Tag: Muirfield Village Golf Club

Tiger, Jack and The 2020 Memorial

The Memorial Tournament starts this week at the Muirfiekd Village Golf Club
Muirfield Village Golf Club
July 16, 2020

Tiger and Jack

The Memorial Tournament starts this week, and as we mentioned in our last blog, this will be Tiger’s first start since the tour suspended play for COVID-19. This week will also provide an opportunity for Tiger to break Sam Snead’s record for PGA Tour wins (they are tied at 82). Other than perhaps Augusta National, it’s hard to think of a better place for Tiger to break Snead’s record than Muirfield Village. Earlier in the week Tiger dispelled rumors that his extended absence may have been due to his back, stating “I just felt it was better to stay at home and be safe.” Something tells me he will have his A-game on display this week, so this star-studded field will have to do some playing if they want to delay the inevitable.

Between the two them, Tiger and Jack occupy a pretty hefty chunk of the record book while dominating their respective era. A few of Tiger’s more illustrious records include winning four majors in a row (tying Bobby Jones), most consecutive cuts made (142), and most victories in a single PGA event (8 times at Bay Hill). He also won the Vardon Trophy for lowest season scoring average a record 8 times, with the best ever recorded of 68.17 in 2000, when he won 9 times. At 24, Tiger was the youngest player in history to complete the career grand slam, and also holds the record for most World Golf Championship victories (18). Jack, of course, holds the most prestigious record of all with 18 major victories, but Tiger’s resurgence has suddenly brought it once again within his reach (with the addition of the 2019 Masters, Tiger now has 15 major championships). Jack’s over-all record at the majors is truly eye-popping; however, when you consider that in addition to the 18 wins he also recorded 19 runner-up finishes and was among the top 3 an astounding 48 times. Seeing Jack and Tiger together at the Memorial is an opportunity to witness golf history as it unfolds—and you definitely do not want to miss a minute of it.

WorkDay Charity wrap-up

Last week’s WorkDay Charity Open proved to be yet another exciting finish. Young phenom Collin Morikawa was able to take down Justin Thomas in a playoff thriller and move all the way up to Number 6 in the FedEx cup point standings. Although it was a tough loss, the runner-up finish was more than enough to propel Thomas past Webb Simpson and assume the lead in FedEx points, and also move him ahead of Dustin Johnson to Number 3 in the World Golf Rankings. Young Viktor Hovland also came close, but his hopes were dashed when his ball found water on the 14th hole. The young Norwegian has led the tour in strokes gained tee to green in each of the last three tournaments, and no one has ever done that before, so it’s a good bet he will notch his second tour victory sooner rather than later.

The Memorial

Jack has Muirfield Village set up to play a lot tougher for the Memorial than it was at the WorkDay last week (not that it was easy by any means). First of all, the greens will be far quicker, running between 13 and 13.5 on the stimpmeter (they were at 11 for the WorkDay). In addition, the tees will be pushed back a bit (particularly at the drivable par 4 14th hole), and the mowers will spend less time keeping the thick rough in check. Fast and firm greens with heavy rough are a recipe for high scores, and even such a deep and talented field will have a difficult time going low—exactly the way Jack wants it to be. When you put Tiger together with Jack and Muirfield Village, what could be better.

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Rocket Mortgage Classic and the “Muirfield Double”

Muirfiekd Village Golf Club
Muirfield Village Golf Club
July 7, 2020

DeChambeau wins in Detroit

Last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club delivered not only excitement, but our first bit of controversy as well. Bryson DeChambeau, nicknamed “The Mad Scientist” for his uniquely scientific approach to the golf swing, put the emphasis on “mad” after making a poor shot out of a greenside bunker on the par 5 7th hole during Saturday’s 3rd round, failing to get up and down for birdie. After angrily swatting the sand and then muttering various expletives while leaving the green, he then accosted a camera man for filming his less than professional display. Blowing his top at a camera man for simply doing his job raised a few eyebrows, but in spite of the momentary lapse, DeChambeau charged from three shots back of Matthew Wolff with a sizzling 65 on Sunday and cruised to victory. A new found power surge that he credits to an offseason change in diet and robust exercise regimen has him bombing it off the tee (one of his drives was measured at 375 yards). While he won’t be in the field for the first leg of the “Muirfield Double” at Jack’s course in Dublin, OH, we’ll get a chance to see him the week after for the Memorial where he recorded his second career win in 2018. Bryson has also vaulted to the odds-on favorite for winning one or more of the three majors coming up later this year.

The WorkDay Charity Open

The inaugural WorkDay Charity Open, and first leg of the “Muirfield Double” at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio begins this Thursday (July 9). The Jack Nicklaus masterpiece, and venue for the Memorial Tournament, has perennially drawn one of the strongest fields on the PGA Tour—and this year we get to enjoy it two weeks in a row. The powerhouse field will include Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, and Bubba Watson. Brooks Koepka’s younger brother, Chase, will also be teeing it up this week (the Tour graciously added him to the field after he qualified for the Travelers Championship but withdrew after learning that Brooks’ caddie had tested positive for COVID-19). In addition, the deep field will include Xander Schauffele (2017 Tour Championship winner and runner up in 2019), Hideki Matsuyama (2014 Memorial Champion), and Patrick Cantley (the reigning Memorial Champion).

Muirfield Village

Muirfield Village Golf Club was designed and founded by Jack Nicklaus in 1974 while he was at the height of his PGA Tour career (and he won the Memorial twice, in 1977 and 1984). Jack is notorious for designing difficult tracks, and Muirfield may be the toughest of all with a course rating of 78.6 and a slope of 155. In addition to Jack himself, the list of past winners at Muirfield reads like a who’s who among golf’s elite, including Tiger Woods (5-time winner of the Memorial), Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Hale Irwin, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples. Known for its thick rough, tight fairways and firm greens, year in and year out Muirfield provides a test where the biggest names in golf can display their skills, and identifies the player who is at the very top of his game.

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