Scottie Scheffler Favored to Win Memorial Tournament

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Memorial Tournament

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is favored to win the Memorial Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 2,9 at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

Scheffler won this event a year ago, as he beat Collin Morikawa by one shot.

The Memorial Tournament is a Signature Event, so that means it has a $20 million prize purse, and it takes place on a Jack Nicklaus-designed course, so the field will be excellent.

This year’s tournament will be the 50^th playing of the Memorial Tournament. Many of the world’s top players will be joining Scheffler in the field, including Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood.

Scheffler has dominated on the PGA Tour in recent seasons, and when he is entered in an event, he is almost always the favorite, oftentimes a big favorite. He won a total of seven times last year, and he got into the win column this season with a win in THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

This will be the fifth time Scheffler will be playing the Memorial, with three top-five finishes. His scoring average at Muirfield Village Golf Club of 70.63 is tied for third-best in Memorial Tournament history.

Justin Thomas will make his 11th start at the Memorial Tournament and he has three top-20 finished including a tie for 4^th in 2017. His scoring average at Muirfield Village Golf Club is 72.38. He picked up his 16^th PGA Tour victory earlier this year at the RBC Heritage.

Course

Muirfield Village GC in Dublin, Ohio, is a par 72 that measures 7,571 yards. Muirfield Village was designed by Jack Nicklaus, who named the course after Muirfield, Scotland, which is where he won the British Open in 1966.

Muirfield Village is a long course that Nicklaus continues to change so that the course remains challenging to top players.

Golf Digest ranked the course as the 3^rd best in the country last year. Scheffler had a winning score of 8-under par last year, while Viktor Hovland won with a score of 7-under in 2023.

Tiger Woods had a lot of success in this event, winning it five times.

Among current golfers, Patrick Cantlay leads the way with two wins, having won the event in 2019 and 2021. Tom Lehman set the record in this tournament, shooting 20-under par in 1994. Cantlay nearly equaled that mark in 2019 when he shot 19-under.

2025 Memorial Tournament Top Contenders

Scottie Scheffler

Number one on the PGA Tour and the Official World Golf Ranking is Scottie Scheffler. So far in 2025, Scheffler has played in ten events with two wins, one runner-up, seven Top 10s, and 10 cuts made.

Sheffler is coming off a win at the PGA Championship, which followed a win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He played fourth at the Masters Tournament.

Last year, Scheffler dominated with seven wins, including the 2024 TOUR Championship, the Memorial, the Masters, and THE PLAYERS.

Rory McIlroy

Right behind Scheffler is Rory McIlroy, who is 2^nd in the FedEx Cup standings and 2^nd on the Official World Golf Ranking. McIlroy has played in nine events with three wins, five Top 10s, and nine cuts made.

In April, McIlroy won the Masters Tournament in dramatic overtime fashion to get the ultimate monkey off his back.

With that win, McIlroy has a career grand slam with wins at all four of golf’s major tournaments. However, McIlroy has finished outside the top ten in the three tournaments that he entered since winning that Green Jacket.

Even worse, McIlroy finished 47^th at the PGA Championship.

Xander Schauffele

Xander Schauffele is third on the Official World Golf Ranking but 55^th in the FedEx Cup standings. Schauffele has entered eight events with one Top 10 and eight cuts made.

Schauffle is coming off a 28th-place finish at the PGA Championship, but did finish 8th at the Masters.

Last year, Schauffele won two major tournaments: the PGA Championship and the British Open. But since then, he has had his share of struggles.

Collin Morikawa

Coin Morikawa ranks 11^th in the FedEx Cup standings and 4^th on the Official World Golf Ranking. Morikawa has entered ten events with two runner-up finishes, three Top 10s, and nine cuts made.

Morikawa is coming off a terrible performance at the PGA Championship, where he finished 50^th. He was 14^th at the Masters Tournament and 10^th at THE PLAYERS Championship.

Morikawa has not won since the 2023 ZOZO Championship. He has major wins at the 2021 British Open and the 2020 PGA Championship.

Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas ranks 4^th in the FedEx Cup standings and 5^th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

So far this year, Thomas has played in 12 events with one win, three runners-up, six Top 10s, and 11 cuts made.

Thomas missed the cut at the PGA Championship and was 36^th at the Masters Tournament. Thomas did win the 2025 RBC Heritage. Prior to that, Thomas had not won since the 2022 PGA Championship.