Weekly PGA Preview: Memorial Tournament

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.

The Memorial Tournament

Muirfield Village Golf Club
Dublin, OH

The PGA Tour heads to Dublin, OH for another edition of the Memorial Tournament.

Before we get to this week's action, a few words on what transpired in Fort Worth this past week. I'll start by giving Ben Griffin credit for a great win, his first solo win on the PGA Tour. If you follow the sport closely, you're probably aware of his story, it's not an amazing story, just one of incredible perseverance, one which we don't see that much of anymore, but I want to talk about the guy I always talk about and that of course is Scottie Scheffler.

Why talk about Scheffler after he failed to win this past week? Good question, and the answer is, Scheffler finished in the top-5 this past week with what can only be described as his "D" game. Scheffler was fighting everything this past week and he somehow managed to sneak into the top-5.

I bring this up because we are coming up on a very interesting stretch of golf. It starts this week with another signature event, one which Rory McIlroy will not in in attendance and one which Scheffler is again less than 3-1 to win. Yes, less than 3-1, at a signature event and it eventually leads into the U.S. Open. McIlroy won the first major, Scheffler won the second major, so wins the third?

We spent the first four months of this season wondering when or if Scheffler would ever get back to the form that we've witnessed over the past couple years and in the blink of an eye, he got back there We were all aware that he'd suffered an injury to his hand (pretty important for a golfer) yet all we could talk about was his inability to win. Now that he's back, we're going to talk about him when he wins, when he almost wins and when he doesn't come close to winning (not that often).

With that in mind, and with the third majors right around the corner, I'm already in full speculation mode and right now, my thought is that Scheffler should be a heavy favorite heading into the U.S. Open. I'll get into it more in the coming weeks, but in addition to Scheffler finding his form, it seems like his competition is fading. We'll get a better idea if anyone is going to challenge him in the coming weeks, but right now, it looks like Scheffler's to lose. 

As for this week, well, it looks like Scheffler's to lose.  Surprise! Seriously though, he'll have to find at least his "B" game to win this week, but something tells me he will. 

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LAST YEAR

Scottie Scheffler shot a final-round 74 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Collin Morikawa. 

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 9:30 AM ET Wednesday.

Scottie Scheffler (+280) 

Scheffler was 9-4 this past week and that was against a non-signature field, now he's playing against the best in the world (sans Rory) and his odds have only nudged up slightly. Scheffler comes into the week with, surprise, a great track record at this event. He won here this past year and posted T3s in in this start here prior to that win. In all, he has four starts here and his worst showing was a T22 in 2020. There's nothing to dislike about him this week, unless you think his game from this past week will carry over, which I don't.

Collin Morikawa (16-1)

It's interesting that Morikawa is tied for second-favorite this week. It's not that he's not deserving, it's just that he hasn't won on the PGA Tour since 2023. Now, that's not exactly a long drought, but for someone of Morikawa's stature, it's getting there. The good news for Morikawa is that even though he hasn't won this season, he's played well. He'll have to play better than "well" if he's to win this week, but he's shown an ability to get around this course in style (two runner-ups) so at this number, he's probably worth a look.    

Xander Schauffele (16-1)

It's too bad that Schauffele got injured earlier this season. I was looking forward to seeing how he'd responded after winning two majors this past year, but up until this point in the season, I don't think we've seen the true Xander quite yet. He's shown flashes, but he hasn't been himself yet. Maybe that changes in the next month or so. His track record here is pretty good, he has six top-25s in seven starts, but he's missing the high-end finishes, so it looks like a pass for me on the win tickets this week.

Visit our golf betting section for the latest PGA odds and finishing props from multiple sportsbooks.

THE NEXT TIER

Viktor Hovland (28-1)

I'll start by stating that I usually like quite a few golfers in the mid-range, but this week, I don't see much to get excited about. Not even the guys I'm going to write about look like great plays, but I'm going to find what look to be the best three. Hovland has had a up and down season, but that's kind of what we're looking for when selecting mid-range guys for win tickets. His track record here is a lot like his season to this point, hit or miss. He won this event in 2023 and he finished in the top-15 this past year, but prior to that he failed to crack the top-40 in any of his first three starts here.     

