Memorial Tournament facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Memorial Tournament

Tournament information
Location	Dublin, Ohio
Established	1976
Course(s)	Muirfield Village Golf Club
Par	72
Length	7,392 yards (6,759 m)
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$20,000,000
Month played	June
Tournament record score
Aggregate	268 Tom Lehman (1994)
To par	−20 as above
Current champion
Scottie Scheffler

The Memorial Tournament (officially stylized as the Memorial Tournament) is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. 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 7,072 yards (6,467 m), a considerable length for the mid-1970s.

At the Masters Tournament 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.

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 PGA Tour, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 73 players in 2024 (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 RBC Heritage, Charles Schwab Challenge, and the Genesis Invitational. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 69 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 Tour Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Field

The field consists of 120 players invited using the following criteria:

1. Memorial winners in the last five years or prior to 1997
2. The Players Championship and major championship winners in the last five years
3. The Tour Championship, World Golf Championships, and Arnold Palmer Invitational winners in the past three years
4. Tournament winners in the past year
5. Playing member of last named U.S. Ryder Cup team, European Ryder Cup team, U.S. Presidents Cup team, and International Presidents Cup team (non-PGA Tour members qualifying in this category count against unrestricted sponsor exemptions)
6. Prior year U.S. Amateur winner
7. Prior year British Amateur winner
8. Up to four players selected by the tournament from among the money leaders from the other five Federation tours
9. 14 sponsors exemptions – 2 from among graduates of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, 6 members not otherwise exempt, and 6 unrestricted
10. Top 50 Official World Golf Ranking as of the Friday before the tournament
11. Top 70 from prior year's FedEx Cup points list
12. PGA Tour members whose non-member FedEx Cup points the previous season (excluding WGCs) would have placed them in the top 70
13. Top 70 from current year's FedEx Cup points list as of the Friday before the tournament
14. Prior year college player of the year (Jack Nicklaus Award)
15. Remaining positions filled alternating from current year's and prior year's FedEx Cup point lists

Tournament highlights

• 1976: Roger Maltbie won the inaugural Memorial Tournament, defeating Hale Irwin 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.
• 1977: Poor weather resulted in a Monday finish for the tournament; host Jack Nicklaus won by two shots over Hubert Green.
• 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 won for the first time on the PGA Tour, defeating Irwin on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
• 1993: Paul Azinger birdied the 72nd hole by holing out from a bunker to finish one shot ahead of Corey Pavin.
• 1994: Tom Lehman shot a tournament record 268 (-20) for 72 holes on his way to a five-shot victory over Greg Norman.
• 2000: Tiger Woods became the first Memorial winner to successfully defend his title, finishing five shots clear of Ernie Els.
• 2001: Woods won for a third consecutive year, seven shots ahead of runners-up Paul Azinger and Sergio García.
• 2005: Bart Bryant saved par from a hazard on the 72nd hole to win by one shot over Fred Couples.
• 2007: K. J. Choi 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.
• 2014: Hideki Matsuyama won in a playoff against Kevin Na; he was the first Japanese PGA Tour winner since 2008.
• 2015: In the third round, Tiger Woods shot an 85, the worst round of his professional career. Three-time winner Kenny Perry played his last PGA Tour event.
• 2016: William McGirt won for the first time on the PGA Tour after 165 starts.
• 2020: Jon Rahm's win elevated him to the world number one ranking for the first time in his career.
• 2021: Defending champion Jon Rahm held a six-stroke lead after 54 holes but was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
• 2024: Scottie Scheffler wins the Memorial, becoming the first golfer with five PGA Tour wins before the U.S. Open in a season since Tom Watson in 1980.

Course layout

Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2016

Source:

