The Memorial – Syndication Server

Jack Nicklaus’ 1977 Memorial win came after he was ‘picking up papers and cigarette butts’

Nicklaus’ caddie had to empty the pockets of his bib every 3-4 holes because his boss kept filling them with trash.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jack Nicklaus has won the Memorial twice (1977 and 1984), but the first victory on the course he designed still holds a special place on his list of favorites.

“Well, ’77 was the second year of the tournament and I spent most of my time on the golf course picking up papers and cigarette butts,” Nicklaus said Tuesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in his annual press conference before the 2024 Memorial.

Nicklaus’ caddie, Angelo Argea, had to empty the pockets of his bib every 3-4 holes because his boss kept filling them with trash.

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“I was more interested in the cleanliness of the golf course, how the players enjoyed it, how we were taking care of the players and making sure everything was as it should be,” he said of his priorities. “To do that, and that was all I was doing, and win a golf tournament with it, that was probably one of the best feats I’ve ever had in the game of golf.”

Viktor Hovland receives the trophy from Jack Nicklaus after winning in a playoff over Denny McCarthy at the 2023 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

Of course, another great feat Nicklaus accomplished was winning the U.S. Amateur and the NCAA Tournament while with Ohio State in 1961. Nicklaus was happy to see the Buckeyes tie for third last week at the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California.

“(Coach Jay) Moseley has done a good job with it. They’ve got a good golf course to play and practice on, to develop a golf game,” he said, referencing the Scarlet course. “I think a lot of guys shy from coming north to play.”

Not Nicklaus, who grew up in Upper Arlington.

“I had offers from a lot of schools to play elsewhere, and I wanted to come to Ohio State,” he said. “I loved going to the football games, the basketball games and being part of fraternity life and school life. That was as important to me as playing on the golf team.”

PGA Tour pros hate new tee and changes to 16th hole at Memorial

“It was a crap hole before and it’s a crap hole now.”

Jason Day called the par-3 16^th at Muirfield Village Golf Club “a stupid hole.” Jordan Spieth called it “not a great hole in pretty much everyone’s opinion that’s playing today,” and one caddie when asked about the changes that course architect Jack Nicklaus signed off on to the hole noted, “it was a crap hole before and it’s a crap hole now.”

Shots fired!

It’s important to point out that Muirfield Village, which Nicklaus built with help from Desmond Muirhead in the early 1970s, is widely regarded as one of if not Nicklaus’s finest layout of more than 400+ courses he’s designed worldwide and one of the most beloved courses on the PGA Tour. Still, it’s not too often that Tour pros publicly pan a design change, especially at Jack’s Place, where the tournament host has won more majors than any player that ever has teed it up. But such is the case this week at the Memorial after Nicklaus added a new tee box this year that stretched the hole to 220 yards.

“I don’t like the 16th length. It’s just not really a hole that should be playing at 220,” Day said.

The par-3, which requires a player to carry a lake to a green that even Nicklaus himself described this week as the size of “a postage stamp,” always has played tough: it was the sixth-hardest hole in 2022, and in tournament history it has played to an average of 3.16, the third most difficult hole. On Friday, with the back tee box in use and measuring 211 yards, it played to 3.347, the toughest hole at Muirfield Village, relinquishing just eight birdies while the field struggled to 38 bogeys, four doubles and one dreaded “other.”

“After we redesigned the hole prior to the 2013 Presidents Cup, it just didn’t play like I wanted or what the Memorial field liked,” Nicklaus said in describing the hole in this year’s Memorial tournament program. “The green wouldn’t hold shots, especially on the back left. It turned out that the left side pitched away from you, and that should not have been the case. So, we took eight inches from the middle of the green and added eight inches to the left. Now, although golfers are using the same club as before, the green runs toward them and not away from them, and thus holds shots better.”

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During his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, Nicklaus elaborated on the new tee box – he also added another 20 yards to the 17^th hole – and looked forward to its use.

“It’s probably downhill maybe 14, 15 feet. So it doesn’t play as long as the yardage says, but it’s a rather imposing shot to sit back on a tee and look down there and say, that little postage stamp is where I’m going to try to hit it from here?” Nicklaus said. “To me, today it’s a driver, but not for them. They will probably have to go all the way back from an 8-iron to a 7-iron. But anyway, it’s pretty good.”

