Either way, a tournament so popular that no designation is required this season as Muirfield Village Golf Club once again welcomes the world’s best players to the Chiang Mai Tournament. Anniversary 2023. Hosted by Jack Nicklaus, the Memorial has proven to be the birthplace of breakthrough victories, career moments and everything in between as tennis players vie for a coveted handshake with Gold Bear on the 72nd hole next Sunday.
World No. 2 Jon Rahm was lucky enough to shake the hand of the 18-time major champion. As the winner here in 2020, Rahm’s win was clamped by a pair led by world No 4 Patrick Cantlay, who benefited from an odd situation in 2021 where Rahm had to withdraw while is leading 54 holes by six strokes due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Rahm will be looking to get back on track after a disappointing PGA Championship as he heads towards his fifth win of the PGA Tour season. A win at Jack’s Place would entail the likes of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day who are recent players to such an achievement.
While Rahm has always been present, he has given up his world number 1 spot to Scottie Scheffler. The back-and-forth at the top of the golf world continues as summer begins. Scheffler has been incredible since the fall, racking up 15 consecutive shots in the top 12, scoring two wins and posting never-before-seen ball stats. Two wins almost feel light gives his statistical record, but a trip to the winner’s circle in Dublin, Ohio can fix that really quickly.
Thomas, Spieth, Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young and Sungjae Im are all looking forward to their first win of the season. Still among the best in the world, this group was left without a title due to the run by Rahm, Scheffler and Tony Finau.
2023 Memorial Tournament Schedule
Day: June 1-4 | Location: Muirfield Village Golf Club – Dublin, Ohio
Fate: 72 | Yard: 7,533 | Purse: 20 million USD
2023 Memorial Tournament Field, Odds
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler (6-1)
- Jon Rahm (7-1): Rahm may have a total win over Scheffler, but consistency leans in favor of the Texans. The Spaniard got off to a bad start at the PGA Championship and has only finished in the top 10 twice in his last seven appearances. Granted, one of them was his win at the Masters, but Rahm has cooled down considerably since his scorching stressful time over Tet. After consistently winning more than four strokes per grass-court tournament, the Masters champion is struggling to find his form again with a putter in hand.
- Patrick Cantlay (10-1): He’s played too well this season to go without a win, and if there’s anywhere for him to pass, it’s at the Memorial. Two-time champion, the 31-year-old has three more top 10 finishes in his last six performances here. He came in with nine consecutive top 21 finishes, including a T9 spot at the PGA Championship. After a slow start at Oak Hill, Cantlay came back with an admirable performance from tee to green. Over the past six months, Cantlay has ranked second only to Scheffler in terms of shots to green.
- Xander Schauffele (12-1): Similar to close friend Cantlay, Schauffele is enjoying a great statistics season that has yielded nothing. Since retiring from the opening game of the season, Schauffele has had 10 top 20 finishes in 12 starts, including top 4 handshakes in his last 6 games. He’s just behind Scheffler and Rahm in total strokes since the start of the new year thanks to his strong efforts with his scorers and putters. The village of Muirfield has been very kind to him in the past as he has made it into the top 20 five times in a row.
- Rory McIlroy (14-1): Who knows what to expect from McIlroy this week? He took another top-10 finish in a major championship at Oak Hill and did just that with his C game. He is currently experiencing the most inaccurate driving season of his career and that is not good for his prospects around Muirfield. In fact, McIlroy hasn’t played much golf this year — in the last two months, he’s only played 10 rounds. Fortunately, this is a worthy place in history for him with 7 finishes in the top 20 in 11 appearances.
- Viktor Hovland (18-1)
- Collin Morikawa (January 22)
- Tyrrell Hatton (January 25)
- Jason’s Day (January 28)
- Justin Thomas (30-1): He did everything but won around these parts. Thomas fell to Morikawa in the playoffs at Workday Charity Open 2020 and has three other top 20 finishes in his last six performances at Muirfield Village. Like many others, this has been a somewhat odd season for the two-time PGA champion. He’s ranked 11th in tee shots over the past six months, distinguished not by his steely play but by his presence around the green. The pitcher may be showing signs of life, but his reach will need to improve if he wants to get into the winner’s circle.
Expert’s Pick of the 2023 Memorial Tournament
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
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