The Memorial Tournament 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

ONCE again the valid question as the world’s best golfers head to Muirfield Village for the Memorial Tournament is: who is going to finish second?

Scottie Scheffler won here 12 months ago as he continued a dream run of form, and he is at at it again in 2025 after a sluggish start to the year. Well, sluggish only by his own incredible standards.

It is worth looking at his statistics for 2025. In 10 starts ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge, where he had an unusually inconsistent four days, he had two wins - the CJ Cup and US PGA in successive starts - and seven top 10s, including tied second at the Houston Open, fourth at The Masters and tied third at the Genesis. His worst score was a 76 in the third round of the Genesis, which he followed with a magnificent 66. In 40 competitive rounds he broke 70 on 24 occasions, including a 62 at the Houston Open, a 61 and two 63s at the CJ Cup. It is simply mind-boggling.

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After Rory McIlroy’s impressive start to the season hopes were raised that he might challenge Scheffler at the top of the rankings but Scheffler remains in pole position and has replaced the Northern Irishman at the top of the FedEx Cup standings. He has been the dominant force on the PGA Tour over the past five seasons.

Since joining the Tour in 2019 he has amassed 66 top-10 finishes, including 49 inside the top five, has not missed a cut since August 2022, and has recorded 15 wins - four in 2022, two in 2023 seven in 2024 and two so far this year. In just 19 starts last year, Scheffler recorded 16 top-10 finishes (12 in the top-5). Four of his 2024 titles came at Signature Events, with victories at the Memorial, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship.

He was also named the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the PGA Tour Player of the Year for a third consecutive season and won last season’s FedExCup title for the first time. Scheffler joined five-time Memorial Tournament winner Tiger Woods as the only player to win the Jack Nicklaus award three years in a row and also became the first player since Woods in 2007 to win seven or more times in a single season. For the second consecutive season Scheffler received the Byron Nelson Award for recording the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour (68.65) and led the Tour in SG: Approach the Green, SG: Tee to Green, SG: Total and Birdie Average.

For good measure, he also won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris and finished the year by claiming the Hero World Challenge.

He has also joined Woods as only the second player to dominate the rankings for more than 100 consecutive weeks. Scheffler has not finished outside the top-25 this season. He will make his fifth appearance at the Memorial with three top-fives, his last three starts resulting in two third-place finishes to go with his victory. Scheffler’s scoring average at Muirfield Village Golf Club of 70.63 is tied for third best in Memorial Tournament history.

Twelve months ago, Scheffler holed a five-foot putt on the last to hold off Collin Morikawa by one stroke to claim his fifth title of the year.

In doing so, the became just the second player after Tiger Woods to win the Players Championship, Masters and Memorial in the same year.

The American led on 10 under overnight, four clear of Morikawa, Adam Hadwin and Sepp Straka but, rather than the expected procession, he was pushed all the way.

"I didn't do a whole lot well but I did enough to get it done," said Scheffler, who carded a two-over 74 to win his 11th PGA Tour title on eight under. "I feel like I've had some close calls in this tournament. The golf course was playing so tough, firm and fast - 16, 17 and 18 were brutal.

"But it was a fun test of golf, I like it when it gets hard."

He could be challenged this week by Justin Thomas, 32, making his 11th start at the Memorial and back to something like his best after a spell in the doldrums.is scoring average at Muirfield is 72.38. He finally returned to the winner’s circle this season by claiming the RBC Heritage for his 16th PGA Tour title, his first victory in nearly three years. Thomas last won his second major and second PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in May 2022. His best season came in 2016-17, when he won five times, took the  FedExCup title and was named Player of the Year.

Shane Lowry will be looking to put a disappointing performance at Quail Hollow, where he missed the cut, firmly behind him. He is enjoying a fine season, with three top-10s and a second-place finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He captured his third career PGA Tour victory last season at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with McIlroy. Lowry is a class act, with nine top-10 finishes in majors, including his glorious success at The Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland and also includes a third-round 62 at the 2024 PGA Championship. This will be Lowry’s ninth start at Muirfield. His best finish came in 2021 when he was tied sixth.

Fan favourite Tommy Fleetwood continues his quest for his maiden PGA Tour win - and Muirfield Village is a course that should be made for him. He thrives on tough courses, and they do not come much harder than this one.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy surprisingly announced that he will be giving The Memorial a miss as he prepares for the US Open.

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2015 by David Lingmerth, in 2016 by William McGirt, in 2017 by Jason Dufner, in 2018 by Bryson DeChambeau, in 2019 and 2021 by Patrick Cantlay, in 2020 by Jon Rahm, in 2022 by Billy Horschel, in 2023 by Viktor Hovland and last year by Scottie Scheffler.

The Course

Muirfield Village was designed by Jack Nicklaus and provides one of the toughest tests on the PGA Tour every year. With the US Open just around the corner it gets the world’s best players in the right mindset. It opened in 1974, measures 7,553 yards and is a par 72. Accuracy is essential as the rough is punishing and the greens are extremely fast. After the tournament in 2020 the course was extensively renovated, with every green rebuilt and bunkers enlarged and deepened. Nicklaus described it as “his final bite at the apple”.

Prize Money

Total prize money is $20m, with the winner collecting $4m and 550 FedEx Cup points

Form Guide

Scottie Scheffler will, of course, start as favourite once again. After a sluggish start to 2025 the American world number one has caught fire once again.

To win:

Scottie Scheffler. Predictable but who else would you choose?

Each way:

Tommy Fleetwood. Tough course suits him

Each way:

Ludvig Aberg. Will want to put US PGA missed cut behind him

Five to Follow

Scottie Scheffler. In full flow

Tommy Fleetwood. Wonderful driver of a ball

Ludvig Aberg. Brilliant ball striker

Justin Thomas. Back to his best

Hideki Matsuyama. Classy Japanese star

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