Golf Glance: the Memorial hosts elite field for $20M signature event

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: RBC Canadian Open (Robert MacIntyre)
THIS WEEK: the Memorial Tournament, Dublin, Ohio, June 6-9
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (Par 72, 7,571 Yards)
Purse: $20M (Winner: $4M)
Defending Champion: Viktor Hovland
FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 12:30-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @MemorialGolf
NOTES: This is the seventh of eight signature events this season, featuring a $20M purse and 700 FedEx Cup points to the winner. … Muirfield Village has played host to the tournament every year since 1976 and is the only course in the United States to host the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup. … Each of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings are in the 73-player field along with nine of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … MacIntyre withdrew from the event one day after claiming his first PGA Tour victory. … The four sponsors exemptions this week are Billy Horschel, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker and Alex Noren. 2024 Jack Nicklaus Award winner Jackson Koivun, a freshman at Auburn, was also awarded a spot in the field as the best Division I college golfer. … The Aon Swing 5 players who earned spots in the field are Davis Riley, Ben Griffin, Chris Gotterup, Victory Perez and Davis Thompson, who replaced MacIntyre.
BEST BETS: Scottie Scheffler (+360 at DraftKings) has won four of his past seven starts, including the Masters, The Players Championship and two signature events. He finished third last year, one stroke out of a playoff between Hovland and Denny McCarthy. … Xander Schauffele (+900) makes his first start since claiming his first career major at the PGA Championship. … Rory McIlroy (+900) seeks his third win of the season but has never finished better than T4 at the Memorial (2016). … Viktor Hovland (+1600) is trying to join Tiger Woods as the only player to win the Memorial in consecutive years. He’s coming off a solo third at the PGA Championship. … Patrick Cantlay (+2500) is seeking his first win since 2022. However, the 2019 and 2021 champion’s 70.32 career scoring average at Muirfield Village is the lowest among players with at least 10 rounds. … Ludvig Aberg (+2500).
NEXT TOURNAMENT: The U.S. Open, Village of Pinehurst, N.C., June 13-16

LPGA Tour
LAST TOURNAMENT: 79th U.S. Women’s Open (Yuka Saso)
THIS WEEK: ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, Galloway, N.J., June 7-9
Course: Seaview, Bay Course (Par 71, 6,190 yards)
Purse: $1.75M ($262,500)
Defending Champion: Ashleigh Buhai
Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday: 12-2 p.m. (Golf Channel); 12-3 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday, 4-7 p.m. (Peacock), 5-7 p.m. (GC); Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Peacock), 8-10 p.m. (GC — Encore Presentation)
X: @ShopRiteLPGA
NOTES: Annika Sorenstam (1998, 2005) and Anna Nordqvist (2016) share the tournament scoring record of 196. … The tournament returned to the Bay Course after being held at the Greate Bay Resort and Country Club from 1988-97.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Meijer LPGA Classic, Belmont, Mich., June 13-16

PGA Tour Champions
LAST TOURNAMENT: Principal Charity Classic (Ernie Els)
THIS WEEK: American Family Insurance Championship, Madison, Wis., June 7-9
Course: University Ridge GC (Par 72, 7,083 Yards)
Purse: $2.4M (Winner: $360,000)
Defending Champion: Steve Stricker
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 7-9 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-5 p.m. (GC)
X: @amfamchamp
NOTES: Stricker has finished in the top 10 in all but one of his seven starts this season, although he’s still seeking his first win of 2024. … Milwaukee native Jerry Kelly has won the event in two of his past five starts. … Alker withdrew from the event on Monday and was replaced by Fran Quinn. Also withdrawing were Alex Cejka, David Toms and Scott Verplank. They were replaced by John Huston, Tim O’Neal and Jason Gore.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Dick’s Open, Endicott, N.Y., June 21-23

LIV Golf League
LAST TOURNAMENT: Singapore (Individual: Brooks Koepka; Team: Ripper GC)
THIS WEEK: Houston, June 7-9
Course: Golf Club of Houston (Par 72, 6,789 Yards)
Purse: Individual, $20M (Winner: $4M), Team, $5M (Winner: $3M)
Defending Champion: Inaugural event
2024 Leaders: Players, Joaquin Niemann; Team, Crushers GC
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Friday, 1 p.m. ET (The CW App, LIV Golf Plus, Caffeine); Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m. (The CW, The CW App, LIV Golf Plus)
X: @livgolf_league
NOTES: This is LIV Golf’s first event in Texas and the eighth of 13 regular-season events in 2024, followed by the team championship. … Thirteen four-player teams and two wild-card players will compete in a 54-hole event with daily shotgun starts. … The Golf Club of Houston was the site of the PGA Tour’s Shell Houston Open from 2006-19 before the event moved to Memorial Park in 2020.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Nashville, June 21-23

–Field Level Media