2022 the Memorial – Muirfield Village Golf Club Course Preview
Ron Klos
4 years ago
With only two weeks until the year’s third major at the U.S. Open, the PGA heads to Muirfield Village and one of the more iconic courses on Tour as it hosts the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. “Jack’s Place” is a beautiful championship venue that has grown into one of golf’s premier events. It is also a demanding course that is bold and long, and is one where players must do everything well tee-to-green. Those who get out of position will struggle to make par. Designer, Jack Nicklaus, tends to allow players to swing away without much penalty off the tee, but the trade-off is challenging green complexes that put a strong emphasis on accurate approach play along with proper touch around the greens and scrambling.
The only venue in history to host the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and the Solheim Cup, Muirfield Village typically hosts one of the strongest fields on Tour each year. For this week, seven of the top-10 players in the world will be in attendance including Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. It was last year after three rounds when Rahm was destroying the field with a six-shot lead until he was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID. Patrick Cantlay went on to win for the second time in the last three years with a score of 13-under.
Competing for $12 million in prize money, the Memorial is a 120-man invitational event with the top-65 and ties making it through the cut line. Similar to Augusta National in many ways it presents a great warm-up for the upcoming challenging conditions that players will see at the U.S. Open.
Muirfield Village Golf Club
History
Located just a few miles northwest of Columbus, Ohio, Muirfield Village was founded by golf legend, Jack Nicklaus. He named it after Muirfield, Scotland where he completed his first grand slam in 1966 after winning the British Open. Situated on 220 acres, the club officially opened in May of 1974. As far as why he chose the site, Nicklaus remarked, “It’s a pretty site. When I saw it, I liked the way it flowed through the valleys, and I knew I wanted to create a gallery golf course. The valleys were wide enough to accommodate that goal.”