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A stout field led by the top five in the FedExCup standings will all head to Jack Nicklaus’ renovated Muirfield Village for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Jon Rahm, whose victory pushed the young Spaniard to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, is back to defend. The Memorial was the first of two wins last season, marking Rahm’s first multi-win campaign on TOUR. FIELD NOTES: Bryson DeChambeau, who leads the FedExCup standings and won the 2018 Memorial, will be teeing it up … Other past winners at Jack’s Place who will be in the field include Patrick Cantlay, Jason Dufner, William McGirt and, of course, Rahm. Overall there are six former Memorial winners in the field… Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, a pair of past FedExCup and PLAYERS champions, head to Muirfield looking for their first titles at the Memorial … Tyler Strafaci and Joe Long earned spots in the field after winning last year’s U.S. Amateur and British Amateur, respectively. Pepperdine alum Sahith Theegala is in the field as last year’s Jack Nicklaus Award winner, given to the top player in college golf … Sponsor exemptions include Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington, who is coming off a fourth-place finish at the PGA Championship; fellow major champions Vijay Singh and Danny Willett; and Bo Hoag who, like Nicklaus himself, played golf at Ohio State and has a deep connection to the Golden Bear. FEDEXCUP: Winner gets 550 FedExCup points. COURSE: Muirfield Village Golf Club, par 72, 7,543 yards. The House That Jack Built hosted two consecutive PGA TOUR events in 2020 prior to getting a renovation (Collin Morikawa beat Justin Thomas in a playoff to win the Workday Charity Open in the week preceding the Memorial). The renovation efforts started during the final round of last year’s Memorial Tournament. Turf was being lifted as the leaders were on the back nine. Changes included irrigation work, the addition of a PrecisionAire system, rebuilt fairway and greenside bunkers, reconstruction of the greens, over 140 trees added in various spots (for example, the fairway width on No.13 was reduced), plus resurfaced tee boxes. The course can also play up to 100 yards longer now. STORYLINES: What will a renovated Muirfield Village look like? Last year, the course played the toughest it had in more than 40 years as the crew let the golf course get firm and fast before being torn up for the renovation. The renovations will challenge the players in a new way … Rahm is looking to become the first man to defend his title at the Memorial since Tiger Woods in 2001 (that was actually Woods’ third consecutive title) … Seven of the top-10 golfers in the world will be teeing it up at the Memorial… A limited number of spectators will be allowed to attend. The tournament is also taking the unprecedented step of offering COVID-19 vaccinations to on-site spectators June 4-6… With the Memorial Day weekend in the rear-view mirror, the FedExCup race is heating up. And with 550 FedExCup points available to the winner at the Memorial, it’s a fine opportunity for someone to make a big-time jump. 72-HOLE RECORD: 268, Tom Lehman (1994) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, John Huston (2nd round, 1996) LAST YEAR: Despite shooting 75 in the final round, Jon Rahm captured the 2020 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide and in the process got to No. 1 in the world. Rahm had an eight-shot lead as he made the turn Sunday in 2020, but he came home in 5-over 41. The highlight for Rahm came on the par-3 16th as he flopped in a pitch for birdie and unleashed a big fist pump… until it was revealed the ball moved slightly when he placed his wedge behind it, and he was assessed a two-shot penalty. It was no matter, however, as he notched his fifth TOUR title. Rahm’s 9-under 279 was good for a three-shot victory over Ryan Palmer. It was the highest winning score at Memorial since Woods shot the same number in 2012. Rahm and Palmer paired to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans a year earlier. Matthew Fitzpatrick finished 5 under and alone in third place; his 68 was the only sub-70 score in the final round. Matt Wallace and Muirfield Village member Jason Day rounded out the top five. Only nine players finished under par. Tiger Woods, in his first start back after the COVID-19 break, finished T40. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12:30 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7:15 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 7:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6:30 p.m ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. ET. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete.

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Some major changes are coming to the golf calendar. Which tournaments won? Which lost?

