Memorial Tournament 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2
By Luke Norris
2. Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm
1st Round: 1st tee, 1:16 p.m.
2nd Round: 10th tee, 8:26 a.m.
How fun is this group going to be? A big part of the future of this game is right here in this threesome, don’t you think? 28-year-old Rickie Fowler didn’t have his best showing at THE PLAYERS Championship, finishing in a tie for 60th, but prior to that, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy was playing some solid golf. He tied for fourth in Phoenix, won the Honda Classic, tied for 16th at the WGC-Mexico Championship, tied for 12th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, tied for third in Houston and tied for 11th at The Masters. That’s a pretty nice stretch and I look for him to bring that game to the Memorial and contend…if he makes the weekend anyway. He missed the cut here a year ago.
Jon Rahm, who has jumped 542 spots to ninth in the world in less than a year as a professional, is must-see television and continues to be each and every time he tees it up. One of the most exciting rookies of the decade, the 22-year-old Spaniard was part of the trio that finished one shot back of Kevin Kisner at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational this past Sunday so I’m sure he’ll be gearing up for another shot at a victory this week. This is his first appearance at the Memorial.
Leading this group is world No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama, who finished tied for 11th at Augusta and tied for 22nd at Sawgrass in his two most recent starts. He already has one win this year, having won in Phoenix over Super Bowl weekend and not only that, he has the advantage over most players in the field by having won the Memorial before, doing so in 2014 with a playoff victory over Kevin Na. He finished tied for fifth the following year but didn’t play so well here a year ago and missed the cut. He’ll have redemption on his mind and I look for him to be a major player this week.