The PGA Tour heads to Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament at Jack's Place, Muirfield Village Golf Club. This Signature Event kicks off a gauntlet of a run on Tour, with the U.S. Open, the Travelers, the Scottish Open, and The Open Championship all coming up in the next couple of months.
Expect to see a lot of big names in this upcoming stretch, and probably some complaining about the bunching of the Signature Events and forcing guys to play long stretches in a row (also, don't forget the U.S. Women's Open this week at Riviera, where Nelly Korda continues her march towards immortality).
Scottie Scheffler is looking to win his third Memorial in a row, a feat last completed by Tiger Woods (of course) in 2001. Muirfield Village will prove to be a stern test once again, as the venue will continue to demand excellent ball striking and short game to avoid big numbers around the course. Stay in the short grass, and you should have nothing to worry about this week.
Last week was probably the best week that we've had for the rankings, as everyone in the top five was either an honorable mention or actually ranked, including champion Russell Henley. We finally broke the cold streak we had since the PGA Championship, and now that we're in the middle of golf's championship season, we need to stay hot this week at Muirfield.
Honorable Mentions: Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Chris Gotterup, Aaron Rai, Xander Schauffele
9. Patrick Cantlay
While he did have a disappointing finish at the PGA Championship, Patrick Cantlay has had a bit of a bounce back 2026 after a poor 2025. Prior to the PGA, Cantlay had racked up four straight top-12 finishes, including a T12 at The Masters. Muirfield Village has fit Cantlay's eye, as he is a two-time winner of The Memorial already. Good memories at the course should lead to another strong outing this week.
8. Ben Griffin
Last year's Memorial was the week where you could really feel that the Ben Griffin breakout was true, as he battled toe-to-toe with Scottie down the stretch on Sunday. While 2026 hasn't been perfect, last week's T3 at Colonial felt like a sign that Griffin is rounding back into form. It was his first week all season where all four strokes gained categories were significantly positive, and he just looked more comfortable in his game again. Maybe hitting the summertime is exactly what the 30-year old needed to feel like his old self again.
7. Alex Smalley
Make that seven top-25 finishes in a row for Alex Smalley, as he continues his imitation of Jake Knapp from earlier this season. The 29-year old comes into Muirfield as one of the hottest golfers on the planet right now, but he is still looking for that breakthrough victory. Smalley has almost taken the 2022 Cam Young role of extremely talented player who gets close but can't punch the ticket for the victory. With where his game currently stands, I don't think we'll be waiting much longer for an Alex Smalley victory.
6. Si Woo Kim
Si Woo Kim still has to be kicking himself for letting the Byron Nelson slip away on Sunday (really, he lost it on Saturday). Still, when it comes to picking someone at a course that rewards elite ball striking like Muirfield, I'm looking no further than the South Korean.
He continues to be one of the best ball strikers on Tour, and he seemed to figure out something with his putting at the Byron Nelson, turning in his best putting performance of the season by far. While Si Woo can be frustrating to root for at times because of the putter, I think if he's able to find the stroke again this week, everyone else should be put on notice.
5. Russell Henley
While you have to feel bad for Eric Cole coming up just short of his maiden victory last week, you have to be impressed by Russell Henley's four straight birdies (including the playoff) to come from behind and snatch the trophy away from Cole.
A guy who isn't bothered by his lack of distance compared to the rest of the Tour, Henley is a great case study in how chasing distance in modern golf isn't the only way to build a successful career. While it may be a lot to ask him to go back-to-back, Russell Henley has proven that his talent level deserves more respect, and another strong finish at Muirfield this week should be expected.
4. Cameron Young
It feels like the Cameron Young hype that surrounded him, especially after The Masters, has started to die down a bit. While that may be because we haven't seen him since a pedestrian T26 at Aronimink, I don't believe there's any reason to give up on Young just yet. In 11 starts this season, the 29-year old has finished outside of the top-25 only three times, and only once since February.
While the questions around him may have started popping up again, Cam Young's floor is so much higher than it has been the last couple of years, that I think he could sleepwalk to a top-20 finish this week. Don't be shocked to see Cam Young reassert himself in the upper echelon of pro golf this weekend.
3. Ludvig Aberg
While we're not overjoyed by a T17 at Colonial last week, we can be happy with a strong finish from Ludvig Aberg, despite not having his best stuff all week. Aberg's short game abandoned him at a course that relies on its champions to have a strong short game, and he's going to need that aspect of his game to return this week in Dublin.
We have a fully healthy Ludvig Aberg again, firing on all cylinders and showing the form that he flashed in 2023 and 2024 when he burst onto the scene. If the short game comes back, Aberg should be right in the mix come Sunday.
2. Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy is probably going to feel like the PGA Championship was a missed opportunity, but he'll probably just continue to blame the setup of the course. Muirfield is one of the venues that has escaped Rory's ability to bend courses to his will (not to be rude, but even David Lingmerth has won here before), with his best career finish being a T4 back in 2016.
At this point in Rory's career, it's truly hard to know whether or not he really cares about some of these other historic events that aren't the majors, but if he does decide to get up for The Memorial this week, then he should be able to actually threaten for a win.
1. Scottie Scheffler
At the very least, we're going to get a top-15 finish from Scottie this week. Jack Nicklaus has the quote about how, at major championships, you only need to beat like 15 guys because the rest of the field beats itself. I'm convinced that's how Scottie Scheffler sees every single golf tournament he tees it up in. Sure, he hasn't been closing at the same rate he did the past couple of years, but he keeps giving himself chances. Eventually, the floodgates will open back up for him. Don't be surprised by the three-peat.
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