it to the USGA, the suppliers that standardize their equipment, it’s just overkill. And that’s what’s going on. may affect the performance of the ball.”
Here’s a look at the signs.
Jordan Spieth…can throw the ball?
After losing in 15 of his last 23 rounds, Spieth finished fifth on the course on Thursday with a flat club. Don’t let him get mad, people, it’s going to be a problem!
“Had had some misreading, just looking for the hole to catch a few, and let it go,” says Spieth. “This morning might have been the best show I’ve ever had in my life, they’re so good. So you know there’s no excuse, and then they happen so quickly that you’re going to start. from where, just going to roll perfectly. So once the hole started, it was fun to be on the pitch. I was trying to hit the right pitch at the time.”
He really doesn’t hit the ball as well as he has, but that has been so steady this year that I don’t think it’s going anywhere. This is Spieth’s best stroke since… Round 1 of the Charles Schwab Challenge over a year ago. If the putter is really heating up and this isn’t just a one-off, this is the perfect time for it with the US Open and Championship Open taking place over the next 50 days.
Return of Jon Rahm
Forget the fireworks from last year’s stage for a moment and keep your eyes peeled for this quirky stat. Over the past two years, Rahm has nearly doubled production from second best player in Muirfield Village. Excessive. And while he didn’t get his best on Thursday (he did 7 on a par 5 on nine backs), Rahm still hit the field shots and is in position to gallop. great on Friday to pull close to the lead at a course he’s in love with.
Updated odds and selections
Here are the new odds after 18 holes, via Caesars Sportsbook.
- Cameron Smith: 7-1
- Rory McIlroy: 10-1
- Cameron Young: 11-1
- Davis Riley: 12-1
- Will Zalatoris: 12-1
- Shane Lowry: 14-1
- Xander Schauffele: 18-1
- Jon Rahm: 22-1
- Jordan Spieth: 22-1
What a board! Young and Riley are getting a lot of respect from bettors for how well both have played in the last month. I like both here, but I like Riley a bit more because of how good he is at hitting the table. Lowry intrigued me with the score 14-1. His hit hits are off the charts (no one in the field has better stats in their last 20 rounds). If you want to go a little further across the board, Homa at 28-1 is the game. He’s eighth in the field for tackles in the last 20 rounds, taking his game to new heights this season and falling just two short of the top two. That’s much better value than for example, Schauffele at 18-1.
Rick Gehman and Kyle Porter discuss Hideki Matsuyama’s elimination at the Memorial. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