Winners and honorees

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share ($)	Honoree(s)
2024	Scottie Scheffler	280	−8	1 stroke	Collin Morikawa	4,000,000	Juli Inkster Tom Weiskopf
2023	Viktor Hovland	281	−7	Playoff	Denny McCarthy	3,600,000	Larry Nelson
2022	Billy Horschel	275	−13	4 strokes	Aaron Wise	2,160,000	Charlie Sifford
2021	Patrick Cantlay (2)	275	−13	Playoff	Collin Morikawa	1,674,000	Nick Price Gene Littler Ted Ray
2020	Jon Rahm	279	−9	3 strokes	Ryan Palmer	1,674,000
2019	Patrick Cantlay	269	−19	2 strokes	Adam Scott	1,638,000	Judy Rankin
2018	Bryson DeChambeau	273	−15	Playoff	An Byeong-hun Kyle Stanley	1,602,000	Hale Irwin Jock Hutchison Willie Turnesa
2017	Jason Dufner	275	−13	3 strokes	Rickie Fowler Anirban Lahiri	1,566,000	Greg Norman Tony Lema Ken Venturi Harvie Ward
2016	William McGirt	273	−15	Playoff	Jon Curran	1,530,000	Johnny Miller Leo Diegel Horton Smith
2015	David Lingmerth	273	−15	Playoff	Justin Rose	1,116,000	Nick Faldo Dorothy Campbell Jerome Travers Walter Travis
2014	Hideki Matsuyama	275	−13	Playoff	Kevin Na	1,116,000	Annika Sörenstam Jim Barnes Joe Carr Willie Park Sr.
2013	Matt Kuchar	276	−12	2 strokes	Kevin Chappell	1,116,000	Raymond Floyd
2012	Tiger Woods (5)	279	−9	2 strokes	Andrés Romero Rory Sabbatini	1,116,000	Tom Watson
2011	Steve Stricker	272	−16	1 stroke	Brandt Jobe Matt Kuchar	1,116,000	Nancy Lopez
2010	Justin Rose	270	−18	3 strokes	Rickie Fowler	1,080,000	Seve Ballesteros
2009	Tiger Woods (4)	276	−12	1 stroke	Jim Furyk	1,080,000	JoAnne Carner Jack Burke Jr.
2008	Kenny Perry (3)	280	−8	2 strokes	Mathew Goggin Jerry Kelly Justin Rose Mike Weir	1,080,000	Tony Jacklin Ralph Guldahl Charles B. Macdonald Craig Wood
2007	K. J. Choi	271	−17	1 stroke	Ryan Moore	1,080,000	Louise Suggs Dow Finsterwald
2006	Carl Pettersson	276	−12	2 strokes	Zach Johnson Brett Wetterich	1,035,000	Michael Bonallack Charles Coe Lawson Little Henry Picard Paul Runyan Denny Shute
2005	Bart Bryant	272	−16	1 stroke	Fred Couples	990,000	Betsy Rawls Cary Middlecoff
2004	Ernie Els	270	−18	4 strokes	Fred Couples	945,000	Lee Trevino Joyce Wethered
2003	Kenny Perry (2)	275	−13	2 strokes	Lee Janzen	900,000	Julius Boros William C. Campbell
2002	Jim Furyk	274	−14	2 strokes	John Cook David Peoples	810,000	Kathy Whitworth Bobby Locke
2001	Tiger Woods (3)	271	−17	7 strokes	Paul Azinger Sergio García	738,000	Payne Stewart
2000	Tiger Woods (2)	269	−19	5 strokes	Ernie Els Justin Leonard	558,000	Jack Nicklaus
1999	Tiger Woods	273	−15	2 strokes	Vijay Singh	459,000	Ben Hogan
1998	Fred Couples	271	−17	4 strokes	Andrew Magee	396,000	Peter Thomson
1997	Vijay Singh	202	−14	2 strokes	Jim Furyk Greg Norman	342,000	Gary Player
1996	Tom Watson (2)	274	−14	2 strokes	David Duval	324,000	Billy Casper
1995	Greg Norman (2)	269	−19	4 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia David Duval Steve Elkington	306,000	Willie Anderson John Ball James Braid Harold Hilton John Henry Taylor
1994	Tom Lehman	268	−20	5 strokes	Greg Norman	270,000	Mickey Wright
1993	Paul Azinger	274	−14	1 stroke	Corey Pavin	252,000	Arnold Palmer
1992	David Edwards	273	−15	Playoff	Rick Fehr	234,000	Joseph Dey
1991	Kenny Perry	273	−15	Playoff	Hale Irwin	216,000	Babe Zaharias
1990	Greg Norman	216	E	1 stroke	Payne Stewart	180,000	Jimmy Demaret
1989	Bob Tway	277	−11	2 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller	160,000	Henry Cotton
1988	Curtis Strange	274	−14	2 strokes	David Frost Hale Irwin	160,000	Patty Berg
1987	Don Pooley	272	−16	3 strokes	Curt Byrum	140,000	Old Tom Morris Young Tom Morris
1986	Hal Sutton	271	−17	4 strokes	Don Pooley	100,000	Roberto De Vicenzo
1985	Hale Irwin (2)	281	−7	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins	100,000	Chick Evans
1984	Jack Nicklaus (2)	280	−8	Playoff	Andy Bean	90,000	Sam Snead
1983	Hale Irwin	281	−7	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw David Graham	72,000	Tommy Armour
1982	Raymond Floyd	281	−7	2 strokes	Peter Jacobsen Wayne Levi Roger Maltbie Gil Morgan	63,000	Glenna Collett-Vare
1981	Keith Fergus	284	−4	1 stroke	Jack Renner	63,000	Harry Vardon
1980	David Graham	280	−8	1 stroke	Tom Watson	54,000	Byron Nelson
1979	Tom Watson	285	−3	3 strokes	Miller Barber	54,000	Gene Sarazen
1978	Jim Simons	284	−4	1 stroke	Billy Kratzert	50,000	Francis Ouimet
1977	Jack Nicklaus	281	−7	2 strokes	Hubert Green	45,000	Walter Hagen
1976	Roger Maltbie	288	E	Playoff	Hale Irwin	40,000	Bobby Jones

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Source:

Multiple winners

Seven men have won the Memorial Tournament more than once through 2024:

• 5 wins: Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012)
• 3 wins: Kenny Perry (1991, 2003, 2008)
• 2 wins: Jack Nicklaus (1977, 1984), Hale Irwin (1983, 1985), Greg Norman (1990, 1995), Tom Watson: (1979, 1996), Patrick Cantlay (2019, 2021)

See also

In Spanish: Memorial Tournament para niños