Memorial Tournament: 72-hole match bet tips, predictions and odds

The 49th edition of the Memorial Tournament is upon us and the PGA TOUR's Mike Glasscott has picked out three 72-hole match bets to follow.

Memorial Tournament Tips

Byeong-Hun An over Wyndham Clark @ 5/6

The Korean has yet to win on TOUR but has been knocking on the door again this season.

Posting top-10 finishes at demanding courses Bay Hill (T8) and Quail Hollow (3rd), another demanding track fits his big-hitting profile. Starting for the ninth time at Muirfield Village, he nearly won in 2018 (P2) and has four other finishes in the top 25.

Rolling into town on the back of five straight made cuts, he shared fourth at TPC Craig Ranch and ran third at Quail Hollow Club.

Defending the U.S. Open championship next week must be on Clark’s mind. Reliving the greatest moment of his professional career and telling the story on how he conquered LACC should override thoughts of what needs to be done this week in Ohio.

Entering the week off T47 at Wells Fargo and falling short of the weekend at Valhalla, I’m supporting the hotter player.

Si Woo Kim over Tony Finau @ 5/6

The stat profile of the Korean leaves no doubt as to why he’s been around the first page of the leaderboard at this event over the last three years.

Finishing fourth in 2023 after T13 in 2022 and T9 in 2021, the four-time winner on TOUR has posted 10 of 12 rounds at Par or better after the renovation.

In 15 starts this season, he’s cashed T30 or better 11 times. Sitting sixth in SG: Tee to Green and ninth in SG: Approach, I will rely on his history on the greens here to pull him through a tough, putting campaign.

I find it difficult to support a player who has not played in this event the last two seasons. I understand that everyone needs a break, but Finau skipping MVGC in consecutive years leaves me with more questions than answers.

Like Kim, Finau has only missed the weekend once this season and is fantastic tee to green and on approach. I’m riding the hotter course horse who embraces the annual challenge at MVGC.

Collin Morikawa over Rory McIlroy @ 11/10

I am one of many who believe that the two-time major champion returns to the winner’s circle this week.

Trending beautifully after a pair of top-five paydays at the PGA Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial, MVGC requires outstanding iron play, and that’s his retooled calling card.

Remember, the perfect greens are not difficult to putt when the approach shots are on the proper side of the hole. The winner on this layout at the Workday Championship in 2020, Morikawa lost in a playoff at the Memorial in 2021. Sitting two shots off the 54-hole lead in 2023, he had to withdraw before the final round with back spasms.

It is not very often when the top three players at the top of the bet365 board have not won the event.

Making his 13th start at Memorial, McIlroy is still looking for his first podium finish.

How tough is MVGC? McIlroy has just two rounds in the 60s from his last 18 rounds yet has finished T18 or better in his last three visits, including T7 in the 2023 edition.

The Ulsterman will have the advantage off the tee, but I’m relying on the superior iron play and course form of Morikawa to settle this tie.

Muirfield Village Golf Club course guide

Built on land outside the suburb of his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Muirfield Village Golf Club was built and designed by Jack Nicklaus with help from Desmond Muirhead in 1974.

The Dublin, Ohio, course named after Muirfield in Scotland, hosts the PGA TOUR for the 49th consecutive edition.

Joining The Greenbrier Resort, MVGC is the only other course to host the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. The club has also staged the 2013 Presidents Cup, the 1992 U.S. Amateur, and the 1986 Junior Amateur.

The latest, most extensive renovation came after the July 2020 edition. Every tee box, green complex, fairway, and bunker were rebuilt, and the course lengthened 151 yards.

The most dramatic change for the 2024 tournament was moving the tee box 30 yards right on the Par-3 16th. The course plays two yards shorter than 2023.

The course was rated in the top 10 in scoring average each year after the changes. The Par-5 holes also rank in the top 10 of most difficult played on TOUR annually. The 2023 edition provided the most difficult GIR and the hardest Par-3 holes. It is not an easy golf course. The last time the cut was Even par or better was in 2018.

For the fourth week in a row and the fifth time in six events, Bentgrass tests the putting acumen. The L-93 007 strain runs at just .900 of an inch, and the surfaces are in the conversation for the best on TOUR each year. At only 5,000 square feet on average, they provide less-than-average targets on approach. Keeping the ball below the hole, whether on approach or scrambling, is a key to success.

With plenty of room off the tee to swing driver, errant rips will find four inches plus of Kentucky Bluegrass/Ryegrass and Fescue. Water penalty areas gobble up wayward shots, and the parkland of mature hardwood trees will require pitching out. It is not an easy golf course.

John Huston (Round 2, 1996) owns the course record of 61.

Tom Lehman posted 20-under 268 in 1994.

Latest PGA TOUR News

The 49th Memorial Tournament preview

Not many venues have hosted 49 consecutive events on TOUR. Roger Maltbie was the inaugural winner here in 1976.

Tiger Woods, not entered this week, won five times and is the only player to successfully defend the title while Patrick Cantlay, champion in 2021 and 2019, is the only multiple winner in the field.

The invitational field of 73 players includes 44 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings and nine of the top 10. The top 50 and ties, plus any player within 10 shots of the lead after two rounds, will play the final 36 holes.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2014 champion at 22 years old, is the only player to win on debut outside of the inaugural edition and is the youngest player to raise the trophy.

Kentucky native Kenny Perry won this event three times. His last victory came at age 47, the oldest winner.

The 2016 winner, William McGirt (not entered), is the last champion to pick up his first win on TOUR at MVGC.

The winner will take home 700 FedExCup points plus $4 million from the $20 million purse in the final legacy invitational (Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus) this season.