Memorial Tournament: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The Memorial Tournament starts on Thursday and the Racing Post's Steve Palmer expects Viktor Hovland to build on an encouraging US PGA Championship performance by successfully defending his Muirfield Village crown.

Hovland triumphed in a playoff against Denny McCarthy in last year's Memorial and the Norwegian may have found his A-game in time to provide a stout defence of his silverware. 

Racing Post golf guru Steve Palmer certainly thinks so and here he provides his best selections for the Ohio gathering.

Scottie Scheffler tops the betting as he seeks his fifth PGA Tour victory of the year. The world number one finished second in the Charles Schwab Challenge in his home state of Texas last time out. He has twice finished third in the Memorial.

Xander Schauffele makes his first start as a Major champion this week, having won the US PGA last time out. Rory McIlroy, who has never bettered fourth place in 12 previous Memorial starts, is also prominent in the outright betting.

Memorial Tournament betting tips and predictions

Viktor Hovland - 16/1

Hovland has a fantastic record defending titles and another successful trophy retention may be coming at Muirfield Village on Sunday.

The Norwegian won back-to-back World Wide Technology Championships at Mayakoba in 2020 and 2021, then he won the Hero World Challenge in both 2021 and 2022. Perhaps Memorial triumphs in 2023 and 2024 can be added to Hovland's already hugely impressive CV.

Hovland reunited with his old coach - Joe Mayo - just before the US PGA Championship. Suddenly, having struggled for six months since parting ways with Mayo, Hovland found his A-game again. He went close to winning the US PGA, eventually finishing in third place.

Expect Hovland to follow rounds of 68, 66, 66 and 66 with a positive Memorial display. With his reliable power-fade restored off the tee, the FedEx Cup champion can flourish at Muirfield Village again. He finished third in the 2020 Workday Charity Open at this venue.

Patrick Cantlay - 25/1

Only Tiger Woods has earned more money competing in the Memorial Tournament than Patrick Cantlay - and the cocksure Californian can be relied upon to bank another healthy cheque this week.

Cantlay can boast form figures of 35-4-1-32-1-3-30 in the Memorial - and it is also worth noting that in the one-off 2020 Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village he finished seventh. 

His suitability to this week's venue is obvious and the former FedEx Cup champion has shown enough this season to suggest he can complete a Memorial victory hat-trick.

Cantlay had the Genesis Invitational title at his mercy at another classic PGA Tour track - Riviera - in February. He was five shots clear at the halfway stage, but got ill on the Friday night and had a high temperature all weekend, dropping to fourth place. Third place in the RBC Heritage in April was another near-miss.

Davis Riley - 175/1

The best outsider for the Memorial may be Davis Riley, who romped to a five-shot victory in the Charles Schwab Challenge last time out. That was an overdue PGA Tour breakthrough for a player of undoubted class - and it would come as no surprise if the floodgates opened for the 27-year-old in the months to come.

Riley, who won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, fended off Scottie Scheffler on his way to Charles Schwab glory. That injection of confidence, coupled with a suitability to Muirfield Village, means Riley can ride the crest of the wave he has generated.

Riley finished 13th on his Memorial debut in 2022 and this top-class iron-player can feature on the leaderboard again this week.

Read more golf betting tips and predictions on site.

Memorial Tournament odds

View the full market and more odds for the Memorial Tournament on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.