By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer, and staff
DUBLIN – No one is getting more attention at the Memorial than Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.
45th Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide
July 16-19, 2020
Muirfield Village Golf Club; Dublin OH
Rd. 1 TV coverage – Live 2:30-6:30 pm (Golf Channel)
One of them because he’s Woods, who goes after the PGA Tour career victory record this week.
The other because he’s unlike anyone else in the game.
DeChambeau is part of every conversation for adding 40 pounds of mass and swinging from the heels. He already has hit 29 drives of 350 yards or longer in the last month.
Next up is how that translate at Muirfield Village. The course will be different from last week, with super fast greens and more rough.
Woods and No. 1-ranked Rory Mcilroy tee off just after 1:00 p.m. in Thursday’s opening round.
The tournament is being played without spectators due to concerns about the COVCID-19 pandemic.
McIlroy intended to play both weeks at Muirfield Village. Instead, he stayed home an extra week in Florida and brought in his swing coach.
McIlroy says he had not seen Michael Bannon since February, and it was time well spent.
The world’s No. 1 player is hardly in a slump. But he had seven straight events with nothing worse than a tie for fifth.
And then after golf resumed, McIlroy hasn’t finished in the top 10.
Along with McIlroy, Woods and DeChambeau, the 133-player field includes world No. 2 Jon Rahm, No. 3 Dustin Johnson, No. 4 Webb Simpson, No. 5 Justin Thomas, No. 8 Cantlay and No. 9 Patrick Reed, as well as Phil Mickelson, a gallery favorite and five-time major champion, ranked second on the PGA TOUR’s all-time money list behind Woods.