The PGA Tour is making its traditional stop in Dublin, OH two weeks prior to the U.S. Open. This shady suburb of Columbus is home to Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club. This year the PGA Tour will find a few changes at Jack's place. For the first time, Nicklaus himself has opted not to play in his event, Tiger Woods has decided to prolong his mourning hiatus and begin preparation for the U.S. Open, and perhaps most important to the players in the field, Nicklaus and the PGA Tour have decided to furrow the bunkers in order to penalize players for finding them instead of providing a reprieve from the rough.

Last Year
Throughout the years, the Memorial has been one of the larger, grander events on the PGA Tour schedule. Players desire to compete in Jack's event as a tribute to the marks he left on the game. This was evident as the Sunday leaderboard from last year's tournament was stacked with names like "Toms," "Couples," and "Woods." However it was "Bryant" who would remain on top that day, besting Fred Couples by a mere stroke with a final-round 68. The 2005 Memorial provided ample drama, something which is sure to be in ready supply in 2006, even without Woods or Nicklaus in the field.

The Course
Sometimes called the "Masters of the Midwest," the Memorial shares more than a nickname with the fabled Augusta National Golf Club. Some say that Jack has lifted some features directly from the home of the green jacket, including eerily similar twelfth holes (not to mention the green jackets themselves). Both holes feature diagonal, peanut-shaped greens fronted by water.

Muirfield Village, now playing to nearly 7,400 yards, is a shot-makers dream, featuring holes with varying shapes and approach shots necessary to hold the small, contoured greens. Seven of the par fours are near or longer than 450 yards, putting an emphasis on mid-to-long iron control and driving ability. A player who can control himself on these long par fours will likely do well. Just as the par fives at Augusta play a central role, the par fives here could very well be the deciding factor this week. The fifth hole, measuring 527 yards, is easily reached in two, as are holes seven and fifteen. The eleventh will be tempting to the longer hitters, but a small error there and they will pay a stiff price.

This week will also play host to an bunker experiment by the Tour and Jack. Their joint decision to furrow the bunkers may chance the type of player we'll see at the top of the leaderboard. Erik is on location in Dublin and has reported on the new developments in the world of bunker rakes.

These rakes will make players think twice about hitting their ball near the bunkers this week.

Who's Hot and Who's Not
Tim Herron has been playing out of his lumpy mind lately, winning The Colonial and making a strong run at the St. Jude Classic the past two weeks. There was a lot of buzz about the rookies of 2006, but lately it has been a steady stream of veterans who've been making all the noise. With both Tim Herron and Jeff Maggert winning their first events in seven years, it is a real crapshoot trying to decide who's got the best chance this week as many of the Tour's official big guns, including Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Retief Goosen, and Jim Furyk return to action. With Muirfield Village favoring a shotmaker over a bomber, the player who can control his ball and position himself advantageously will have a definite advantage.

TV and Radio Times

Thu, 6/1      3:30-6:30 ET      ESPN
Fri, 6/2      3:00-6:00 ET      ESPN
Sat, 6/3      3:00-6:00 ET      CBS
Sun, 6/4      2:00-6:00 ET      CBS

Thu, 6/1       1:00-9:00 ET     XM 146
Fri, 6/2      12:00-8:00 ET     XM 146
Sat, 6/3      12:00-8:00 ET     XM 146
Sun, 6/4      12:00-8:00 ET     XM 146

Photo Credits: © AP, © Erik J. Barzeski/The Sand Trap.

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The Memorial is one of the best events on the PGA Tour every year and for great reason. It is Jack's tournament, and the best players in the world usually come together to play the tournament. This year will be no different. The top three players in the world will be teeing it up this week, and all of them have won this tournament in the past. Tiger will be playing for the first time since his consecutive cut streak ended at the Byron Nelson a few weeks ago. He will be looking to get his game back in shape heading into Pinehurst #2 for the U.S. Open in two weeks. Muirfield Village Golf Club has been very good to Tiger in his career. Mr. Woods won this event three years in a row from 1999-2001. He also finished in third place last year at The Memorial.

Vijay Singh, who is once again the number one golfer in the world, will also be playing for the first time since the Byron Nelson. He tied for third in Dallas, including a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th in the final round! Singh did some course designing in his time off, and he also took a vacation to Hawaii. He has also had a good history at The Memorial over the years, including his win at Muirfield in 1997. Vijay has been the most consistent of all the "Big Five" this year and will be looking to keep his game in tip-top shape this week. He has already won three times on the PGA Tour in 2005.

