The Memorial Picks

The big names are in the field this week for the Memorial, which is one of the PGA Tour’s “designated” events and that means a $20 million dollar prize purse. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is listed as the favorite at BetRivers. Scheffler finished in a tie for third last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge. World No. 2 Jon Rahm, who won the 2020 Memorial Tournament, is listed as the second choice in golf betting odds. World No. 3 Rory McIlroy is also in the field, but he is listed behind World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, who has won this event twice, and World No. 5 Xander Schauffele. Big names have taken the title on a regular basis with Cantlay winning in 2019 and 2021, while Rahm won in 2020. Billy Horschel is the defending champion. Let’s look at Memorial picks.

Venue: Muirfield Village is a par 72 that measures 7,533 yards. The course was inspired by the course in Muirfield, Scotland where Jack Nicklaus won the first of his three Open Championship titles. Muirfield is known for thick rough and firm greens.

Last Year: Billy Horschel finished at 13-under par last year in what were pretty difficult conditions. He finished four shots clear of Aaron Wise. Cantlay and Joaquin Niemann tied for third place.

TV Coverage: CBS & Golf Channel

PGA Championship Odds

Scheffler, Scottie +600

Rahm, Jon +700

Cantlay, Patrick +900

Schauffele, Xander +1100

McIlroy, Rory +1400

Hovland, Viktor +1800

Morikawa, Collin +2500

Hatton, Tyrrell +2500

Thomas, Justin +2800

Day, Jason +2800

Young, Cameron +3500

Matsuyama, Hideki +3500

Sungjae Im +3500

Spieth, Jordan +3500

Conners, Corey +4000

Fitzpatrick, Matthew +4000

Burns, Sam +4500

Fowler, Rickie +4500

Theegala, Sahith +5500

Tom Kim +5500

Lowry, Shane +5500

Henley, Russell +6600

Clark, Wyndham +6600

Si Woo Kim +6600

Scott, Adam +7000

McCarthy, Denny +9000

Bradley, Keegan +9000

Kuchar, Matt +9000

All other players are listed with odds of +10000 or more.

Favorite

Scheffler, Scottie +600

I am a big fan of Scheffler, but as I said last week, and as I say every week, golf favorites are a losing proposition. Scheffler was the favorite last week and although he played well, he didn’t win. Scheffler is favored again this week and the field is much better. I like to take Scheffler when I can, but I can’t back him as a favorite.

Value Picks

Schauffele, Xander +1100

It is time for Schauffele to win. He is playing well enough, as he ranks 2nd for Tee to Green, 9th for Strokes Gained Putting and he is 2nd for Current Form. He finished 11^th in this event two years ago and finished 18^th last year. He struggled a bit in the PGA Championship, but rallied with a nice closing round. I expect him to contend this week for the win.

Hatton, Tyrrell +2500

You have to like the form of Hatton who has a number of top five finishes this year. He ranks highly in a number of categories for this week and overall, he ranks 3rd for Strokes Gained Total and 5th for All Round. We get a decent price on Hatton and he could be in contention for the win this week.

Lowry, Shane +5500

We get a big number on Lowry this week on a course he should do well on. He has struggled somewhat this season, due in large part to his putter. He is actually 18^th in Strokes Gained Tee to Green but he has rotten putting stats. He has been better of late with a 12^th at the PGA. Lowry does well on firm greens like these and he might be in contention on Sunday.

Scott, Adam +7000

When was the last time you saw Adam Scott at 70-1? And Scott is playing well with a number of good finishes. He has played well on this course in the past with a number of good finishes. He finished second to Cantlay in 2019. I’ll take a flyer on Scott this week.

Bradley, Keegan +9000

I am really surprised the number on Bradley is so high. He is definitely capable of winning this event. He has played well on these tough courses in the past and Keegan proved at Oak Hill that he can still contend. Bradley has also played well in Ohio in the past and on this course.

Check out the latest Memorial odds at BetRivers.