Muirfield Village will be hosting its second PGA Tour event in as many weeks, but don’t confuse The Memorial Tournament with the Workday Charity Open. The Memorial is going to play more like a major, with the course toughened up for the tournament, which begins Thursday in Dublin, Ohio.
The rough is going to be raised to four inches and the fairways will be a bit narrower than they were last week. Players can also expect the greens to be dried out, and much quicker than they were at the Workday Charity Open.
Odds to Win Memorial Tournament
| Golfer | William Hill | Bovada | BetMGM |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 9/1 | 10/1 | 10/1 |
| Justin Thomas | 11/1 | 10/1 | 11/1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 12/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
| Patrick Cantlay | 14/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
| Dustin Johnson | 16/1 | 16/1 | 16/1 |
| Collin Morikawa | 20/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| Viktor Hovland | 22/1 | 20/1 | 22/1 |
| Jon Rahm | 22/1 | 18/1 | 22/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 22/1 | 22/1 | 25/1 |
| Brooks Koepka | 25/1 | 20/1 | 28/1 |
| Tiger Woods | 25/1 | 20/1 | 22/1 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | 25/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 |
| Xander Schauffele | 28/1 | 25/1 | 25/1 |
| Rickie Fowler | 35/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Justin Rose | 40/1 | 50/1 | 55/1 |
| Daniel Berger | 40/1 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 40/1 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Patrick Reed | 50/1 | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Abraham Ancer | 50/1 | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| Tony Finau | 60/1 | 50/1 | 60/1 |
| Jason Day | 60/1 | 50/1 | 60/1 |
| Sung-Jae Im | 66/1 | 66/1 | 80/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 66/1 | 66/1 | 70/1 |
The field for the Memorial will also be tougher. Rory McIlroy (the world #1 golfer) will play, as will Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson. Johnson, who is ranked fourth in the Official World Golf Rankings, told reporters Tuesday he believes having a couple of weeks off after winning the Travelers Championship will help him at the Memorial.
“I enjoy coming here, I enjoy playing this golf course,†Johnson said. “I’ve had some success here, not as much success as I would like to, but I’m really looking forward to it this year, obviously coming off a win a couple weeks ago, and I feel like the game is in good form.â€
Who else might do well this week? We take a look at a few golfers who could win, and some who might have trouble finishing in the top 20.
Golfers Running Hot
Justin Thomas (11/1)
Thomas’ runner-up finish was his third top 10 in four tournaments since the PGA Tour restarted. Thomas missed the cut at the Memorial last year, and he’ll be looking for redemption.
Patrick Cantlay (14/1)
Cantlay is the defending champion of this event. He also has a tie for seventh and a tie for 11th in his last two events. A big stat for Cantlay that should serve him well this week is greens in regulation, where he ranks 11th.
Rory McIlroy (12/1)
We’ve been soured on McIlroy for the past two months because the Irishman, who’s been regularly been the odds-on favorite since the tour’s return, hasn’t come close to winning an event. This week, he’s the third choice to win, which should help take some of the pressure off of him. He finished tied for eighth here two years ago.
Golfers to Avoid
Tiger Woods (25/1)
We have no idea what to expect from Woods this week and that’s reason enough not to touch him, despite having 25/1 odds. He hasn’t played a PGA Tour event since February, where he finished last among the players who made the cut at the Genesis Invitational. He may be rested and ready to compete, or he could be rusty from inactivity. We aren’t putting any money down to find out.
Collin Morikawa (20/1)
Usually, players who win a tournament take the next week off. The mental intensity it takes to win an event often takes a toll on those golfers who play the following week. Morikawa is going to be a star on the tour, but take a pass on him this week.