Necessary changes to the PGA Tour schedule means this week’s golf is back at Muirfield Village in Ohio. Unlike last week’s one-off Workday Charity Open, the Memorial Tournament 2020 is an established fixture on the calendar and one that can trace its history back to 1976.
Sunday gave us a thrilling playoff as Collin Morikawa edged past Justin Thomas and both men are in play this week. Those who are staying in Ohio may have an advantage but there are some big names returning ahead of Thursday’s first tee time.
It’s tight at the top of the Memorial Tournament outright winner betting but one of the favorites is the man who has been the most impressive golfer since the sport returned. Bryson DeChambeau (+1000 or 10/1 with Bovada US Sportsbook) claimed the Rocket Mortgage Classic by three strokes last time out and his booming drives are set to see The Scientist soar up the World Rankings.
Bryson comes into this event on the back of seven straight top 10 finishes and, for good measure, he is a former Memorial Tournament champion, having won here in a playoff two years ago.
The other joint-favorite is Justin Thomas who narrowly lost out on Sunday night. JT has three top 10s in his last four starts and could have the advantage of being tuned in to this Muirfield Village course.
Then comes Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay who are locked at the same 12/1 win odds in places. Cantlay is the defending champion after beating Adam Scott by two strokes 12 months ago and a tie for seventh on Sunday shows he is in good shape. Rory is rested and comes into this event with four top 10s from his eight previous visits.
The market starts to drift now with Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm some way behind the top four. Hovland is making his tournament debut while Morikawa comes in on the back of Sunday’s dramatic victory. Rahm has been disappointing but his final day 64 on Sunday suggests he could start to address his dip in form.
Slightly longer in the betting at between 20/1 and 25/1, Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Xander Schauffele, Webb Simpson and Tiger Woods will all receive some support. Tiger is the most successful golfer in the history of this event with five wins but he is making his first appearance on Tour since mid-February.
Simpson was leading the FedEx standings until Justin Thomas overtook him at the weekend while Matsuyama was the champion here in 2014.
Heading up the long list of promising outsiders is Rickie Fowler (33/1) who is closely followed by 40/1 shots Gary Woodland and Daniel Berger. Woodland may offer some value here after a strong finish at the Workday put him firmly inside the Power Rankings.
Justin Rose (50/1) has little to offer in the way of form but the Englishman has a solid record in this event. Rose was the Memorial Tournament Champion in 2010 and the runner up in 2015 so perhaps he can place strongly again after another five-year gap.
Patrick Reed, Kevin Streelman, Abraham Ancer, Jason Day, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar are all long priced options for the 2020 edition. The nature of the event will generally ensure that we have a strong field but what will it take to get over the line at this year’s Memorial Tournament?
Our Preview’s Memorial Tournament Predictions & Picks with Course & Betting Trends
The familiar surroundings of Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio have played host to this tournament since its inception in 1976. It is a similar set up as last week so we have the par 72 in play which comes in at a respectable 7,392 yards. With four lengthy par 5’s the distance hitters will have an advantage in places so look out for more power drives from the blade of Bryson DeChambeau.
Bryson will have plenty of competition and it’s worth noting that Rory McIlroy has good recent stats in terms of par 5 scoring. That is going to be an important quality this week but there are other requirements that the 2020 champion is likely to have to meet. The Workday Charity Open saw Scrambling hit its lowest percentage this season and that factor is set to continue. The Stimp should increase from around 11 to the 13 mark and we may see some lower scoring overall.
This preview mentioned McIlroy and we suspect that it’s time for the current World Number One to deliver. He is nicely rested and has been in decent touch since the restart without quite threatening to hit the very top of the leaderboard. With these Memorial Tournament predictions, we are relying on that to change. In addition, we are adding some potential top 10 finish picks which will hopefully get our profits back on track in Ohio:
- Rory McIlroy to win @ best odds of +1400 (14/1) with Betonline. Most of the other top sportsbooks for American residents are +1200.
- McIlroy (+160), Gary Woodland (+400), Justin Rose (+450) & Kevin Streelman (+600) for top 10 finishes and all the odds for these predictions are with Betonline.
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.