Viktor Hovland, who has come up short in several big events this year, including runner-up two weeks ago in the PGA Championship, finally cashed in on Sunday at the Memorial Tournament by defeating Denny McCarthy with a par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
The Memorial Tournament’s traditional spot on the PGA Tour schedule has for decades been two weeks prior to the US Open. Jack Nicklaus sounded pretty sure that was changing, being bumped back a week later, just before the year’s third men’s major in 2024.
Going by historical precedent and some quick back-of-the-napkin math, plus more than a pinch of fanciful thinking, it appears that, oh, around 44 guys can win the Memorial Tournament on Sunday.
The R&A and USGA have a lot more work to do to convince PGA Tour players that a rollback of the golf ball is in their best interest or the best interest of the game overall, judging by the players’ reaction to a presentation by the governing bodies and several manufacturers Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Billy Horschel hit two greens in regulation Thursday at the Memorial Tournament – or as many times as he hit his ball in a single stroke during a miserable round that had the defending champion fighting back tears in the aftermath.
Jack Nicklaus has always been a straight shooter. On the eve of his $30m Memorial tournament in Ohio this week, the 18-time Major champion is still taking aim with the best of them.
Under the new Rules of Golf, had Matsuyama not used the offending club before being notified, he could have continued on. However, he used the 3-wood on his opening tee shot.
The 47th edition of the Memorial, which offers a $US12 million purse, begins tomorrow with a field of 120 players, including seven of the top 10 in the world.
If Jon Rahm had his way, the Tour Championship wouldn’t be the only tournament on this year’s PGA Tour schedule in which a player begins with a multiple-stroke advantage.