Hideki Matsuyama (35-1)

It's been nearly five months since we've seen Matsuyama's best form, but perhaps a return to Muirfield will get him back on track. Matsuyama won this event in 2014 and he's carded four top-10s in 10 starts total, so he obviously likes this course and event. The question is, can he turn his form around in a short time? He did post a top-25 at the Masters and a top-20 in the start following that, but his past two starts have not been great. The thing about Matsuyama however is that he's no stranger to taking down strong fields.

Sepp Straka (45-1)        

Speaking of taking down strong fields, Straka has been doing just that this season. Straka was a known quantity entering the season, but not many could have predicted his rise this year. Straka has gone from a middle of the pack golfer, to a guy that's going to top $10 million in earning this season. He's already won twice this season, so why stop there? His track record here is not great, but he did post a T5 here this past year.

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LONG SHOTS

Matt Fitzpatrick (50-1) 

Fitzpatrick's journey on the PGA Tour has been one of a lot of ups and downs. He started as the kid with a ton of potential that couldn't quite get over the hump, then he won a major and was the next big thing, and now, well after a long drought, we're not quite sure what to think of Fitzpatrick. There's no doubt that he's got the game to win often on the PGA Tour, but we haven't seen much of that game in a while. We did get a glimpse again of that form at the PGA Championship however when he landed in the top-10. If he can build on that outing, perhaps he can get back to where he was a few years ago.

Robert MacIntyre (60-1)            

MacIntyre seems to be getting close. No, he hasn't contended recently, but I've started to see his name pop up more on the leaderboard in recent weeks and I think he's rounding into the form that saw him win multiple times on the PGA Tour this past season. MacIntyre's problem recently has been the blowup round, but he's too good of a golfer for that trend to continue. Will he buck that trend at an event where he's a first-timer? Tough to say, but we know he can win against tough fields, so he fits the profile of solid longshot winner this week.         

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Scottie Scheffler – I can't imagine there are many OAD players left with Scheffler at their disposal, but if there are, they'd better be using him this week. The purse is going to be similar to the final two majors and the field is significantly weaker than that of the final two majors, so there's no reason not to use him this week if you still have him.        

Moderately-Chosen Pick:  Patrick Cantlay –I didn't have a spot for Cantlay above as he's not a top-3 favorite this week, but his odds were too good to be in the mid-range section. Cantlay's track record here is going to draw a lot of attention as he's won this event twice and has an additional two top-5s on his record. The only issue with Cantlay is his form, but considering you probably don't want to burn Morikawa or Schauffele when Scheffler is such a heavy favorite, a guy like Cantlay looks like a good play.    

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Robert MacIntyre – There are two ways to go this week for those looking to make up some ground and MacIntyre appears to be the safer of the two routes. The other golfer I was looking at was Fitzpatrick, who has just as much upside as Bobby Mac, but the floor is much lower. MacIntyre can win this week, but if not, I feel he's going to give you a good effort either way, while Fitzpatrick might flame out completely.           

Buyer Beware: Daniel Berger – I've been touting Berger since this past fall and for the most part, he's come through, but it looks like he might be hitting a wall as we approach summer. Berger was 3rd at the RBC Heritage this past month and followed that up with a T11 at the Truist, but he hasn't been great since then and he missed the cut this past week at the Schwab. He has played a lot of golf recently and as someone who didn't play much the previous couple years, maybe he's feeling a little fatigued. Whatever the case, I wouldn't be surprised to see a little drop-off in form for a spell, but he'll be back to himself sometime soon.       

My Pick: Patrick Cantlay – Cantlay really is the perfect pick this week for anyone that doesn't have Scheffler at their disposal. I say that because he's not playing that great this year, which makes him disposable in a spot where it looks like Scheffler is going to win. You wouldn't want to burn anyone this week that you might use down the road, yet you want someone who could win if everything clicks, and that's Cantlay. He's won here before so if he finds his form at some point this week, he could be a factor.           

Previous Results

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FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Scottie Scheffler ($14,000)
Middle Range: Sepp Straka ($10,500)
Lower Range: Rickie Fowler ($8,400)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Patrick Cantlay – I'm going to double-up on Cantlay this week. He's not played his best this season, but he usually plays well here. He did miss the cut here this past year, but that only makes me want to use him more as I'm sure he's determined to put that MC behind him. Cantlay has just the one missed cut here in eight starts and in fact, outside of that MC, he's never finished worse than T35.