Though the 49th annual Memorial Tournament will see some noticeable changes to its format – including a smaller field of competitors, a different tee-off schedule and a later date than usual –organizers promise the fan experience will remain at its high level.
This year’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday is scheduled for June
Photo courtesy of the Memorial Tournament
Memorial Tournament
3-9.
For 2024, the PGA Tour has designated eight tournaments as Signature Events, and the Memorial Tournament is among them. Because it was founded by Jack Nicklaus and is still hosted by him every year, the Memorial is one of three player-hosted events on the PGA Tour – the others being the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which took place in March in Orlando, and the Genesis Invitational, hosted by Tiger Woods in February in Los Angeles.
“We’ve always taken pride in the fact that Jack Nicklaus (created) a golf tournament that is considered one of the more premium, prominent events in professional golf,” says tournament Executive Director Dan Sullivan. “(It’s) gratifying to know, as the PGA Tour continues to evolve, the Memorial Tournament is a constant.”
Signature Event
As a Signature Event, the tournament will undergo some changes to its rules and its ramifications on the larger world of golf. These include:
- A smaller field of 70-80 players, compared to 120 in recent years
- A $20 million purse, with the tournament winner receiving 20%, or $4 million; previously, the winner’s allocation was only 18%
- An increase in the FedExCup points accrued by the winner, up from 550 to 700
- More stringent requirements for competitors to remain in contention, with players outside of the top 50 being cut at 36 holes unless they are within 10 shots of the lead
“What this new structure has allowed the Memorial to do is maintain its position as a tournament that’s separated and elevated, while gaining benefit from some of the newly defined ways that the tour is recognizing what they now call Signature Events,” Sullivan says.
In years past, during tournament play on Thursday and Friday, players were starting from the first and 10th tees. With this year’s smaller field, competitors will all start from the first tee, and will play against the field in groups of two rather than groups of three. The flow of competition will therefore start at the first tee on Thursday morning and maintain that pattern over the four days of tournament play, making for a unique approach, Sullivan says.
Patrons will be better able to watch the top competitors in a linear fashion now that everyone in the field is starting from the first tee, Sullivan says, and can decide whether to stay and watch everyone or follow one small group.
Tournament Fan Events
- Legends Luncheon presented by Nationwide: May 1
- FORE! Miler: May 30
- The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: June 3-9
- Jr. Golf Day: June 5
- Salute to Service Day: June 5
- Fore!Fest: June 7-8
Later dates
The other major difference between this year’s tournament and those of recent years is its time frame. Despite its name, the tournament has not always taken place the week of Memorial Day – it’s moved to June before, and has also begun as early as May 6 – but this is the first time in more than 20 years that the holiday hasn’t fallen during the event.
Photo by Sam Greenwood
The Memorial Tournament
The Memorial Tournament
The change was made primarily to offer PGA Tour players more continuity in their schedules, allowing them to compete at the highest level of events in a week-to-week fashion. This year, the U.S. Open takes place the week after the Memorial, and immediately following that is the Travelers Championship, the final Signature Event of 2024.
“The top players can look at their schedules and see this is when they need to be focused on performing at their highest,” Sullivan says.
Despite these changes to tournament play, Sullivan says, Memorial-goers need not expect any major changes to their viewing experience.
“Outside of that, the patrons will experience the same great players on the same great golf course over the course of the day,” he says. “When our patrons come out to the tournament and people tune into the broadcast, they’re going to recognize the Memorial Tournament as they always have.”
Nor, he says, can they expect anything different from the usual tournament amenities or external events such as Fore!Fest, the Legends Luncheon and the Benefit Concert.
Honoree ceremony
Among the events that will be business as usual in 2024 is the recognition of the tournament honorees on Wednesday.
The awards program dates all the way back to the first Memorial Tournament in 1976, when Nicklaus recognized Robert Tyre “Bob” Jones Jr., a highly influential early 20th century amateur golfer who was Nicklaus’ idol in the sport. Nicklaus created both the tournament and Muirfield Village Golf Club, where it is played, in part to show his appreciation for those who helped elevate the game of golf, and the honoree program is yet another way to show that appreciation, Sullivan says.
“He wanted to create something in his hometown that had a lasting legacy, that was a positive contribution to the community and would grow over time,” Sullivan says.
Since that first year, Nicklaus has convened a group called the Captains Club, consisting of stakeholders who act independently of tournament administration – past members have included the likes of Bob Hope, Sean Connery, and former U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush – to determine each year’s honoree(s). Honorees have included administrators, broadcasters and other contributors in addition to players who have made a major impact on the sport.
Then, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on the driving range, the honorees – or, in the case of posthumous honorees, their loved ones – are brought out for recognition. The ceremony always draws a big crowd, Sullivan says, and is covered by the Golf Channel.
“It’s unique for us to do that,” he says. “No one else in the game spends the time to recognize individuals over the course of the year, (and) also in the center of the tournament, like we do.”
The event also features recognition for veterans and active military members, as well as a performance by The Ohio State University Marching Band.
This year’s honorees
The 2024 honorees are Juli Inkster and Tom Weiskopf.
Inkster is a longtime golfer who did an enormous amount of work to bring focus to women’s golf over the course of her professional career, which lasted from the 1980s to the 2000s.
Her professional championships include seven LPGA Tour major championships and a total of 31 LPGA Tour victories, as well as LPGA Rookie of the Year. She has served as a broadcaster and as a three-time captain of the U.S. team in the Solheim Cup, including in 2015, when the U.S. team mounted the largest come-from-behind victory in history.
Inkster also lent her name to the Inkster Award, which recognizes the highest-ranking women’s collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility with a $50,000 prize and a two-day mentorship retreat with Inkster herself.
“I don’t think there’s any better representative of the game of golf,” Sullivan says.
Weiskopf, a Massillon native and OSU All-American who died in 2022, was a multiple-time winner on the PGA Tour and U.S. Open whose career spanned from the 1960s to the 1980s.
He was also a well-regarded commentator and analyst, and was known for his skills as a golf course architect, designing more than 75 courses, including Double Eagle Club in Galena. He also played the first official game at Muirfield Village Golf Club, an exhibition contest between himself and Nicklaus on the day the course was formally dedicated in 1974.
Garth Bishop is a contributing editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
