Memorial gives players chance to converse with Nicklaus
A few things that have been bouncing around my cranium recently, to paraphrase the late, great Myron Cope.
n The Memorial is next up on the PGA Tour, always a big tournament on the schedules of the best players. It’s played on one of the best layouts on tour, Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. And like a few other events, it has one of greatest players ever waiting for the champion at the end of play.
Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course and built Muirfield Village Golf Club, will be doing the honors next Sunday. He follows in the footsteps of Byron Nelson, who took great joy in greeting players as they finished in the Byron Nelson Classic and Arnold Palmer, who greatly enjoyed exchanging pleasantries with players at the Bay Hill Invitational.
The Memorial is a big-time event with lots of money available and that draws the biggest names. Tiger Woods will be there, the 17th time he’s played there. He’s won it five times previously and it will be interesting how the Tiger 2.0 game plays on this course.
n Did you see the story about Brooks Koepka, the 2016 U.S. Open champion? He missed a chunk of the season after winning his first major at Erin Hills because of a dislocated wrist, rehabbed and was making a nice comeback.
Then, at the Players Championship, he was at the range and in the midst of a swing, a golf cart somehow darted in front of him, forcing one of those mid-swing, sudden stops and guess what? He dislocated the wrist again and, once he had the wrist popped back, it was back to rehab. Hopefully, he’ll be somewhere near 100 percent when this year’s Open rolls around in three weeks.
n And speaking of the Open, while we’re not into June yet, I’m ready to pick two guys who should be watched very carefully for that week: Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.
Rose won at Merion in 2013 and, for the most part, has settled into a role of being a superstar on both sides of the Atlantic.
McIlroy won the U.S. Open in 2011 and has been a riddle wrapped up in a mystery since then. But he’s started playing well this year and if that continues, he’ll definitely be in the mix on Long Island.
What’s interesting about my two picks? Both are Europeans, both are used to playing on links and links-like golf courses and both are used to the changing weather conditions that could very likely bedevil Shinnecock Hills that week.
n On the subject of contenders, I’ve been wondering lately whatever happened to Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. This week, Spieth is three-under and Fowler is at minus-four in the Fort Worth Invitational.
That puts them in the top 20 going into the weekend, a full half-dozen shots behind the leader. It’s just behind a lot of blah for those two, not what we might expect from those two.
They’ll have to step it up big time if they’re going to contend in the Open.
n Woods took up the cause of PGA Tour players being able to wear shorts in practice rounds. It’s an allowable thing in other tours around the world, but Woods thinks the PGA Tour should consider the idea because of the number of very hot days they’re out on golf courses during the summer.
Good luck with that Tiger. There’s probably more chance of the tour moving players up to the member’s tees for a couple rounds each week than ever allowing the guys to wear shorts.
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If you have an interesting story about your club or course or an individual who has done something special, let me know? Send your story ideas to mike.dudurich@gmail.com.
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Mike Dudurich is a freelance golf writer and hosts The Golf Show on 93.7 The Fan, Saturday mornings from 7-8 during golf season. Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDudurich.