The Memorial Tournament: Expert Picks

What: The Memorial Tournament
When: June 1^st -€” 4^th
Where: Muirfield Village Golf Club
2016 Winner: William McGirt (-15)
Purse: $8.7MM ($1.6MM to winner)

Course: Muirfield -€” Opened in 1974, this course is named after Muirfield Scotland. This par 72, 7,390 yard course is fun in that Jack will routinely tweak aspects to challenge golfers any time it is noted that they are cheating the layout. It is built and tailored for golfers to follow it through a journey with bunkers and hills forcing them into selected shots.

A.
Adam Scott. He has by and large had a good 2017 season with a few speed bumps, he has top ten finishes in two of his last 3 tournaments. He did not play at the Memorial in 2016 or 2015 but finished 4^th at Muirfield in 2014 and 13^th in 2013. He last missed the cut here in 2009 and seems to have a fair amount of comfort and reliability to make it to the weekend.

B:
Hideki Matsuyama. I'm going with the 2015 winner to bounce back after Missing the Cut last year and have a top 5 finish. He finished 11^th at the Masters, 32^nd at the Zurich Classic and 22^nd at the Player Championship most recently and took a breather which should give him some confidence coming into the Memorial Tournament. He is currently 9^th in strokes gained off the tee and 7^th in shots gained Tee to green, both of which he will need on Jack's course.

Matt Kuchar. He's continuing to heat up, he now has four top 15 finishes in his last 6 tournaments and he comes to Muirfield where he finished 4^th last year, 26^th in 2015, 15^th in 2014 and won in 2013. To me, he is the likeliest one battling down the stretch on Sunday.

C.
Jon Rahm. I tried to stray for a tournament which was obviously a mistake. I have to select him. The course should test him a bit, but given his play this year, he should pass with flying colors.

Dark Horse:
Emiliano Grillo. He looked very comfortable here last year and has one missed cut across ten starts this year. This year he is in the top 50 in stokes gained: Off the Tee (41^st), Approaching the Green (30^th) and Tee to Green (24^th).

Current Stats on picks so far this season:
A Golfers: Avg finish 40^th (30th percentile)
B Golfers: Avg finish: 49^th (38th percentile)
C Golfers: Avg finish: 50^th (39th percentile)
Sleepers: Avg finish 52^nd (40th percentile)
2017 average 130 golfers per tournament.