Aura of Nicklaus draws star field to Memorial

Eight of top 10 golfers in the world are in the field at Muirfield Village for Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, the Memorial.

Anyone entering the community of Muirfield Village is greeted by a bronze statue of its founder, Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus created this community in Dublin, Ohio, and named it after Muirfield in Scotland, where he completed the career Grand Slam in 1966. Every year, the world’s top golfers descend on Muirfield Village Golf Club for the Memorial Tournament to pay their respects to a legend of the game.

The Memorial begins tomorrow with one of the strongest fields of the PGA Tour season. Eight of the top 10 golfers in the world are playing, as are the top seven in the FedEx Cup standings.

And that doesn’t even include the week’s top attraction, Tiger Woods who has won the event five times, most recently in 2012.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming here. I’ve always tried to play Jack’s events. What he’s meant to the tour, and he’s meant to all of us as players. I’ve always tried to support his events,” Woods said at a press conference today. “This one, in particular, is very special to him and very special to us as players. Obviously for what he’s done to the golf course, but more so what he’s meant to us as players.”

The presence of Nicklaus adds to the allure of the tournament. The fact the U.S. Open is just two weeks away, giving the top players one more chance to play, also helps strengthen the field.

“Our tournament has always been a significant tournament, I think. And most of the players do, or they wouldn’t be here,” Nicklaus said at his public press conference.

Justin Rose, champion here in 2010 and coming off a win at the Fort Worth Invitational last week, is in the field. As is Rory McIlroy, who was runner-up at the BMW PGA Championship in England. There is also Justin Thomas, who is making his debut as the No. 1-ranked golfer.

Thomas has not played since assuming the top spot at The Players Championship three weeks ago. He admits he won’t be thinking too much about it this week, however.

“I enjoyed it for a couple of days when I had the two weeks off,” he said. “But after that, it was over with. I wasn’t really thinking about it. But it’s still golf, and this field is always extremely strong. There’s a lot of great players that, I’m going to need to play well to have a chance to win this week.”

It was McIlroy who ignited some controversy today. He suggested that having all the top players grouped together for the first two rounds is not necessarily good for the game. Rather, the PGA should aim to have more of the star attractions in contention on the weekend.

“You want these top guys to be playing together on a Sunday, not on a Thursday,” Mcilroy said, via Golf.com. “I don’t mind playing with the top guys in the first two days, but the objective is to get those top guys in contention on Sunday.”

Thomas, who is paired with Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed the first two rounds, doesn’t agree with McIlroy’s sentiments. He feels who he is paired with makes no difference in the end.

“You kind of get used to playing with the group of guys. I played with Rickie in Charlotte [at the Wells Fargo Championship] …You kind of get familiar with it. I enjoy it. It’s not anything I look at differently, or view differently, than if I played with two other people if you will,” he said.

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This is the last Memorial Tournament before the PGA Tour schedule undergoes an overhaul next season. With the PGA Championship moving from August to May, the Memorial will now be right between two Major Championships.

Nicklaus does not believe this will impact his tournament. In fact, he thinks it will only help draw more star players.

“Sitting two weeks after the PGA Championship and two weeks before the U.S. Open, I can’t imagine anybody who really is serious about wanting to win the U.S. Open not being here,” he said.

The return of Woods to Muirfield only adds to the strength of this week’s field. He last played here in 2015, when he shot a career-worst round of 85. Despite the fact he has not won a tournament since 2013, Nicklaus feels it is only a matter of time.

“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see Tiger win this week. Not at all, if he’s playing well. He loves the golf course. He’s always played well here. And his remembrance of what he’s done here will come back into his head. That will help him play better.”

Woods has great memories at Muirfield. The rest of the players this week will look to make sure they remain just that: distant memories.

All quotes were obtained via the public press conferences and transcribed by the writer.