2023 Memorial Tournament — Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the fairway on the 13th hole during the first round of the Memorial Tournament golf tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Not if you ask Spieth.

“Well, 16’s just not a great hole in pretty much everyone’s opinion that’s playing today,” Spieth said on Thursday when the field made just five birdies all day at 16. “So you’re just trying to get a ball, get a putter in your hand for 2. It’s 203 yards adjusted into the wind with a firm green that runs away from you on both sides and has one shelf that you can land it into.”

“It’s just a small target,” Jon Rahm said. “That’s it.”

Even former Tour pro turned NBC/Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman tweeted a dig at the much-maligned hole saying, “Besides the 16^th for the most part the golf course rewards great shots and penalizes bad or just off shots.”

When two-time Memorial champion Patrick Cantlay, who shot 67 on Friday despite a subpar putting performance, was asked to name his best shot of the day, he chose his tee shot at 16, even though he ended up having to chip and scramble for a par.

“Believe it or not, I hit a really nice 6-iron on 16 that landed pin high and bounced over the green. But that might have been my best swing,” he said.

How did that look in the air?

“It looked great,” Cantlay said.

Did you think you were going to have to work that hard for a 3?

“No,” Cantlay said.

And that’s the rub: good shots aren’t necessarily being rewarded.

Could it be that Nicklaus will hear the bellyaching and head back to the drawing board yet again? We’ll have to wait and see.

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Billy Horschel navigates Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village en route to 2022 Memorial Tournament win

The win is the seventh of Horschel’s PGA Tour career.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Billy Horschel does not idle well.

He walks fast, talks fast, plays fast and is one to get, well, angry fast. His middle name could be Impatient. Or Fidgety.

Always been that way for the veteran. From time to time, he’s overcome his lack of easing off the pedal and won six PGA Tour titles. But for some time now, his team has urged him on many occasions to slow his roll.

He’s finally taking their advice.

After a heart-to-heart with his caddie, Mark “Fooch” Fulcher, following last week’s missed cut in the Charles Schwab Challenge, Horschel deliberately eased his pace and took 10-15 more seconds to figure out what the two wanted to do on every shot in The Memorial, Jack Nicklaus’ annual gathering of the game’s best players at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the course the Golden Bear built.

Through three rounds, it worked and Horschel led by five with 18 holes to play.

But come Sunday, Horschel had to rely on a heavy dose of his new approach – and a ton of patience – in the final round to overcome a pedestrian start and shake Nicklaus’ hand in victory.

In winning for the seventh time on the PGA Tour, Horschel didn’t buckle when his consecutive bogey-free streak ended at 50 holes with a bogey on the sixth. Didn’t buckle despite his overnight lead falling to two with six holes to play. Didn’t buckle even after driving his ball on the 13^th into the trees.

Staring collapse directly in its face, Horschel laid up to 102 yards on 13 and then canned an 11-footer for par to increase his lead to four.

After making a gutsy par from eight feet on the 14^th, Horschel had the big moment he was waiting for by making a 53-foot eagle putt on the 15^th.

Horschel signed for an even-par 72 to finish at 13 under and four shots clear.

Aaron Wise was playing alongside Horschel and pushed him best he could. He made big par saves and then big birdie putts on the 10^th and 11^th holes and another strong par save on the 12^th to pull within two. But Horschel held him off.

Wise finished second at 9 under with a 71.

Defending champion Patrick Cantlay and Joaquin Niemann each shot 71 to finish in a tie for third at 7 under.

Max Homa (69), Will Zalatoris (70), Denny McCarthy (72), Sahith Theegala (71) and Daniel Berger (73) finished in a tie for fifth at 6 under.

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In first action in 55 days, Bryson DeChambeau in positive mood despite a 76 in Memorial

“The fact that I was able to enjoy golf again even though I played terrible.”

DUBLIN, Ohio – Bryson DeChambeau’s first shot on the PGA Tour in 55 days was exactly what he wanted to see.

“I hit it down the fairway, I was like, all right, cool,” he said of his opening drive on the first hole in Thursday’s first round of The Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “Still have my game somewhat.”

His spirits remained high through the first 11 holes and he was 1 under heading to the water-protected par-3 12^th. But he hit his tee shot into the water, then followed with three bogeys in his final five holes to turn in a 4-over 76, which put him nine shots out of the lead.

