Photo courtesy of Muirfield Village Golf Club
Officials at the Memorial Tournament announced on May 10 that three of the world’s top golfers have signed on to compete in the tournament, which runs May 30 through June 5. Reigning FedExCup Champion and World No. 2 Jordan Spieth, World No. 3 Rory McIlroy and World No. 8 Dustin Johnson will play in the 41st Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
Spieth’s golf fame began early. At age 16, he was invited to play in his first PGA Tour event. He decided to go pro halfway through his sophomore year of college and was quickly named 2013 Rookie of the Year. More recently, he was unanimously named PGA Tour 2015 Player of the Year, with five major victories including the 2015 Masters Tournament and the U.S. Open Championship. This will be Spieth’s fourth appearance in the Memorial Tournament. Last year he tied for third.
McIlroy was introduced to the game of golf at 2 years old by his father. He is a four-time major champion. Since turning pro in 2007, he has won 11 PGA Tours and been named PGA Tour Player of the Year twice. This will be his sixth Memorial Tournament. His best Memorial Tournament performance was in 2011, when he earned fifth place.
Johnson has won at least one PGA Tour event per year since 2008. In addition to a total of nine PGA Tour wins, he has recorded six top-10 finishes in 2016 alone as well as top-10 finishes in four of the past five major championships. Johnson has competed in eight of the previous Memorial Tournaments. He earned his only top-10 finish of fourth place in 2011 and finished in a tie for 13th place last year.
The Memorial Tournament has been a major stop on the PGA Tour since its original founding by Jack Nicklaus in 1976. Nicklaus designed the 220-acre course and its construction began in 1972. Two years later, the course was officially dedicated on Memorial Day, 1974.
Children under 18 will be able to enter for free with a ticketed adult on June 1 for Junior Golf Day, and children 16 and under enter free all week. Nationwide Children’s Hospital will also be honoring eight Patient Champions through its Patient Champion Program. The children will participate in special activities and meet PGA Tour professionals as well as two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning, who will play in the Memorial’s pro-am tournament, the Nationwide Invitational.
Badges to the Memorial Tournament can be purchased by calling the ticket office at 877-682-2343 or by visiting the website at www.memorialbadges.com. To learn more about the Memorial Tournament, visit www.thememorialtournament.com.
Katie Ellington is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
