Jack Nicklaus helped kick off the 2024 Masters tournament as one of the former champions selected to take an honorary tee shot ahead of the first tee time. It turns out he wasn’t satisifed with merely one swing at Augusta.
The golf legend spoke to reporters in Dublin, Oh. this week ahead of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village and revealed he stuck around Augusta after Scottie Scheffler won to play a few rounds. Nicklaus said he played three times and shot an 88, 90, and 91. He gave a good quote about it, too. Per Golfweek’s Todd Kelly:
“I shot 88, 90 and 91. That’s a 269 for three rounds, which is a pretty good four-round score,” he said. “That’s what I play anymore. They don’t have any forward tees at Augusta. I can’t play 6,400 yards. I hit the ball 190 yards anymore, if I kill it. I played once last year, once the year before, and I’ve played four times this year already.”
Not too shabby for an 84-year-old to break 90 in tournament conditions at one of the hardest courses in professional golf. And it’s hard to imagine there aren’t too many folks of a similar age still able to pipe it nearly 200 yards down the middle off the tee. Not to mention having the skill required to break 100 at Augusta in April, something great amateur golfers 50 years younger than Nicklaus struggle with.
Robert MacIntyre was victorious North of the Border and now the PGA Tour heads to Muirfield Village for the penultimate signature event of the season, the Memorial Tournament.
The top golfers on the PGA Tour will be competing this week in preparation for next week's U.S. Open, meaning the No. 1 golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, is back in the field and understandably set as the significant favorite.
Let's dive into everything you need to know to bet on this event, including my best bets.
Scottie Scheffler: The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world returns to action this week after finishing T2 at the Charles Schwab Challenge two weeks ago. He has yet to win the Memorial Tournament but finished third at this event the last two times he's played here. If he even brings his "B" game, he's going to win.
Viktor Hovland: The defending champion is going to be in an interesting spot this week. Not only is he heading to a course where he'll feel comfortable, but he's coming off a solo third at the PGA Championship, his best finish of the season. If he can bring that momentum into this week, he has a chance to go back-to-back in Muirfield Village.
Memorial Tournament best bets
Corey Conners +5500
Corey Conners made a run at last week's RBC Canadian Open, finishing solo sixth. He's quietly been playing some good golf, finishing T13 or better in three of his last four starts along with a T26 finish at the PGA Championship. In his last three starts, he has been striking the ball better than almost anyone else on Tour, gaining at least +1.13 true strokes per round with his irons.
The most notable change has been his putting. Conners gained +1.73 strokes putting per round last week, one of the best putting performances of his career. If he finally figured something out on the greens, he's going to get his third PGA Tour win sooner rather than later.
As a cherry on top, he finished 13th here in 2022, so he's proven he can play well at Muirfield. He's my favorite bet on the board this week at 55-1 odds.
Tom Kim +7000
Tom Kim has had a down season, but now might be the time to invest. He has improved in each of his last five starts going T52, T47, T26, T24, and then T4 at last week's RBC Canadian Open. Last week was by far his best performance of the season so if you want big odds on a guy whose game has consistently trended in the right direction, Kim could be your guy.
Some times you just have to take a shot on a golfer with long odds who's a horse for a course. Billy Horschel won this event in 2022 and has two other two other top-10 finishes here over the past decade in 2020 and 2019.
He has also been statistically much better this season than he's been getting credit for, ranking 11th in total strokes gained heading into this week. Also, at a difficult course like Muirfield, it doesn't hurt to bet on a guy who's 16th in scrambling percentage and 11th in bogey avoidance.
He's worth a bet this week at 80-1.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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The first two rounds of the Memorial Tournament are in the books. It's time to look ahead to the weekend.
If you want to find out the live odds to win ahead of Round 3, as well as a couple of golfers I'm aiming at, you can find those here.
In this article, we're talking about a few Round 3 matchup bets, otherwise known as 2-ball bets. These are one-round wagers on a golfer to finish Saturday's round with a lower score than their playing partner. Let's dive into it.
If you're looking for an underdog to bet on Saturday, there's none I love more than Nick Dunlap against Matt Fitzpatrick. Dunlap has been sharp with his irons through the first two rounds, gaining an average of +2.59 strokes per round with his approach play through the first two rounds, the fourth-best in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick's irons continue to be a low point of his game. He's losing -0.24 strokes per round with them in this event. His short game has dragged him into the weekend but Dunlap's irons are a lot more sustainable.
At +150, Dunlap is absolutely worth a bet to get the job done.
Rory McIlroy -185 vs. Tony Finau Prediction
If you want to bet on Rory McIlroy but if you think Scottie Scheffler has this event in the bag, you can take McIlroy to finish with a lower score than his playing partner on Saturday, Tony Finau.
Both golfers enter the weekend at T7, but Finau hasn't been playing as well as his current standing may suggest. His success has come from strong play around the greens, gaining an average of +1.52 strokes per round around the greens, which is almost unheard of. Meanwhile, he's gaining just +0.78 per round with his approach and +0.21 per round with his putting.
McIlroy is playing a much more sustainable style of golf and his irons seem to be dialed in. -185 is a hefty price to pay, but he still holds plenty of great value against Finau on Saturday.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you're a golf bettor like I am, wagering on the final round of this weekend's Memorial Tournament may seem like a fruitless effort. Do you really want to lay -450 odds on Scottie Scheffler to maintain his four-shot lead? Probably not.
I have good news for you. There are other ways to bet on the final round of a PGA Tour event. Consider placing a few matchup bets. Also known as "2-ball bets", these wagers are on a golfer to finish with a lower score than the golfer he's paired with.
Not only does it give us something to cheer for on Sunday, but it gives us a reason to watch some of the early tee times. I've locked in two for Sunday's round that I'll share for you in this article.
We took Nick Dunlap at +150 against Matt Fitzpatrick on Saturday and it was a sweat-free winner. I see no reason why we shouldn't go back to Dunlap again on Sunday. He has been quietly been playing some fantastic golf this tournament and I expect that to continue in the final round.
The 20-year-old is second to only Scottie Scheffler in strokes gained: approach this week, averaging +2.41 per round. He's also been hot with his putter, gaining +1.56 strokes on the green. If he can just straighten out his putter, he could go low in Round 4.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout has gained strokes in all four major areas, but he hasn't been extremely impressive in any. He lost strokes with his irons on Saturday which doesn't bode well for him heading into Sunday.
I absolutely love this bet at the +140 price tag.
We're going to fade Rory McIlroy in the final round as he tees it up with his fellow Irishman, Shane Lowry. Lowry gained +4.44 strokes with his approach play on Saturday, which was the second most of the round next to only Scheffler. Meanwhile, Rory had a tough day with his irons, losing -0.56 strokes.
This bet is simply trying to take advantage of two golfers who are trending in opposite directions. If Lowry can carry the momentum from Saturday into Sunday, he's going to be in a great spot to beat McIlroy.
With both of these bets being at plus money, we just need one to hit to walk away with a profit. If both win, we're laughing.
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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