But for the most part, DeChambeau’s return to the PGA Tour for the first time since he missed the cut in the Masters was a positive sign as he moves on from wrist surgery earlier this year.

“The fact that I was able to enjoy golf again even though I played terrible,” DeChambeau said when asked what he was happiest about. “I know I have a lot of stuff to work on. Just being able to go out there, start to enjoy what this game has given me. It’s great seeing the fans out there, supporting me, pushing me on, even when I’m not doing great. Gives me some comfort that it’s fun again.

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“From a golf perspective, no, I hated every minute of it. But from an emotional standpoint, it was nice to finally be back again in a competitive environment, putting well. Felt like I was putting really good. Wedging was not great. It was all over the place. But I haven’t practiced in a while. I’ve got to go work on that and talk to (coach) Chris Como and we’ll go figure it out.”

The eight-time PGA Tour winner and 2020 U.S. Open champion said this week is a stepping stone into his future.

“It’s a great test run to keep going, because really my eyes are set on the U.S. Open. That’s where I want to be full horse, all horses moving in the right direction. I’m just not there yet with everything,” he said. “But it just didn’t feel like the old me of 2018 like I used to, and so there’s a lot of work I have to do to get back to top form and climb that mountain again. I’m excited to do so.

“I’ve been working so hard to try and understand why the golf swing breaks down. It’s not as repeatable. And my time off, I haven’t been able to hit golf balls. It’s very difficult. You’re in your head the whole time. You have this thought process, and you go out there and it’s OK, but it doesn’t pan out the way you want to.

“So really having a positive attitude even though things aren’t going great out there is important for me. Now, I’ve learned that that’s what really matters for me. I enjoy the journey again. I’ve taken enough time off to where I’m comfortable going after it again; whereas before it was tough because it’s like, man, I was grinding so hard and I wasn’t figuring stuff out. It can just beat you down.

“But I was excited to get out there and play golf again and compete.”

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Memorial golf honoree Ben Crenshaw recalls first time he met Jack Nicklaus — in a bathroom

Jack Nicklaus laughed at Ben Crenshaw’s telling of the story.

DUBLIN, Ohio — The first time 2022 Memorial honoree Ben Crenshaw met tournament founder and host Jack Nicklaus included a bit of bathroom humor.

Crenshaw was a young and upcoming Texan who had grown up idolizing Nicklaus, 12 years his senior and already a golf legend, when the two PGA Tour players showed up at the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club near Philadelphia.

“I’m watching the Masters every year since I was a little kid,” Crenshaw said Wednesday during the honoree ceremony, which also recognized co-honoree Charlie Sifford. “Every kid idolized Jack. I really wanted to meet him, so here we are at a practice round (at the U.S. Open) and I go into the locker room and here he comes.”

Nicklaus, at the top of his game and height of his fame, charged past the 19-year-old Crenshaw and up the stairs, blond hair waving.

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“He’s got the white shoes on and I’m going, ‘Oh my god, there he is,’” Crenshaw said. “He was by himself, didn’t have an entourage around him, so I thought, ‘This may be my chance.’ Like a little kid, I waited a bit and then ran up the stairs and there Jack was – using the restroom.”

Undeterred, or maybe better put in a panic, Crenshaw stuck out his hand while approaching Nicklaus and said, ‘Hi Jack, I’m Ben Crenshaw.’

“And he just said, ‘I’ll be with you in a minute.’”

Nicklaus laughed at Crenshaw’s telling of the story, later saying he was glad the story got told by the tournament honoree and not the host.

“Jack to me is a player who was conjured up from somewhere else,” Crenshaw said, turning serious. “He had power, touch and always knew what club to hit. I played with him and he would pull out that 1958 MacGregor 3-wood, and that thing won him a lot of tournaments.”

Crenshaw also addressed Nicklaus’ outstanding sportsmanship.

“Jack was always doing the right thing,” Crenshaw said. “I played with him in 1977 at the last round of the Masters and I did not play well. And Jack played the most magnificent round you ever saw. He did not miss a shot, but unbelievably he hit a 6-iron fat at No. 18 and made a bogey, and Tom Watson made this curling putt on 17 and beat him. We played twosomes and we went into the tent and signed the cards and Jack turned to Willie Peterson, his caddie, and said, ‘Gee, Willie, that’s too bad.’ I thought, ‘Is that all he’s going to say?’ If I’d have done that I’d have torn up the tent. … But that’s the kind of guy Jack Nicklaus is.”

