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Rickie Fowler is currently No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking. (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
• COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club, 7,392 yards, par 72. Built by Jack Nicklaus with the intent of bringing the PGA TOUR to his hometown, Muirfield Village opened in 1974 and has become a not only a favorite annual stop but an occasional stage for bigger events. Jack’s Place is the only venue to host all three of U.S. pro golf’s team match-play showcases – Ryder Cup (1987), Solheim Cup (1998) and Presidents Cup (2013) – and the U.S. Amateur paid a visit in 1992. With constant fine-tuning by Nicklaus and his design team, Muirfield Village consistently has ranked among America’s top 20 courses and the world’s top 50.
• FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points.
• CHARITY: Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which serves as primary supporter of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Additional donations spread across Central Ohio include James Cancer Hospital, The First Tee, Central Ohio Junior Golf Association and Fore Hope.
• FIELD WATCH: Masters winner Jordan Spieth and THE PLAYERS champion Rickie Fowler join defending champ Hideki Matsuyama atop a lineup that annually ranks as one of the strongest outside the majors or World Golf Championships. Fifteen of this week’s world top 25 are entered. … Tiger Woods, a five-time Memorial champion, ends a three-week layoff since THE PLAYERS. It’ll be just his fifth start of 2015. … Steve Stricker, the 2011 winner, also tees it up for just the fifth time this year following back surgery. … Hall of Famer Ernie Els, who won the 2004 edition, makes his 22nd consecutive start at Muirfield Village. He owns five other top-8 finishes at Memorial, including runner-up in 2000.
• 72-HOLE RECORD: 268, Tom Lehman (1994).
• 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, John Huston (2nd round, 1996).
• LAST YEAR: Hideki Matsuyama earned his first victory outside Japan, forcing a playoff with a birdie at No. 18 and beating Kevin Na with a par on the first extra hole. Matsuyama’s closing birdie gave him a 3-under-par 69 to draw even with Na, who had completed his 64 nearly two hours earlier. The layoff might have been a factor when Na found the creek left of the 18th fairway in the playoff. Masters champion Bubba Watson and world No. 1 Adam Scott both seemed poised for victory before stumbles on the back nine. Watson bogeyed No. 14 after a wild tee shot, then hooked his drive at the par-5 15th into an adjacent neighborhood. Scott found water at No. 12 for double bogey, then needed two swipes to escape the bunker at No.14.
• STORYLINES: Spieth and Fowler seek to build on their big wins earlier this spring, in likely their final starts before the U.S. Open in two weeks. Spieth seeks to become the TOUR’s first three-time winner of 2015; Fowler looks for his first multiple-win season. … Jason Day, No. 8 in the rankings, hopes to play in his adopted hometown after a dizzy spell prompted him to withdraw before the AT&T Byron Nelson. Day’s wife, Ellie, grew up about an hour north of Columbus. … Fowler and Els are among seven players coming to Muirfield Village after playing last week’s Irish Open at Royal County Down. … Patrick Rodgers, who tied for second at Quail Hollow, has one more start to earn the final 10 FedExCup points that would grant him Special Temporary status. He attended the Memorial last year as a Nicklaus Award winner, chosen as NCAA Division I’s top golfer.
• SHORT CHIPS: Nick Faldo, winner of three Masters and three British Opens, is this year’s Memorial honoree. Wednesday’s ceremony also will honor Doc Giffin, Arnold Palmer’s longtime assistant and recipient of the Memorial Golf Journalism Award. … Five of the Memorial’s past 11 champions have been international players. Before that, just three of the first 27 came from outside the United States. … Matsuyama became just the second man to win in his first Memorial start. Roger Maltbie was the other, capturing the inaugural edition.
• TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-2 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS).
• RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.COM)
Must watch tournament for me every year, love the tradition, the host and typically get a pretty good fight for victory.
best of luck to everyone this week
our current leaderboard still has DFS leading the way but SeaPa making a push for the top spot after this weeks vicotry
