Niall Lyons has four selections for this weeks Memorial 2024 tournament.
The Memorial Tournament
The Memorial 2024 tournament will be held at Muirfield Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio. This is a ball strikers paradise where if any part of your long game is missing you'll find it very difficult to score.
High rough awaits wayward drives although the fairways certainly aren't among the hardest to hit on tour. Nevertheless though, stray from the cut and prepared and you'll find plenty of trouble here.
It is certainly more of a second shot golf course where approach play is key to finding the small targets. Inevitable greens missed puts increased emphasis on scrambling also.
The leader in that statistic has made the top 5 here the last three years to the trot. Around the green is a fair part of the tee to green equation here with four of the last five leaders in that statistical category for the week making the top 5 in the past four renewals.
Other Nicklaus designs like PGA National, Glen Abbey and PGA West are always worth a glance.
Memorial Tournament Tips
- 2.5pts each-way P.Cantlay 22/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
- 2pts each-way J.Thomas 28/1 (1/4 5) BetVictor, Betfred
- 1pt each-way S.Straka 66/1 (1/5 6) General
- 1.5pts each-way J.Spieth 50/1 (1/4 5) BetVictor, Betfred
Lets take a look at the key stats from the last three times this tournament was played at Muirfield Golf Club.
Now lets look at my four tips in more detail.
Patrick Cantlay at 25/1 (Eight Places)
This event rarely strays from the big names and the winner of two of the last five renewals here is the best play at a top price of 25/1. Patrick Cantlay has had an up and down season but it's worth noting that the 5/1 place part of this bet would have landed in two of his last eight starts, both of which were signature events.
His approach play in his latest couple of starts has been off, but prior to that he was inside the top 10 in that department at both the Masters and the Heritage. Make no mistake that on his day Cantlay can mix it with the best in the game and Muirfield Village being one of his favourite haunts may just kick start his year.
Following form figures here of 4-WIN-7-WIN-3 you'd have been hard pushed to imagine Cantlay turning up here at 25/1 two years later. There are a handful of golfers between the 40-60/1 mark that just don't look like winning any time soon and I'm really surprised at the gap between Aberg and Cantlay in the market. For that reason alone he rates my top selection.
2.5pts each-way P.Cantlay 22/1 (1/5 8) Bet365
Justin Thomas at 28/1 (Five Places)
Close to making the top billing was the golfer sandwiched in between Aberg and Cantlay in the shape of Justin Thomas. He, like Cantlay is having peaks and troughs this year but I was hugely impressed by what he did in his hometown state at Valhalla last time out and now looks the perfect time to chance him at decent looking odds.
Thomas ranked 1st from tee to green at the PGA Championship and four rounds in the 60s there at a Major Championship course will give him a big boost heading into the meat of the 2024 season. He had a horrible week on the greens there also and any form with the putter at Valhalla would have seen him go close to landing another PGA title.
Tee to green is the biggest part of the equation here and he is excelling in that stat of late. An upturn on the greens will make a big difference but it's the least important aspect of the jigsaw this week so the 25/1 looks tasty given what he produced last time out.
2pts each-way J.Thomas 28/1 (1/4 5) BetVictor, Betfred
Sepp Straka at 66/1 (Six Places)
When Sepp Straka finished 2nd at the Open last July having won the John Deere a few a few weeks prior, he catapulted himself to the upper echelons of the game and landed a successful first stint at the Ryder Cup.
A great end to the year saw him run Scottie Scheffler close in Albany and ever since he has been knocking on the door of another big victory. Given the golf he has played of late that victory may well just be around the corner and 66/1 is worth a shot this week at Muirfield Village.
Regarding approach play he finished 11th at the Masters in that department, 7th at the Wells Fargo and 9th at the Charles Schwab. He arrives here undoubtedly as one of the best iron players in the field and ranks 2nd in driving accuracy the last six months, a stat that is becoming a little more important with the recent changes to the course here.
He has performed well in strong fields recently and can go close to landing another PGA Tour victory this weekend.
1pt each-way S.Straka 66/1 (1/5 6) General
Jordam Speith at 50/1 (5 Places)
At odds of 50/1 Jordan Spieth looks an interesting proposition and although we know the pitfalls in getting involved with him, the rewards here look big enough to risk should it all come together.
It all coming together is a bit of a gamble seeing his iron play has been in really poor nick this last two months. You simply won't win on the PGA Tour without good iron play and that's what missing from Spieth's game right now.
He hit his irons well in the final round at Colonial and maybe that's the start of some improvement in that department. The big positive for him this week and the main reason why I'm prepared to take the risk is that he's hitting the ball so good off the tee.
Almost career high numbers off the tee he is hitting it long and straight into the bargain which is a huge asset around Muirfield Village. As we know you need almost all departments firing here to win, but should his iron play improve from recent outings a big win may be on the horizon due to his form with the driver.
He went close here last year off the back of a few missed cuts so there's every reason to think with his improved form off the tee he can get himself into the conversation over the weekend here.
1.5pts each-way J.Spieth 50/1 (1/4 5) BetVictor, Betfred