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Rory McIlroy reacts to list of names headed to first Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf event; PGA Tour reminds players they ‘have not been authorized to participate’

Rory McIlroy is not going to play in the inaugural LIV Golf event but he doesn’t begrudge anyone who is.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Rory McIlroy is not going to London next week to play in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series at the Centurion Club.

But he doesn’t begrudge anyone who is.

“I have some very close friends that are playing in this event in London, and I certainly wouldn’t want to stand in their way to do what they feel is right for themselves,” McIlroy said Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club, home to The Memorial. “It’s not something that I would do personally. But I certainly understand why some of the guys have went, and it’s something that we are all just going to keep an eye on and see what happens over these next few weeks.”

The upstart golf league headed by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia, announced the field Tuesday night for the first of eight events. Former world No. 1 and two-time major champion Dustin Johnson headlines the field. Earlier this year, Johnson pledged his allegiance to the PGA Tour but hedged a bit when talking at the PGA Championship.

“Dustin has been contemplating the opportunity off-and-on for the past couple of years,” said Johnson’s manager, David Winkle with Hambric Sports, in a statement. “Ultimately, he decided it was in his and his family’s best interest to pursue it. Dustin has never had any issue with the PGA Tour and is grateful for all it has given him, but in the end, felt this was too compelling to pass up.”

Major champions Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen, Charles Schwartzel, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell also are in the field, as are Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Kevin Na. Forty-two of the 48 players were announced; five others will qualify from the Asian Tour Series event this week and one invite remains. That could go to Phil Mickelson, who hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since January as he took a leave of absence following incendiary remarks aimed at the PGA Tour and the oppressive Saudi Arabia regime.

Sixteen of the world’s top 100 will play in the 54-hole, no-cut event featuring a $25 million purse, with $4 million going to the winner.

McIlroy described his feeling as “indifferent” when he saw the field.

“I certainly don’t think the field is anything to jump up and down about,” McIlroy said. “Look the field this week. Look at the field next week in Canada. They are proper golf tournaments.”

But he understands why some players will opt to play the LIV Golf Series.

“You have some guys in a position where like they are literally not guaranteed a job next year. It’s hard to stay in the Top 125 out here, especially when you’re a guy in your 40s and maybe you don’t hit the ball as far as you’ve used to,” McIlroy said. “As we’ve seen, it’s a young man’s game nowadays. So someone that isn’t guaranteed their Tour card next year, another entity comes along and says, we’ll guarantee you this amount for three years, plus you’re playing for a ton more prize money, and you’re playing less events, you can spend more time with your family.

“Whenever you sit down and look at some of those things, you know, it’s very appealing to some of those guys that are in that position. I’m not in that position, and it’s not something that I would do.”

The PGA Tour has threated serious penalties for those PGA Tour members who play in the LIV Golf Series events. Commissioner Jay Monahan denied player releases to play in London, as did the DP World Tour.

The PGA Tour released this statement Wednesday:

As communicated to our entire membership on May 10, PGA Tour members have not been authorized to participate in the Saudi Golf League’s London event, under PGA Tour Tournament Regulations. Members who violate the Tournament Regulations are subject to disciplinary action.

Three players in The Memorial field are heading to London. James Piot, the 2021 U.S. Amateur champion, declined to talk about his decision. Hudson Swafford said he would talk after the pro-am. And Matt Jones, two-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2021 Honda Classic, said he’s comfortable with his decision.

“I just thought it was a good business opportunity for me and my family,” he said. “I like the concept, the idea of the three-day tournaments, the team format aspect of things is great.”

And Jones has contemplated the prospect of being banished from the PGA Tour.

“I have thought about that, which is something I had to weigh up. I don’t think banning players is a good look for the PGA Tour, or for golf in general. I hope there is a way we can work around it,” he said. “But I’m very comfortable with my decision and I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be good. I’m just excited to go and play golf. I love to compete. And I’ve always enjoyed playing golf course all around the world.”

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2022 Memorial Tournament odds, field notes, best bets and picks

Can another youngster grab his first PGA Tour win?

From Fort Worth, Texas, to Dublin, Ohio, the PGA Tour has moved its way north and it’s time for a weekend at Jack’s place.

Last year’s Memorial was, well, unique. Jon Rahm had the tournament all but locked up, tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to withdraw after the third round, and the trophy eventually went to Patrick Cantlay, his second career win at Muirfield Village.

