Featured Groups: the Memorial Tournament

The PGA TOUR visits the home of the game’s greatest player for this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. A star-studded field has assembled at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, for the tournament Jack Nicklaus created more than four decades ago. This week’s winner will receive 500 FedExCup points, as well as a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR. Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, PLAYERS winner Si Woo Kim and defending champion William McGirt are among the names that can be seen on PGA TOUR LIVE this week. PGA TOUR LIVE’s broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. Eastern on Thursday and Friday. It also will be available for free on Twitter from 7:30 a.m. until approximately 8:50 a.m. Three hours of Featured Holes coverage from the par-4 14th and par-3 16th will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. (Note: FedExCup ranking in parentheses) Thursday Kevin Kisner (7), Jordan Spieth (5), Justin Thomas (3): This group features three players who will likely team up at this year’s Presidents Cup. Spieth, Thomas and Kisner are Nos. 2-4, respectively, in the U.S. Team standings. The top 10 players in the standings on Sept. 4 will automatically qualify for the team that will play for Captain Steve Stricker at Liberty National Golf Club from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1. Thomas has three wins this season, while Kisner and Spieth have one win apiece. Kisner and Spieth finished 1-2 at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational.  Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee Dustin Johnson (1), William McGirt (60), Phil Mickelson (40): Johnson, the FedExCup leader, is playing alongside the defending champion (McGirt) and a World Golf Hall of Famer (Mickelson). Johnson finished third at last year’s Memorial, one shot out of the playoff won by McGirt. Mickelson has three top 10s in 16 starts at Muirfield Village. Johnson also leads the U.S. Team’s Presidents Cup standings, while Mickelson ranks 16th and McGirt is 22nd. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Friday Rickie Fowler (10), Hideki Matsuyama (2), Jon Rahm (4): Three popular young players – Fowler is the eldest member at age 28 — highlight this group. All three of these players rank in the top 10 of the FedExCup, as well. Matsuyama, a two-time winner this season, ranks second in the standings. He could overtake Johnson for the top spot with a win this week. Rahm ranks fourth in the standings thanks to a TOUR-high seven top-10s in 14 starts, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open and a runner-up at last week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational. Fowler, the winner of THE PLAYERS Championship 2015, won The Honda Classic earlier this season. He and Matsuyama also will be likely foes at this year’s Presidents Cup. Fowler ranks fifth in the U.S. standings, while Matsuyama is second in the International Team standings. Tee time: 8:26 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Si Woo Kim (22), Jason Day (43), Adam Scott (65): These three can discuss strategy for this year’s Presidents Cup, as they’ll likely be teammates on the International squad. Day, a Muirfield Village member, leads the International Team standings, while his countryman Scott ranks third. Kim jumped to seventh in the standings after his impressive victory at THE PLAYERS Championship. Day, who was runner-up at the AT&T Byron Nelson, is looking for his first top-10 finish at the Memorial. Scott finished fourth at this event last year. Tee time: 8:37 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

Click here to read the full article…