Memorial Tournament

Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
Yardage: 7224 
Par: 72 (four par-fives)
USGA Rating: 75.8
Greens: Penn G-2 Bentgrass - 5,000 sq.ft  (Tour average: 6,000 sq.ft)

GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet

Weather Forecast

Best Players Last 10 Years

Past Winners:
2001 - Tiger Woods
2000 - Tiger Woods
1999 - Tiger Woods
1998 - Fred Couples
1997 - Vijay Singh
1996 - Tom Watson
1995 - Greg Norman
1994 - Tom Lehman
1993 - Paul Azinger
1992 - David Edwards

Outright plays (1 unit):

Vijay Singh to win 20/1 e.w. @ Bet365, Sporting Odds, BetInternet or Heathorns
Tiger may have won this event three times in a row, but a playoff victory in Europe on a Monday is not ideal preparation for this event, particularly as his putting was not in great shape. Rather than take very much lower odds in the 'w/o Woods' markets, will side with three outrights at much better odds. The first is Vijay who has a great record on this course. A winner in 1997, he was a close 2nd to Woods in 1999 and 5th last year. Coming off a good performance at the Colonial - he finished 12th and didn't shoot a round over-par - he looks to have a good chance this week.

Justin Leonard to win 40/1 e.w. @ Blue Square
Leonard is another with good form at Muirfield Village. He was runner-up to Tiger in 2000 and finished 7th in 1999. But he is also in great form at the moment. He has finished in the top-20 in his last five events, including a win at the WorldCom Classic, and should be at much lower odds than Blue Square quote.

Kenny Perry to win 80/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
Keith Elliott has earmarked Perry for the 'w/o Woods' market for this event at 40/1. Those odds will probably be available, despite last week's event, but the very generous odds from Ladbrokes look a better alternative. He won this event in 1991 and has had five top-20 finishes since. Consistent form on the course and he has shown that he can string together a good run of tournaments. Looking for a place finish here.

Matchup plays (1 unit unless stated):

Tom Lehman to beat Mark Calcavecchia -111 @ BetandWin
Opposing Calc who is not particularly consistent at the moment. Played poorly before the Masters, including a final round 86 at Sawgrass, secured two top-10 finishes thereafter and then missed the cut at the Byron Nelson Classic. Looks to be one to oppose and particularly with the much more consistent Lehman who shot the lowest 72-hole score on this course when he won in 1994.

Kenny Perry to beat Mark Calcavecchia -110 @ LuvBet [2 units]
More impressive recent course form than Lehman and a former winner as well, plus a great performance last week for Perry. If Lehman is tipped to beat Calc, then Perry will surely do so as well.

Kenny Perry to beat Jerry Kelly -111 @ BetandWin [2 units]
This was a profitable matchup last week and there is even more reason to side with Perry this week. Kelly has a dire record on this course. He has missed the cut three times from five starts and finished 25th and 56th on the other occasions. In better form this year, but he has yet to shoot a single round in the 60s around Muirfield Village. Bet365USA have this more appropriately priced at -135 for Kelly.

Chris DiMarco to beat Mike Weir -125 @ TattsBet
Both have played in this event for the last three years and they split the honors with one win each and a tie last year. Siding with DiMarco this year as he is in much the better form and is putting better than the Canadian. Weir had been playing well until the Masters, but had shown a continued tendency to fail in the last round. But now his problems have become more general. Only once in his last eleven rounds has he broken 70. Putting on the fast, undulating greens at Muirfield Village will be important this week and Weir is not putting well. He ranks 118 places behind DiMarco in the 'putts per round' stats and 68 places behind in the 'putting average' stats.

Mid-point update:

Lehman/Calcavecchia WON by 10
Perry/Calcavecchia WON by 9
Perry/Kelly All Square

Singh 3rd
Leonard 1st
Perry 26th

Very pleasing situation as the weekend approaches. Calc struggled as expected and missed the cut and a very favorable situation in the outright, particularly as Leonard and Singh have 10- and 8-shot leads over Tiger respectively. DiMarco didn't tee off, but a good week for the other selections, so far.

Final update:

Matchups: 2-1; +0.78 units

Perry/Kelly LOST by 11

Outrights: 1-2; -1.80 units

Singh 4th
Leonard 16th
Perry 60th

Hugely disappointing result. On several occasions over the weekend, Singh and Leonard had occupied the top-two spots on the leaderboard, but Leonard faltered with a final round 74 and Singh just had no response to Furyk on the final nine. Tying for 4th with four others meant little more than the stake was returned on Singh. Just can't break through on this Tour this year!