Like most years, the field is loaded. Rahm and Cantlay are joined by world No. 3 Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Viktor Hovland.

Changes were made to the course over the last few years including the resurfacing of every green, adjustments to 14 of the putting surfaces, and No. 15 was completely redone.

Golf course

Muirfield Village | Par 72 | 7,533 yards

General view of the 16th hole during the final round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 5, 2016 in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Key stats

Strokes Gained: Tee to Green: The last five winners of the Memorial entered the week ranked inside the top 14 in SG: Tee to Green on the season.

Strokes Gained: Around the Green / Scrambling: Short game is key around Muirfield Village. Players who are unable to avoid bogeys around the greens are going to have trouble contending.

Data Golf Information

Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), 2. The Concession Golf Club, 3. Sea Island GC

Trending: 1. Shane Lowry (last three starts: T-3, 13, T-23), 2. Cameron Smith (MC, T-21, T-13), 3. Rory McIlroy (2, 5, 8)

Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Jon Rahm (7.3 percent), 2. Patrick Cantlay (5.3 percent), 3. Rory McIlroy (5.1 percent)

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Jack Nicklaus reveals that he and wife Barbara had COVID in March

Jack Nicklaus revealed in a conversation with Jim Nantz on the CBS broadcast that both he and wife Barbara Nicklaus had contracted COVID-19 earlier in the spring. Jack, who said he suffered from a cough and sore throat, tested positive four times while Barbara, who was asymptomatic, had three positive tests. The Nicklauses tested positive for COVID-19 on March 13 and stayed in their southern Florida home until April 20. As of Sunday, both had taken antibody tests that showed they had the antibodies. Nicklaus had not publicly discussed his bout with COVID-19 until Sunday. Nicklaus and Barbara celebrated their 80th birthdays a month apart in January and February

The third round at The Memorial proved to be anything but easy

It was a hot day at Muirfield Village for the third round of the Memorial.In fact, Justin Thomas’ caddie couldn’t finish because he started feeling dizzy.So Justin’s dad Mike picked up the bag for the last six holes. JT shot a third-round 75. Tiger Woods shot a 71 to leap up more than 25 spots on the leaderboard. He is still +2 overall. Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer started the day as co-leaders but Finau stumbled a bit after a double bogey on the par 3 12th hole.Your leader heading into Sunday’s final round is Jon Rahm. Rahm had five birdies and shot a third-round 68.?Rahm opens a four-shot lead as he seeks his first win on the PGA Tour since teaming up with Palmer to claim the 2019 Zurich Classic

Jack Nicklaus says he’s still planning to shake the winner’s hand at the Memorial

“If they don’t want to shake my hand, that’s fine, I’ll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I’m not going to give them COVID-19.”

DUBLIN, Ohio — Jack Nicklaus shakes the hand of the Memorial winner every year, and plans to do so again, despite tour recommendations to refrain from hand-to-hand touching as a safety precaution against COVID-19.

“I’m going to shake their hand. I’m going to walk right out there and shake your hand,” Nicklaus said on Tuesday during his pre-tournament news conference. “If they don’t want to shake my hand, that’s fine, I’ll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I’m not going to give them COVID-19. I wouldn’t put anybody in that position. I wouldn’t do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn’t shake their hands.”

Nicklaus addressed a variety of topics two days before the 45th Memorial begins at Muirfield Village Golf Club, including Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.

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Nicklaus insisted the relative last-minute decision not to allow spectators at the Memorial was not made by the tournament but by the PGA Tour, with heavy input from players who were uncomfortable being around fans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We didn’t make it, you did,” he corrected the tour media official who asked him how hard of a decision it was to keep fans out. “The Tour made the decision. We didn’t have anything to do with it. We were approved by the state; Governor DeWine actually liked our proposal. He thought that we had really set out every safety issue that we could, and we were going to give it a shot.”

The Memorial’s original plan to allow spectators would have made it the first event to do so since the tour restart on June 11 at Colonial Country Club for the Charles Schwab Challenge, but the plan changed on July 6 as COVID-19 cases spiked both in Ohio and nationally.

Ultimately, Nicklaus thinks the Tour made the right call on not allowing spectators, even if it means central Ohio golf fans miss out on attending the tournament for the first time since the first Memorial in 1976.

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