Ernie Els, the final member of the "Big Three" this week, is also the defending champion in this event. Last year, Els held off a gritty Fred Couples to win Jack's tournament. It was the first time he had won this prestigious event. He had an amazing week and finished at -18 overall. Els, who is coming off a tie for 39th at the BMW Championship last week, will once again be traveling across the pond to play in America. He has played many tournaments on both the PGA Tour and European Tour so far in 2005. He has yet to taste victory in America, but he has three European Tour victories to his name.

Tiger, Vijay, and Ernie will get the majority of the headlines this week, along with the Golden Bear himself. Jack Nicklaus will be playing in his event for the 30th time in his career. He has won the event twice in his career (1977 and 1984). He gave the fans something to cheer about last year by making the cut at Muirfield, and the crowd will be cheering him on to do the same this time around.

Other top ten players that will be playing The Memorial this week include Adam Scott, Chris DiMarco, and David Toms. Toms fired a wonderful final-round 63 last week in Memphis to finish one shot behind eventual-winner Justin Leonard. Adam Scott will be playing on the PGA Tour for the first time since the Wachovia Championship nearly a month ago, and DiMarco last played at Colonial where he missed the cut after three straight top-four finishes.

Kenny Perry dominated the field two weeks ago at Colonial, but the FedEx St. Jude Classic dominated Perry last week. He missed the cut by five shots and looked like the complete opposite player from the one that tore through the Bank of America Colonial. Perry has great memories at Muirfield, however, and the fans may get to see the smokin Kenny Perry instead of the ice-cold Kenny Perry. When he won the Colonial in 2003, he also went on to win The Memorial that same year. Could that be a sign of things to come for Perry this week?

The field is loaded with top ten players, but that is not all. There are other golfers who come into the week playing very solid golf. Jim Furyk is playing the best golf since returning from wrist surgery last year. He won The Memorial in 2002 and is coming off five straight top-30 finishes. Scott Verplank has also been playing great golf the past couple months. Before a tie for 32nd at Colonial, he had racked up five straight top-20 finishes. Other notables to keep an eye on this week include Stewart Cink, Stuart Appleby, Davis Love III, and John Daly.

As great as the field is this week, the golf course is just as phenomenal. Muirfield Village Golf Club is always near the top of the list of great golf courses in America. The course measures 7,265 yards and par is 72. Jack Nicklaus is the designer of the course, and the event has held a Ryder Cup and U.S. Amateur Championship, among other great golf events. There are 75 bunkers total, and water comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes. The three finishing holes will be a tough test for the golfers all week long. The 16th is a 215-yard par 3 that will definitely test player's long-iron ability.

The 17th hole has been lengthened in recent years to 478 yards, and the finishing hole is a 444-yard par 4. These two holes both require accuracy off the tee. If players go too long, they will run out of fairway and get into trouble. The 18th hole features water down the left side, so players will have to be very careful to avoid this hazard. Bunkers surround both the 17th and 18th greens, which makes accuracy off the tee that much more crucial. The last two holes aren't as scary as the two finishing holes at Sawgrass, but they will definitely test players who are near the lead on Sunday.

I think the golf world should keep an eye on Tiger Woods this week. He has had a couple of weeks off since his missed cut in Texas, and I think he will be very focused heading into the U.S. Open. I could definitely see him running away with The Memorial like he has done three times before. He is going to be my pick for the week. Yeah, I know, I'm not really going out on a limb this time around. For my "sleeper" pick, I'm going to pick someone a little farther down the world rankings list. I'm going with Charles Howell III. He hasn't performed very well at this event the past two years, but the guy has too much talent to be ranked where he is. He is bound to break out sooner or later, and this seems like a great week for that to happen.

The weather at The Memorial is usually rainy to say the least. There is a small chance for thunderstorms each of the four days this year, but hopefully that rain will stay away. The highs should be in the upper-70s and low-80s. The players will be playing for a very solid purse of money this week. The overall purse is $5.25 million, with $945,000 going to the eventual winner. The money is great, and so is the tradition of winning Jack's tournament. This should create a wonderful golf atmosphere at Muirfield Village, and it's just two weeks away from the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. The Memorial can be seen on ESPN and CBS at the following times:

Thu    4-7pm ET    ESPN
Fri    3-6pm ET    ESPN
Sat    3-6pm ET    CBS
Sun    2-6pm ET    CBS

Also, there will be a highlight show on Friday and Saturday night from 12:55pm ET to 1:10am ET.

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