This week, the PGA Tour lands in central Ohio to play at the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The SB Nation team at Playing Through has made their picks:
Kendall Capps, Editor
I’m going with Hideki Matsuyama, who won the 2014 Memorial Tournament in a playoff over Kevin Na. He typically plays well at Muirfield Village, finishing in 5th, 6th, and 13th over his last seven starts.
Plus, Matsuyama has quietly turned in good performances over the past month. At the AT&T Byron Nelson, he gained 5.1 strokes on the field on approach. Then at the PGA Championship, Matsuyama gained 4.1 strokes on the field on approach, as he has always been a solid iron player. He displayed his terrific iron game at Oak Hill, ranking 8th in the field in strokes gained tee-to-green, per the Action Network. Add that he took last week off, and Matsuyama will shake the Golden Bear’s hand again as the winner come Sunday evening.
Luke Robitaille, Producer
Despite not winning a tournament in 2023, I’m taking Xander Schauffele to win the Memorial. Going into the PGA Championship in Rochester, Schauffele had four straight top-10’s, but Oak Hill was a course that did not play well to his game. Nonetheless, he’s ranked 1st in approach from 150-175 yards and 10th in greens in regulation. If he can stay out of trouble off the tee, he has a great chance to be there on Sunday down the stretch.
Schauffele leads the tour in consecutive cuts made at 25, so you can be sure we will see him this weekend. Like Matsuyama, Schauffele took off last week, so his game should be sharp. He likes playing Muirfield Village too, as he has finished no worse than 18th over his last four starts at the Memorial. This week, he gets the job done, winning his first tournament since the Scottish Open last July.
Savannah Richardson, Writer
My pick is Sahith Theegala, who has a game that fits Muirfield Village Golf Club. Last year, he tied for 5th at the Memorial. Before that, in his only other start at Jack’s place, Theegala tied for 18th in 2021.
With that said, his recent play has been subpar—he has not recorded a top-20 finish since the RBC Heritage, where he tied for 5th. The week before that, at the Masters, he finished 9th. But since then, he has placed 23rd, 56th, and 40th. He has made the cut at these events, but something tells me he will put it together this week and record his first PGA Tour victory at one of the more established venues in the game.
He makes tons of birdies, putts well, and can hit a wide variety of shot types. Theegala will be accepting the trophy from Nicklaus on Sunday.
Jack Milko, Writer
Viktor Hovland has been knocking on the door all season, but this week, he finally busts through to win the Memorial. The 25-year-old Norwegian tied for 2nd at the PGA Championship as the bunker lip to the right of the 16th fairway sealed his fate. A month earlier, at the Masters, he tied for 7th. In March, he tied for 3rd at the Players. He has consistently performed well this season, as he has not missed a cut.
Hovland does not have a weak point in his game. He drives the ball beautifully, ranking 4th on tour in total driving. He is one of the best ball-strikers in the world, and the stats show that: he ranks 11th in strokes gained approaching the green and 6th in proximity to the hole.
When Hovland first arrived on tour, questions about his short game lingered. His game around the greens was inconsistent at best, but it has vastly improved over the past couple of years. The work he has put into his short game will finally pay off this week, as Hovland will win his biggest tournament to date.
