2023 Memorial Tournament Presents Major Examination

This week brings with it another of the PGA Tour’s newly minted designated events – the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. That premier status – designated event – already applied to the Memorial, though. Any tournament where Tiger Woods has won five times and Jack Nicklaus serves as founder and host is elevated.

Once you’ve stepped foot onto Nicklaus’s beautiful Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, OH, you’ll feel that sense of excitement and prestige instantly, even on a Monday or Tuesday practice round day – and those famous Muirfield Milkshakes also add to that status; players and those lucky enough to score access to the Clubhouse seem to be the only consumers of this highly sought after, frozen treat.

Star names set to tee it up at Jack’s Place for the 2023 Memorial Tournament

The 2023 Memorial Tournament has all the makings of a major championship. The field is stacked with the top 5 players in the OWGR set to tee it up Thursday, including World #1 Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and 2020 winner Jon Rahm.

The course is historically a difficult track, but with a lack of rain in central Ohio, the course is looking baked out on a Monday, with thick, but wispy rough and racetrack greens. With no rain in the forecast and temperatures approaching 90 degrees all week, it will be interesting to see how the Tour sets up the course and just how fast and furious they let it get.

The social media team for The Memorial Tournament captured Hideki Matsuyama finishing a practice round late in the day Sunday, and Tom Kim was the first to hit the course bright and early this morning.

Monday’s practice round also brought out big names including Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, and defending champion Billy Horschel.

There is a lot to look forward to before tournament play kicks off on Thursday. Confirmed participants for the pro-am include 2-time Super Bowl Champion, Peyton Manning, former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and musician Kelley James.

If you are planning to join the thousands of spectators in Dublin this week, or sometime in the future, be aware that the course is much hillier than it appears on TV – a lot like Augusta National.

However, that hilly terrain often leads to some of the most beautiful views you will see on a championship golf course, with tree-lined fairways and meandering creeks gently running through the course.

But all that beauty will be a second thought to those players coming down the stretch on Sunday with a chance to win. Muirfield often produces a drama-filled back 9, with two-shot swings in store, heartbreaking misses, and heroic shots.

Who will find themselves in contention come Sunday? Will it be one of the big three in Scheffler, Rahm, or McIlroy; or perhaps a journeyman like former champions David Lingmerth and William McGirt?

No matter what happens, one thing is for sure. Whoever that player is will walk off the 18th green and have one of the coolest honors in golf – shaking Jack Nicklaus’s hand and getting congratulations from the Golden Bear, himself.