Check out the clubs Morikawa used to win his second major championship.
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The PGA TOUR heads to Delaware for the first time, as the BMW Championship tees off at Wilmington Country Club. FIELD NOTES: Only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings will earn their way to the BMW Championship… Scottie Scheffler, who entered the Playoffs at No. 1 in the FedExCup, is coming off a missed cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, just his fourth of the season… Other notables looking to bounce back after a missed cut in Memphis are past FedExCup winners Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth… The TOUR’s biggest stars will continue their quest for the FedExCup at Wilmington Country Club including world No. 1 Scheffler; defending BMW and FedExCup champ Patrick Cantlay; The Open and THE PLAYERS winner Cameron Smith and Sam Burns and Xander Schauffele, who each have three wins this season… Five TOUR rookies — Cameron Young, Davis Riley, Taylor Pendrith, Mito Pereira, and Sahith Theegala – advanced to the second Playoffs event with eyes on finishing their first TOUR season at East Lake… The BMW Championship field will be confirmed when the FedExCup standings are set after Sunday’s conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 FedExCup points. COURSE: Wilmington Country Club (South Course), par 71, 7,534 yards. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1959 (the original Wilmington Country Club, on a different site, was established in 1901), the course was re-worked by Andrew Green in 2021 after a tornado ripped through the area in August 2020. In just five minutes, 300 trees were felled by the tornado including a 250-year-old white oak, which allowed Green to move the 14th green back by 60 yards. The tournament routing will intertwine the front and back nines of the course (e.g. Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are actually the 10th, 13th, 14th, and 15th, holes for the members). Green was originally contracted by the club to redesign its North Course, but following the tornado the club had Green work on the South Course as it prepared for the TOUR’s arrival, as well. The club has hosted six USGA events in the past, along with the 2013 Palmer Cup competition between Europe and the United States. That American team featured Justin Thomas. STORYLINES: A dramatic cut to the FedExCup field will occur after the BMW Championship, with only the top 30 in the FedExCup standings making it to the season finale at East Lake…The automatic qualifiers for the Presidents Cup teams will be determined after the BMW, as well, with six Americans and eight Internationals securing spots on their respective teams… Unlike the FedEx St. Jude Championship, there is no cut at the BMW Championship… No golfer has defended his title at the BMW Championship since it became a FedExCup Playoffs event in 2007… The last two, and three of the last four, BMW Championships have been won in a playoff… Olympia Fields, which hosted the BMW Championship in 2020, will return as host next year. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Patrick Cantlay/Bryson DeChambeau (2021 – Caves Valley Golf Club) WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013) WILMINGTON COUNTRY CLUB RECORD: N/A LAST TIME: Patrick Cantlay rode a hot putter to top Bryson DeChambeau in a dramatic and thrilling six-hole playoff to capture the 2021 BMW Championship en route to winning the FedExCup. Cantlay closed with a 6-under 66 on Sunday, making putts of 8 feet for par on 16, 8 feet for bogey on 17 after his tee shot found the water and a 20-footer on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with DeChambeau, who shot his own 66 on Sunday. Cantlay gained 14.6 strokes on the greens that week, the most at a single event since that statistic debuted in 2004. The pair finished at 27 under for the week, with DeChambeau becoming the first golfer in TOUR history to fire a score of 261 and not take home a title. Cantlay and DeChambeau made matching pars for the first four playoff holes before rolling in birdies on the par-3 17th, the fifth playoff hole. DeChambeau had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 12-foot birdie try on 18. He had three other birdie tries in the playoff and missed them all. Cantlay rolled in an 18-foot birdie on the sixth and final playoff hole for the win. It was a two-horse race through Sunday, as Sungjae Im, who finished third, was four shots out of the playoff. Rory McIlroy finished fourth while Erik van Rooyen finished fifth. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.–7 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes
The 31st tournament of the 2017-18 season is the first in a northern latitude, so you know what that means: Summer has arrived for the rest of the country. Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, hosts 120 golfers for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. For the first time in memory, there weren’t any noticeable changes on Jack Nicklaus’ home track, but after last year’s edition, none were needed. Scroll beneath the ranking to read why, what to expect and much more on this week’s invitational. Checks all of the boxes, including momentum. Two top fives and another pair of top 15s in six trips; T4 in his last appearance in 2016. Bounces in after a “disappointing” runner-up at Wentworth. The FedExCup points leader is debuting as the World No. 1. Finally solved Muirfield Village in his fourth appearance last year with a T4. Led the field in average distance of putts converted. The wind whisperer is as consistently strong as anyone over the last year. Seventh on TOUR in birdies-or-better percentage. Scoring average of 69.67 in last 12 rounds at Muirfield Village (T5-T11-T15). The 2010 champ has six career top 10s here, including a solo second in his last visit in 2015. Fresh off a classic stripe show at Colonial, leading the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green en route to victory. Home game for the transplanted Aussie who leads the TOUR in strokes gained: putting. End-loaded a personal-best T15 here last here in ninth appearance. Win-T5 in last two starts upon return. First start since losing the handle on the top spot in the OWGR, but still leads TOUR in strokes gained: tee-to-green and adjusted scoring. Two top fives among five top 20s at Muirfield Village. May have fallen prey to grouping with Tiger Woods at TPC Sawgrass where he MC’d. It happened in the finale of the 2012 Memorial when he shot 84. Otherwise strong elsewhere. T2 here last year, too. After a T11 at THE PLAYERS, acknowledged that he’s back on track with his feel for competition. What better than Muirfield Village to test that claim? He’s 15-for-15 with five wins among eight top 10s. At 11th in the FedExCup standings, he’s highest among non-winners. Currently 16th in adjusted scoring and fourth in par-5 scoring. Perfect at Muirfield Village with a pair of top-15 finishes. A force since teaming with Louis Oosthuizen for a third-place finish in New Orleans. Schwartzel has added a T9 at Quail Hollow and a T2 at TPC Sawgrass. Five top 25s at the Memorial. Continues to construct a brilliant season. Solo third at Colonial was his fifth top 10. Ninth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and first in average distance of putts converted. Also T1 in par-3 scoring. Remains hopeful but his putting continues to misfire. Ranked 70th of 78 in strokes gained: putting at Colonial en route to a T32. He’s 5-for-5 at Muirfield Village with a trio of top 20s. Course horse, but stumbling of late. Seven straight starts without a top 15, but third in all-time earnings at Muirfield Village with a win (2013) and another four top fives among seven top 10s. Amid the trials of last season, he mustered a T6 at Muirfield Village, just his second top 20 in 11 tries. The two-time winner this season ranks eighth in greens in regulation. His title here last year was his first top 15 in six appearances, but he averaged 70.00 in last 16 rounds at Muirfield Village. Up-and-down 2018 includes a T5 at TPC Sawgrass three weeks ago. POWER RANKINGS: THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE RANK PLAYER COMMENT Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include 2014 champion Hideki Matsuyama, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott, as well as the red-hot Kevins – Na and Tway. Not unlike when fellow legend Arnold Palmer constantly tweaked Bay Hill for his own limited-field invite, Nicklaus hasn’t hesitated from approving everything necessary to keep Muirfield Village as relevant as it is challenging. But while it’s unlikely that The Golden Bear reaches to the heavens for an assist even when the stock par 72 measuring 7,392 yards remains largely the same, Mother Nature cooperated a bit in adding to the test last year. After conceding a tournament record-low scoring average of 70.987 in 2016, Muirfield Village fought back for a four-year high of 72.797 last year. Zooming in, even if you cancel the first (moderate winds) and final (inclement conditions and strong winds) rounds, the middle 36 holes played according to historical proportions. Putting that into perspective, after Jason Dufner established the 36-hole scoring record at 14-under 130, he’d eventually prevail at 13-under 275, which is a proper target aggregate for would-be winners this week. He was vintage in his own right in leading the field in both greens in regulation and strokes gained: tee-to-green. Dufner finished a distant 47th in strokes gained: putting, but that was due entirely to a dreadful third-round 77 in which he surrendered 4.80 strokes to the field on the bentgrass surfaces. Overall, Dufner’s performance is typical of how to tame Muirfield Village. While its fairways-hit percentage of 62.03 last year was all-time low, it still was inside the top-half easiest of all course last season. Secondarily but worth the mention, the quartet of par 3s averaged a TOUR-high 3.22, a three-year high among all non-majors. In line with Nicklaus’ design philosophy, the focus narrows on approach and on greens averaging just 5,000 square feet and ready to touch 13 feet on the Stimpmeter. Fairways and greens are framed by rough consisting of a blend of Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and rye approaching four inches. Similar conditions to last year are in store this week, which is to say that it’s already summertime in central Ohio. A reasonable threat for rain and storms extends into Friday, but it doesn’t disappear entirely on the weekend. Moderate-to-gusty winds will greet the field in the opening round, but they are forecast to peel off gradually every day. Daytime highs in the low-to-mid 80s will tumble into the upper 70s after the 36-hole cut is made. For the fourth consecutive year, the champion will receive a three-year PGA TOUR exemption (through 2020-21) as well as a three-year exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship (2019-21). ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.
