Memorial Tournament presented by Workday

Cameron Smith, Joaquin Neiman, Marc Leishman, Mito Pereira and 2018 Memorial Champion Bryson DeChambeau will be among the highlights reviewed for Drag and Fade.

When considering the challenge of Muirfield Village over time, it’s always been a progressive targeting experience, but it’s not as simple as classifying it as a second shot trajectory.

While Nicklaus has ceded space to miss the tee, the course is close to 7,533 yards, so muscle is rewarded. (Total distance is less than 10 yards because the par-5 seventh hole won’t play more than 582 yards this week.) At the same time, the harsh penalty kicks in at four inches high, so respect and thought when measuring each hole are required.

However, 120 participants in this limited area need to step up and hit their golf balls when approaching. The average Bentgrass greens are only 5,000 square feet, and are annually the smoothest surface outside of Augusta National Golf Club. On second thought, that’s not true, at least it wasn’t last year.

The new Greens in Muirfield Village ran 12 feet on the tempometer last year. This is a common expectation on most courses used by the PGA Tour, but it was measurably slower than before the redesign when readings from 13 feet and beyond were collected. As a result, his three-stroke avoidance was at an all-time low of 1.52 percent, the third lowest of all 51 courses during the Super season. (The previous course record was 2.21 percent in 1998. The stats have been taken in earnest since 1992.) That average shot per round has dropped by exactly 1.00 (to 27.99), and the conversion has gone up within 10 feet per gig. musical, but most other familiar measurements of how it proceeded were consistent with history.

The learning curve for the new greens was a balancing act. For intelligence, regulation hit rate and average distance converted historically will not reflect adjustments. But now, with an additional year of maturation, and under conditions of cooperation, the governor could be removed.

After the summer heat blasts early, the front that brings rain and cool air will make its way into the area in the middle of the week. The tail end will be gone sometime on Thursday, so the grass should be receptive for the opening round. Dry weather is then forecast, daytime highs may not touch 80 degrees and winds should not be a problem.

Under the new rule, the winner will receive 550 FedExCup points, a three-season membership waiver (or a one-year extension to a maximum of five seasons) and a three-year membership waiver in THE PLAYERS Tournament.

Rob Bolton’s schedule

Rob Bolton of PGATOUR.com summarizes and previews each tournament from many perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

Monday: Strength ratings
Tuesday*: they fall asleep, equalize and fade
Wednesday: Choose ‘Em Preview
SundayMedical annexes, qualifications, cabinet reshuffle, junior rankings

* – Rob is a member of the PGATOUR.COM Expert Selection Committee for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.