– This week marks the fiftieth edition of the Memorial, the tournament that Jack Nicklaus conceived in his mind a decade before the first edition was held in 1976, when there wasn’t even a sketch of the Muirfield Village Golf Club, the permanent venue for the event. Jack found the land in Dublin, about 25 kilometres northwest of Columbus, the city where he was born, bought it, and designed the course, which was officially opened in 1974, just two years before hosting this tournament for the first time…
– It’s curious, but the project took shape in Augusta during the week of the 1966 Masters (which Nicklaus won, by the way). “It took us ten years to get there. It was in Augusta, in 1966, where we started with the idea of the tournament and bringing golf to Columbus. And it took us ten years to build the golf course, finance it, and move forward,” explained the great Jack just yesterday, who at 85 years old is still the star around which the wonderful framework of the Memorial revolves.
– Let’s think, please, that at that moment, at the 1966 Masters, when the idea somehow crystallised, the great Jack was just a 26-year-old kid… But that’s how things were done back then, it seems. And that’s how the Golden Bear operated, always ahead of his time.
– Scottie Scheffler defends his title this week and could become the second player to successfully do so, after Tiger Woods, who won five editions, three of them consecutively (1999, 2000, and 2001).
– The Memorial is a true reflection of its creator, Jack Nicklaus: a very tough test of play where pars, and even bogeys, can be good. But a fair test, where as much as possible and the random nature of golf allows, good shots are rewarded. Also yesterday, a lucid Nicklaus summarised his philosophy like this: “I have never believed that the putter should dictate what the game of golf is. I have always thought that part of the game is being able to get the ball to the green, put it on the green, and if you make some putts, that’s also part of the game. Sure, some players are better putters, others are better ball strikers, but what counts is the combination. And when the game becomes a putting contest, that’s where I wanted to stand out. Even though I was a good putter, I just didn’t like it being all about that. Do people probably like birdies? Yes, I understand. There are many tournaments with lots of birdies. So let’s have some where you don’t have to make so many birdies. That’s just my way of seeing it. We’ve also had conditions here where Tom Lehman shot four rounds of 67. That’s quite a low score on this course. But it didn’t bother me because the conditions allowed it. I mean, the rough was quite high that week. We had a bit of rain, but not too much, and the greens were perfect for holding the ball, so that allowed for a low score. I have no problem with a low score when conditions allow it. What I don’t like is seeing a course modified artificially to the point where you make good shots and get bad results. So there has to be fairness. There’s a right way and a wrong way to play good golf to get a good result. And I was always a bit on the edge, and I liked staying there because I think that really generates good golf. And, frankly, I always thought that’s what a golf tournament is about: being the guy who plays the best golf that week.”
– So pay close attention to the conditions this week. Justin Thomas, for example, has said he has never seen and suffered such long and dense rough at Muirfield Village as this week. And the greens, despite the water they’ve received recently, were already firm and fast, very fast. Undoubtedly, an excellent testing ground ahead of the US Open at Oakmont in two weeks.
– One of the unique aspects of this tournament is that each edition pays tribute to a golf legend, chosen by the Captains Club, a committee of illustrious personalities from the golf world that has been working since 1976 at the Memorial. The first honouree in the 1976 edition was Bobby Jones, who had passed away five years earlier. Others have included true legends from the prehistory of professional golf, like Old Tom Morris and his son, Young Tom Morris. And this year marks fifteen years (2010) since Seve Ballesteros was added to this significant list. This year, Barbara Nicklaus, Jack’s wife, who has never stopped working for the tournament’s logistics, is being honoured. Jack himself was added to the list in 2000. Also included are Hagen, Sarazen, Ouimet, Byron Nelson, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player… No one is missing. Well, yes: for now, Tiger is missing, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s nominated.
– The big absence this week is Rory McIlroy. Eight of the world’s top ten and 44 of the top 50 are here, but Rory is missing. Nicklaus has admitted that he was surprised by his absence… Yesterday he gave a slight reprimand to the Northern Irishman, although it was instantly softened: “Yes, I was surprised (by Rory’s absence). But, you know, players have their schedules. And, well, I haven’t spoken to him to tell me why or why not. It’s simply his decision. I also made many decisions when I played, about whether to play or not, and sometimes they weren’t as popular as people wanted. But, you know, sometimes you have to make those decisions. I have nothing against Rory for that. He has done what he likes to do. I know he likes to play the week before the U.S. Open, and that’s what he’s going to do. So, well, I really have no comment on it. It’s very difficult, very difficult. I mean, I’m a big fan of Rory, I always have been. And I’m sure I will continue to be. It’s just that, yes, it surprised me a bit.”
– Scheffler assures that he arrives rested and ready for the event, even though it’s his third consecutive week of competition. Scottie recalled an anecdote today, related to the Golden Bear. “I was close to winning this tournament in 2021 and felt that if I made a birdie on the 18th, I would have entered a playoff. In the end, I got too aggressive with the second shot, missed the green, made a bogey, and basically took myself out of the tournament. As I left the green, Mr. Nicklaus was there, shook my hand, and said: “Listen, Scottie, today you didn’t make the putt, but someday you’re going to make the putt on this green to win this tournament.” And I said: “Well, thank you, Mr. Nicklaus, I really appreciate the support, thanks for a great week, bla, bla, bla… And a couple of years later, there I was, and he was right: I made the putt to win the tournament. It was a very special moment, like closing a circle. And that was a few years ago; it wasn’t something he had to tell me, but for some reason, he felt the need to do it, and it was something I didn’t forget. It was a very nice gesture on his part.” It’s worth noting that at that time, spring of 2021, Scheffler was already World Number 24, true, but he hadn’t yet won a single tournament on the PGA Tour…
Today, at 28 years and almost eleven months old, the Texan can boast of joining Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in a club where only the three of them are: the players who have won at least fifteen tournaments, including at least three Majors, before turning 29 years old.
