Memorial Tournament

History

The greater Columbus area is where Jack Nicklaus spent most of his early life. The golf course he designed at Muirfield Village, north of Columbus, was opened in May 1974, and two years later it hosted the first Memorial Tournament. The par-72 course was 7072 yd, a considerable length for the mid-1970s.

At the Masters Tournament in 1966, Nicklaus had spoken of his desire to create a tournament that, like The Masters, had a global interest, and was inspired by the history and traditions of the game of golf. He also wanted the tournament to give back in the form of charitable contributions to organizations benefiting needy adults and children throughout Columbus and Ohio. The primary charitable beneficiary of the tournament is Nationwide Children's Hospital.

One of the features of the tournament is a yearly induction ceremony honoring past golfers. A plaque for each honoree is installed near the clubhouse at Muirfield; Nicklaus himself was the 2000 honoree, and his wife Barbara was honored in 2025.

Invitational status

The Memorial Tournament is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 73 players in 2024 (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, Charles Schwab Challenge, and the Genesis Invitational. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 69 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).

In June 2014, the PGA Tour approved a resolution to grant the winner a three-year exemption, one more than other regular Tour events and on par with winners of the World Golf Championships, The Tour Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Field

In 2016 the field consisted of 120 players invited using the following criteria:

1. Memorial winners in the last five years or prior to 1997
2. The Players Championship and major championship winners in the last five years
3. The Tour Championship, World Golf Championships, and Arnold Palmer Invitational winners in the past three years
4. Tournament winners in the past year
5. Playing member of last named U.S. Ryder Cup team, European Ryder Cup team, U.S. Presidents Cup team, and International Presidents Cup team (non-PGA Tour members qualifying in this category count against unrestricted sponsor exemptions)
6. Prior year U.S. Amateur winner
7. Prior year British Amateur winner
8. Up to four players selected by the tournament from among the money leaders from the other five Federation tours
9. 14 sponsors exemptions – 2 from among graduates of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, 6 members not otherwise exempt, and 6 unrestricted
10. Top 50 Official World Golf Ranking as of the Friday before the tournament
11. Top 70 from prior year's FedEx Cup points list
12. PGA Tour members whose non-member FedEx Cup points the previous season (excluding WGCs) would have placed them in the top 70
13. Top 70 from current year's FedEx Cup points list as of the Friday before the tournament
14. Prior year college player of the year (Jack Nicklaus Award)
15. Remaining positions filled alternating from current year's and prior year's FedEx Cup point lists

Tournament highlights

• 1976: Roger Maltbie won the inaugural Memorial Tournament, defeating Hale Irwin in a four-hole aggregate playoff. On the third extra hole Maltbie's errant approach shot appeared headed for the gallery when it hit a post, causing the ball to bounce onto the green, where both parred to remain tied; Maltbie then birdied the 18th hole to win the playoff.
• 1977: Poor weather resulted in a Monday finish for the tournament; host Jack Nicklaus won by two shots over Hubert Green.
• 1980: David Graham birdied the 72nd hole to edge Tom Watson by one shot; Watson was bidding to become the first Memorial champion to defend his title.
• 1984: Jack Nicklaus defeated Andy Bean in a sudden-death playoff to become the first two-time Memorial winner.
• 1991: Kenny Perry won for the first time on the PGA Tour, defeating Irwin on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
• 1993: Paul Azinger birdied the 72nd hole by holing out from a bunker to finish one shot ahead of Corey Pavin.
• 1994: Tom Lehman shot a tournament record 268 (-20) for 72 holes on his way to a five-shot victory over Greg Norman.
• 2000: Tiger Woods became the first Memorial winner to successfully defend his title, finishing five shots clear of Ernie Els.
• 2001: Woods won for a third consecutive year, seven shots ahead of runners-up Paul Azinger and Sergio García.
• 2005: Bart Bryant saved par from a hazard on the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Fred Couples.
• 2007: K. J. Choi shot a final round 65 to win by one shot over Ryan Moore.
• 2012: Woods birdied three of the last four holes, including a chip in on the 16th hole, to turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot victory. The win was Woods' 73rd PGA Tour victory, which tied Jack Nicklaus for second most PGA Tour wins.
• 2013: Defending champion Woods posted a third round back nine score of 44, the worst in his career. He finished 20 shots behind winner Matt Kuchar.
• 2014: Hideki Matsuyama won in a playoff against Kevin Na; he was the first Japanese PGA Tour winner since 2008.
• 2015: In the third round, Tiger Woods shot an 85, the worst round of his professional career. Three-time winner Kenny Perry played his last PGA Tour event.
• 2016: William McGirt won for the first time on the PGA Tour after 165 starts.
• 2020: Jon Rahm's win elevated him to the world number one ranking for the first time in his career.
• 2021: Defending champion Rahm held a six-stroke lead after 54 holes, but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
• 2024: Scottie Scheffler wins the Memorial, becoming the first since Tom Watson in 1980 to win five PGA Tour events in a season prior to the U.S. Open.

Course layout

Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2016

Source:

Winners and honorees

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.

Source:

Multiple winners

Eight men have won the Memorial Tournament more than once through 2025:

• 5 wins: Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012)
• 3 wins: Kenny Perry (1991, 2003, 2008)
• 2 wins: Jack Nicklaus (1977, 1984), Hale Irwin (1983, 1985), Greg Norman (1990, 1995), Tom Watson: (1979, 1996), Patrick Cantlay (2019, 2021), Scottie Scheffler (2024, 2025)

Notes

References

References

1. (2016). "Course map". Memorial Tournament.
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3. (August 9, 2013). "Jack Nicklaus – Dublin Icon". City of Dublin.
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5. (October 5, 2015). "2015–16 PGA Tour Player Handbook & Tournament Regulations".
6. Kady, John. (June 1, 1976). "Roger Maltbie wins Memorial". Beaver County Times.
7. (May 23, 1977). "Nicklaus wins Memorial Golf". The Pittsburgh Press.
8. (May 26, 1980). "Graham outlasts Watson!". The Deseret News.
9. White, Gordon S. Jr.. (May 28, 1984). "Nicklaus win in playoff". [[The New York Times]].
10. (May 20, 1991). "Perry beats Irwin in Memorial playoff". St. Petersburg Times.
11. Diaz, Jamie. (June 7, 1993). "Golf; Azinger's 'Miracle' Shot From Bunker Wins by 1". The New York Times.
12. Parascenzo, Marino. (May 23, 1994). "Lehman devours Memorial". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
13. (May 31, 2000). "Another first for Woods". New Straits Times.
14. (June 5, 2001). "Golf: Woods crushes Memorial field". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
15. (June 5, 2005). "Bryant earns second career tour victory". ESPN.
16. (June 3, 2007). "K.J. Choi wins the Memorial". UPI.
17. Ferguson, Doug. (June 3, 2012). "Tiger Woods rallies to win Memorial, ties Jack Nicklaus with 73 PGA Tour victories". PGA of America.
18. "Hideki Matsuyama wins the Memorial Tournament in a playoff". PGA Tour.
19. DiMeglio, Steve. (5 June 2021). "Jon Rahm tests positive for COVID-19, withdraws from Memorial with six-shot lead".
20. (2024-06-09). "Scheffler, with newborn on hand, takes Memorial". ESPN.
21. "The Memorial Tournament Honorees". The Memorial Tournament.
22. "the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday – Past Results". PGA Tour.
23. "Past Results". The Memorial Tournament.