the Memorial: the Major No One Talks About

On Passover, the Jews ask: ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ This week, on the PGA TOUR, we ask: ‘Why is this week different from all other weeks?’

There are always big events on the TOUR’s schedule, but we see them coming, and there is always anticipation. There is always a ramp-up to the four majors and THE PLAYERS, and possibly Pebble Beach and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. But the Memorial Tournament at Jack’s place flies under the radar, when it is really the sixth major.

Jack Nicklaus bought land northwest of Columbus, Ohio, in 1966, and built his finest masterpiece, Muirfield Village Golf Club – named for the famed Scottish course, where he won his first Open Championship. In 1976, the first Memorial Tournament was played, and for 50 years it has been a premier stop on the TOUR’s calendar, yet most people fail to mention it when talking about the biggest events. 

Muirfield Village, if it did not hold an annual tournament, would be a major championship venue. It has hosted numerous big events, including the 1987 Ryder Cup and 2013 Presidents Cup. It operates manual scoreboards as Augusta National does, and the caddies wear a white jacket instead of a traditional bib, similar to The Masters. It is just different.

The fairways are tight, the rough is long, and greens are fast and sloping. It is probably the most “pure” course played each year. And it shows. Four of the last six champions have been no better than 10-under par. The tournament has been won by some of the game’s biggest names: Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods (5x winner), and Scottie Scheffler, the two-time defending champion.

And if you are so lucky to finish at the top of a normally crowded leaderboard with some of the game’s best behind you on Sunday afternoon, a handshake from one of the game’s greatest and a Buckeye milkshake awaits.