Quick look at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide

BY THE NUMBERS

61 – Justin Thomas made every putt from inside eight feet last week (61/61) for the first time in his PGA TOUR career.

7 – Bryson DeChambeau is on a streak of seven consecutive top 10s. The last player to record eight consecutive top-10s on TOUR was Luke Donald (2011 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play thru 2011 the Memorial Tournament). 

93.8 – Percentage of rounds Patrick Cantlay has that are better than the field average at Muirfield Village. It is the most of any player in the last 38 years (minimum of 16 rounds).

-117 – Tiger Woods is 117-under par in his career at the Memorial Tournament, 27 strokes better than the next best player (Matt Kuchar, -90).

10 – Number of winners from the last 12 Memorial Tournament who have ranked inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green.

SCATTERSHOTS

Stacked field … Jack Nicklaus has once again reeled in a huge field for his event. This marks the third event out of six since the return to golf with the top five in the OWGR in the field and in fact 43 of the top 50 are in attendance. There are 48 of the top 50 in the current FedExCup standings, including the entire top 10, in the mix and 28 of the top 30 from the 2019 TOUR Championship field (most of any event this season). The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide is one of three elevated events on the PGA TOUR schedule which offer a heightened purse ($9.3 million) and a three-year PGA TOUR exemption, instead of the two-year exemption awarded at most events. The trio of events tie together three of the greatest names in golf history – its greatest champion in Jack Nicklaus (the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide), its most transcendent figure in Tiger Woods (The Genesis Invitational), and its greatest ambassador in Arnold Palmer (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard). 

FedExCup Moves … Dustin Johnson has made the biggest move in the FedExCup standings of any player since the Return to Golf, having jumped up 88 spots from 111th to 23rd. His win at the Travelers Championship have him in good shape for a run at the title. Brooks Koepka is looking for a similar surge this week. The former two-time PGA TOUR Player of the Year sits 156th in the FedExCup standings and needs to make his move with just five weeks left before the Playoffs begin for the top 125 players. In the last 11 PGA TOUR seasons, just five percent of players outside the top-125 of the FedExCup with five weeks to go have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs (68 of 1,375).   

Course changes … With Muirfield Village Golf Club hosting back-to-back tournaments, the TOUR was tasked with showing the variety of the golf course, providing players in both fields distinctive challenges each week, and preserving the demanding layout signature to the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. After slower green speeds (11-1/2 to 12) and shorter rough for the Workday Charity Open, the course returns to its traditional championship set-up, with deeper rough and faster greens (13+). 

Play Yellow … The 2020 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide will once again highlight, Play Yellow, the national fundraising initiative to raise funds for children served by hospitals partnered with Children’s Miracle Network (CMN). As the primary benefactor of the Memorial Tournament and the central Ohio CMN hospital, Nationwide Children’s will be highlighted as the beneficiary of all Memorial’s Play Yellow fundraising efforts. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital brand will also be central to all promotional messaging.  Players, caddies, and others on-site are encouraged to support the Play Yellow campaign by wearing yellow on Sunday of tournament week as well. 

Nicklaus Youth Spirit Award … The 2020 tournament will highlight two Nicklaus Youth Spirit Award winners in Anna Earl, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy early on in life but thanks to treatments and determination has been able to play on both her middle and high school golf teams, and Matthew McClish, who’s paralyzed on the left side of his body, spent time with Bryson DeChambeau on the range at the 2019 event, is now interning with the tournament. Read more on these champions and more here.