The Memorial Tournament is a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament founded in 1976 by

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at

Muirfield Village Golf Club Muirfield Village is an “upscale” golf-oriented community in the central United States, located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. Origins Founded by Jack Nicklaus, it is named after Muirfield, Scotland, where he won the first of ...

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly Mem ...

, a suburb north of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. The golf course passes through a large neighborhood called Muirfield Village, which includes a 1999 bronze sculpture of Nicklaus mentoring a young golfer located in the wide median of Muirfield Drive.

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 , a considerable length for the mid-1970s. At the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

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 Nationwide Children's Hospital (formerly Columbus Children's Hospital) is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affil ...

. 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.

Invitational status

The Memorial Tournament is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the

, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 120 players (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 Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...

, the

RBC Heritage The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply the Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. T ...

Charles Schwab Challenge The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth at Colonial Country Cl ...

, and the

Genesis Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...

. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 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 World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

and the

Field

The field consists of 120 players invited using the following criteria: # Memorial winners in the last five years or prior to 1997 #

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

and major championship winners in the last five years #

, and

winners in the past three years # Tournament winners in the past year # Playing member of last named U.S.

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

team, European Ryder Cup team, U.S.

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

team, and International Presidents Cup team (non-PGA Tour members qualifying in this category count against unrestricted sponsor exemptions) # Prior year

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

winner # Prior year

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

winner # Up to four players selected by the tournament from among the money leaders from the other five

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

tours # 14 sponsors exemptions – 2 from among graduates of the Web.com Tour Finals, 6 members not otherwise exempt, and 6 unrestricted # Top 50

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

as of the Friday before the tournament # Top 70 from prior year's

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...

points list # PGA Tour members whose non-member FedEx Cup points the previous season (excluding WGCs) would have placed them in the top 70 # Top 70 from current year's FedEx Cup points list as of the Friday before the tournament # Prior year college player of the year (Jack Nicklaus Award) # Remaining positions filled alternating from current year's and prior year's FedEx Cup point lists

Tournament highlights

*1976:

Roger Maltbie Roger Lin Maltbie (born June 30, 1951) is an American professional golfer and on-course analyst for NBC Sports. Career Maltbie was born in Modesto, California and grew up in San Jose. He attended James Lick High School where he was a teammat ...

won the inaugural Memorial Tournament, defeating

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

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.Roger Maltbie wins Memorial
/ref> *1977: Poor weather resulted in a Monday finish for the tournament; host Jack Nicklaus won by two shots over

Hubert Green Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 29 professional golf tournaments, including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the ...

. *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 James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 20 ...

won for the first time on the PGA Tour, defeating Irwin on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. *1993:

Paul Azinger Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer and TV golf He won twelve times on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 1993 PGA Championship. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official ...

birdied the 72nd hole by holing out from a bunker to finish one shot ahead of

Corey Pavin Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 150 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1986 and 1997 ...

. *1994:

Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. A former number 1 ranked golfer, his tournament wins include one major title, the 1996 Open Championship; and he is the only golfer in history to have been awarded th ...

shot a tournament record 268 (-20) for 72 holes on his way to a five-shot victory over

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

. *2000:

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

became the first Memorial winner to successfully defend his title, finishing five shots clear of

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

. *2001: Woods won for a third consecutive year, seven shots ahead of runners-up Paul Azinger and

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...

. *2005:

Bart Bryant Barton Holan Bryant (November 18, 1962 – May 31, 2022) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Bryant was born in Gatesville, Texas, the son of a Baptist pastor. He attended New Mex ...

saved par from a hazard on the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Fred Couples. *2007:

K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju ( ko, 최경주; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty p ...

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 Matthew Gregory Kuchar (born June 21, 1978) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and formerly the Nationwide Tour. He has won nine times on the PGA Tour. Kuchar briefly enjoyed success in the early 2000s before sufferin ...

. *2014:

Hideki Matsuyama is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is the first-ever Japanese professional golfer to win a men's major golf championship the 2021 Masters Tournament. As of January 2022, Matsuyama has 17 worldwide wins, eight car ...

won in a playoff against

Kevin Na Kevin Sangwook Na ( ko, 나상욱; born September 15, 1983) is a Korean American professional golfer. He was a member of the PGA Tour until June 2022, when he resigned in order to join LIV Golf. He won five tournaments on the PGA Tour between 20 ...

; he was the first Japanese PGA Tour winner since 2008. *2015: In the third round,

shot an 85, the worst round of his professional career. Three-time winner

played his last PGA Tour event. *2016:

William McGirt William McGirt (born June 21, 1979) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. College career Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, McGirt grew up playing both baseball and golf, receiving scholarship offers from colleges in Nort ...

won for the first time on the PGA Tour after 165 starts. *2020:

Jon Rahm Jon Rahm Rodríguez (born 10 November 1994) is a Spanish professional golfer. He was the number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 60 weeks and later became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, first ac ...

's win elevated him to the world number one ranking for the first time in his career. *2021: Defending champion

held a six-stroke lead after 54 holes but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Course layout

Muirfield Village Muirfield Village is an “upscale” golf-oriented community in the central United States, located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. Origins Founded by Jack Nicklaus, it is named after Muirfield, Scotland, where he won the first of h ...

Golf Club in 2016 Source:

Winners and honorees

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Source:

Multiple winners

Seven men have won the Memorial Tournament more than once through 2021. *5 wins:

(1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012) *3 wins:

(1991, 2003, 2008) *2 wins:

(1977, 1984),

(1983, 1985),

(1990, 1995), Tom Watson: (1979, 1996),

Patrick Cantlay Patrick Cantlay (born March 17, 1992) is an American professional golfer. He had a successful amateur career and was the number one golfer in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 55 weeks. He has won eight times on the PGA Tour as well as the 2021 ...

(2019, 2021)

Notes

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official siteNicklaus.com – Muirfield Village Golf ClubJack Nicklaus MuseumVideo Highlights: The 1976 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village
{{coord, 40.1404, -83.1414, display=title, type:event PGA Tour events Golf in Ohio Sports in Dublin, Ohio Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Ohio Recurring sporting events established in 1976 1976 establishments in Ohio Jack Nicklaus