Niall Lyons has three tips for The Memorial this week at Muirfield Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio.
The Memorial
The Memorial 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 three of the last four years. Around the green is a fair part of the tee to green equation here with four of the last six leaders in that statistical category for the week making the top 5 in the past five renewals.
Tee to green experts excel here and you'll find it difficult to score at Muirfield unless all parts of your game are in working order.
Other Nicklaus designs like PGA National, Glen Abbey and PGA West are always worth a glance.
Below is a look at the stats of the top performers from the last four editions of this tournament.
The Memorial Tips
- 3pts each-wat P.Cantlay 20/1 (1/5 6) Paddypower
2pts each-way S.Im 50/1 (1/5 6) Skybet - 2pts each-way V.Hovland 33/1 (1/5 6) Paddypower
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Patrick Cantlay at 20/1 (Six Places)
Scheffler showed last week that isn't always about him but despite what he has achieved this year, scarily he looks nowhere near his best.
Tiger had to change his swing down the years and I guess the question I have is whether his legs will be able to take the pressure of his movement and shuffling for the next 20 years.
It's a wild swing despite having devastating results but at some point you'd think his body may become under pressure.
McIlroy skips another signature event and seemingly looks at odds with the tour for a handful of reasons. There is little doubt he was considering moving to LIV Golf a while ago and the PGA Tour may find it in their best interests to sort out things like Driver testing once and for all before making a scapegoat of their darling player. The tour needs McIlroy more than the other way about.
It is nearing three years since Patrick Cantlay won on the PGA Tour and when he won the BMW Fedex series event back in 2022 you'd have gotten a massive price about that happening.
His class remains though and just like Justin Thomas it shouldn't be too much longer before he finds himself in the winners enclosure once again.
It was a disappointing PGA Championship a couple of weeks ago but if ever there was a venue that could spark this sleeping giant from his slumber it's Muirfield Village.
From 2018 through to 2022 he landed two victories here as well as three top 7 finishes. 2021 must have an asterisk beside it because Rahm was clear when testing positive for Covid and the door was left open for Cantlay.
4th at the Truist a few weeks ago promised a lot for the PGA but it didn't happen for him at Quail Hollow. His approach play prior to that all season has been exemplary and he ranks 10th on tour this season in that category.
Crucially his long irons are in good nick for this test as the large majority of approach shots here come in from 175+ yards. Throughout this barren run there is one aspect that has been solid and that has been his iron play.
Muirfield demands pinpoint approach play more than any other track on tour and for this reason Cantlay remains a big danger here. Back him to break the long wait for a victory this week.
Sungjae Im at 50/1 (Six Places)
Sungjae Im's approach figures make for grim reading this year but when you drill down into the reasons why then there is reason to believe he could find some form here in Ohio.
This has been by far and away the worst year on the tour to date for his iron play but mostly it has been his wedge play that has contributed to the dull output. He ranks 71st of 72 here in approach play the last six months but when you take approach play from 200+ yards he ranks 35th in the field the last 6 months, and 31st in the field the last 2 months.
Sungjae can certainly benefit from this and with this being one of the courses on tour where players miss the most greens that playing field is certainly levelled between him and the field also. Both aspects taken into consideration give the Korean a real chance to gain on the field where he has struggled to date this year.
His short game remains as reliable as ever which is important with inevitable greens missed here and having finished 8th and 10th here in his last three attempts I am quite keen to get him on side.
Viktor Hovland threatened early doors at Quail Hollow a few weeks ago but a series of mishaps around the greens really cost him.
He managed to put himself in some tricky positions where shaved run offs and tough pin positions put his short game to the ultimate test. He failed this test miserably on a couple of occasions but had he been able to cope he certainly would have been contesting around the lead after a couple of days.
The sub air under the greens maybe didn't help him that week but it was another solid week with his long game which bodes well for another trip to Ohio.
Hovland triumphed here last year overcoming McCarthy in a playoff and having gone close in the Workday back in 2020 this course certainly sets up well for him.
As we have seen before here those with short game problems can play well here given that the entire field will face tough up and downs from thick rough around the greens.
Hovland ranks 24th in the field scrambling from the rough in the last six months and it appears his short game is definitely under less pressure than when there is tight lies around the greens.
He can benefit from these aspects here and I'm happy to get involved at 33/1.