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Lanto Griffin took a long, hard road to becoming a PGA TOUR winner. He was 12 when his father, Michael, who bought him his first set of clubs, died of a brain tumor. But Steve Prater, Lanto’s coach, stepped in and got the boy an honorary membership to Blacksburg Country Club. Griffin struggled professionally and considered quitting as his bank account dwindled to nearly nothing, but sponsors and a sports psychologist intervened. At the Golf Club of Houston on Sunday, he made a 33-foot birdie putt on 16, scratched out pars on 17 and 18, and won by a shot to change his life. He earned a two-year exemption and secured a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Masters Tournament, and other select events. “I get to go to Hawaii for two weeks now?� Griffin said. “It’s mind-boggling.� Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Griffin is not easily discouraged. In addition to family tragedy, he quickly fell off the PGA TOUR the first time he got there, in 2017-18. But no matter; he played his way back through the Korn Ferry Tour. He also learned how to win so that when he was tested at the Golf Club of Houston, he had something to fall back on. He’d come through under pressure at the 2015 Robert de Vicenzo Punta del Este Open Copa on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, and the 2017 Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation and 2019 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. For more on Griffin’s wild ride, click here. 2. He was a birdie machine, but limited risk. Griffin, who now leads the FedExCup standings and is virtually guaranteed a spot in the Playoffs, was already leading the TOUR with 70 birdies when he got to Houston. (He had top-20 finishes in the first four events of the season.) It was no surprise, then, that he led the Houston Open field in birdies, with 24. Still, he was mindful not to be too aggressive, having aimed for every pin and played his way off the TOUR two seasons ago. Nursing a one-shot lead on 18, he aimed so far away from the water that he wound up in the right rough, which he called his fairway for the week at the difficult finishing hole. 3. He continued to putt well. Prior to this season, Griffin had never finished a TOUR event in the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Putting. Now it’s old hat. He was seventh in Strokes Gained: Putting in Houston, which marked the fourth time in five starts this season that he’s ranked in the top 10. He improved with practice, but also a putting tip from Vijay Singh last summer – the two each live in the Jacksonville area and practice at TPC Sawgrass – the week before Griffin’s Korn Ferry Tour victory. “I’m not going to give (Singh) all the credit,� he said, “but it helped.� For more on Griffin’s stats in Houston, click here. OBSERVATIONS It’s been an emotional start to the season: Lanto Griffin, 31, earned his tearful first victory in his 33rd start on TOUR. Scott Harrington pushed him with a 5-under 67 that gave him a T2 and greatly solidified his status on TOUR. Both have played through family tragedy, with Griffin just 12 years old when he lost his father to cancer and Harrington more recently stepping away from golf to help his wife with her own cancer battle. (She is one year into remission.) “I’m so happy for him,� Griffin said of Harrington’s T2. “Scotty’s story and journey is similar to mine.� Harrington, meanwhile, was happy for Griffin, whose win came just two weeks after Cameron Champ’s emotional victory at the Safeway Open. Add the deeply felt victories of Joaquin Niemann, Sebastian Muñoz and Kevin Na, and it’s doubtful any five-week stretch has better conveyed the difficulty and importance of winning on TOUR.     Korn Ferry grads had a big week: The top three finishers in Houston – Griffin, Harrington and Mark Hubbard (69) – all earned their TOUR cards via the Korn Ferry Tour last season. And all three took a huge step toward not just playing on TOUR this season, but staying there. They are just the latest examples of just how well the Korn Ferry prepares players to compete at the game’s highest level, as is Maverick McNealy. The Stanford graduate initially struggled as a pro, but earned his TOUR card this season via the Korn Ferry and now looks renewed. He spoke to his girlfriend, LPGA pro Danielle Kang, prior to the final round, and she told him not to look at scoreboards and to say two good things to himself after every shot. It seemed to work, as he made five straight birdies (Nos. 12-16) on the way to a career-low 65 on Sunday, which moved him up 29 spots and into a T17 finish. “I can build on this,� McNealy said. So can they all. QUOTEBOARD “The first one is win.� – Griffin on his 2019-20 goals, a list he keeps on his phone. “This is nothing. This is a game.� – Scott Harrington (67, T2) on the pressure he and his wife, Jennifer, felt as she fought cancer. (She’s a year in remission.) “My head is definitely a little bit elsewhere.� – Peter Malnati (73, T17), who led through 36 holes. His wife, Alicia, is due with their first child Oct. 26. SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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