A field of 121 golfers is at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, this week for the Memorial Tournament. Below, we look at the fantasy golf power rankings and odds for the 2021 Memorial Tournament, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The event is being held two weeks before the 2021 U.S. Open but there are still many big names in attendance for Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. Each of the top three players in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings – headlined by defending champion Jon Rahm – are in the field. Webb Simpson (No. 4) and Dustin Johnson (No. 6) are the most notable omissions.
Muirfield Village underwent a dramatic overhaul since hosting the Workday Charity Open and the Memorial in back-to-back weeks last summer. The long-time PGA Tour stop now measures 7,543 yards. The Nicklaus-designed venue puts an emphasis on iron play and short game.
2021 Memorial Tournament: Fantasy Golf Top 20
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Odds last updated Tuesday at 11:58 a.m. ET.
20. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+6600)
Up to 39th in the Golfweek rankings with nine straight made cuts to open his 2021 schedule, including six PGA Tour events. He’s fourth among golfers with at least 18 measured rounds played with 0.54 Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green per round.
19. Shane Lowry (+5000)
Six straight made cuts on the PGA Tour with three top-10 finishes in that span, including a T-4 at the PGA Championship. He has 16 career rounds played at Muirfield Village with 0.42 strokes gained on the field per round.
18. Sungjae Im (+5000)
Fourteenth on Tour in driving accuracy, 17th in par-4 efficiency from 450-500 yards and tied for 40th in scrambling. He’s struggling around the greens but has been very sharp with the putter this season.
17. Joaquin Niemann (+4500)
Averaging 1.61 strokes gained per round at MVGC over 14 career rounds played, including a T-31 finish at last year’s Workday Charity Open where he averaged 1.03 SG: Approach into the tricky greens.
16. Matt Fitzpatrick (+3300)
Tied for 27th at the Workday Charity Open and then finished third in tougher conditions the next week. He leaned heavily on his putter in the second event.
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15. Keegan Bradley (+5000)
Ninth on Tour with 0.84 SG: Approach for the season and is averaging 0.31 SG: Around-the-Green per round, as well. He has made nine straight cuts and broke 70 in the first round of seven of those events.
14. Gary Woodland (+4500)
Fourteenth in this field with 40 rounds played at Muirfield Village and has averaged 1.28 strokes gained per round. He tied for fifth at the Workday Charity Open in conditions that are expected to more closely resemble this week than the 2020 Memorial.
13. Hideki Matsuyama (+2200)
The 2021 Masters champ has struggled with the short game this season, but he put it together at Augusta National Golf Club. These greens were redone in the offseason overhaul but remain comparable to those at Augusta.
12. Louis Oosthuizen (+3300)
A co-runner-up at the PGA Championship, Oosthuizen averaged 1.25 SG: Around-the-Green two weeks ago. He has three top-10 finishes in seven stroke-play events this year and is up to 19th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
11. Rory McIlroy (+1600)
Disappointedly followed up his Wells Fargo Championship win with a T-49 finish in his return to Kiawah Island for the PGA Championship. Struggled off the tee and on the greens, but still averaged 1.09 SG: Approach per round.
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10. Xander Schauffele (+2000)
Finished in the top 15 of both the 2020 Workday Charity Open and Memorial Tournament. He’s second in the Golfweek rankings and has four top-10 finishes this year, but is coming off a rare missed cut at the PGA Championship in which he was bad around the greens.
9. Corey Conners (+2800)
Up to 14th in the Golfweek rankings with just one missed cut and four top-10 finishes through 13 events this year. He tied for 22nd at last year’s Memorial Tournament with 1.20 SG: Tee-to-Green per round.
8. Tony Finau (+2500)
Tied for eighth at the PGA Championship with his sixth top-10 finish of 2021 where he posted a 1.57 SG: Around-the-Green per round, the best among those who made the cut. He’s also fourth on Tour with 1.79 SG: Tee-to-Green per round for the season.
7. Patrick Cantlay (+2200)
Won the 2019 Memorial Tournament by two strokes at 19-under par, and this week’s conditions are expected to be more similar to the 2019 tournament than those of last year. He’s third on Tour in scrambling.
6. Bryson DeChambeau (+1600)
The 2018 Memorial champion won in a playoff at 15-under par. His added distance off the tee won’t be as much of an advantage at this venue, but he’s also second on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green per round, and his putting can’t be overlooked.
5. Jordan Spieth (+1600)
Finished second last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge with a disappointing Sunday round of 73. He has averaged 1.56 strokes gained per round over 32 career rounds at MVGC.
4. Viktor Hovland (+1800)
Fifth on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green and tied for 11th in SG: Approach for the season. He finished third at the Workday Charity Open and tied for 48th at the Memorial last summer.
3. Collin Morikawa (+1800)
Morikawa won last year’s Workday Charity Open but followed it up with a T-48 in tougher conditions at the Memorial. Putting cost him in the second event; however, the greens are expected to be softer and slower this year. He’s first on Tour this season in SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green.
2. Justin Thomas (+1600)
Went to a playoff with Morikawa at the Workday last year and tied for 18th at the Memorial. He has 26 career rounds played at MVGC with an average of 1.36 strokes gained on the field per round. He’s second in SG: Approach and sixth among qualified golfers in SG: Tee-to-Green.
1. Jon Rahm (+1100)
Survived the difficult conditions last year to win by three strokes at 9-under par. He led the field with 3.87 SG: Tee-to-Green per round. He enters the week atop the Golfweek rankings while looking for his first win of 2021.
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