2009 Memorial Tournament Predictions

Written by Jason Lowry

the-memorial-tournament With only two weeks separating the best golfers in the world from the 2009 US Open, this week is crucial for many golfers to get their game just where they want it, as many take the week leading up to the big major off to prepare their body and mind for the big event. This week the PGA Tour makes its annual stop at Muirfield Village Golf Clun in Dublin, Ohio for the 2009 Memorial Tournament. The key to success at Muirfield is not getting off the tee, but getting the ball from the fairway to the green, as 70% of drives last year found the fairway compared to just 56% of approach shots finding the green. So those that can hit it far off the tee and stay in the fairway have a big advantage, as long as they can find the green on their second shot. With the tournament just a couple days from getting underway, here is a look at the 3 golfers I feel have a great shot at winning this weekend.

Tiger Woods +300 to win: Normally I try and stay away from Woods, as its not that hard to pick the best player to win every week, but this course fits Woods game perfectly. Because the fairways are so easy to find it really makes Woods an even bigger threat to win this weekend, as his approach shots are nearly 15ft closer to the hole when hitting out of the fairway compared to the rough. Woods hasn’t played competitively for nearly a month, as his last start came back at the Players Championship, where he finished 8th. Woods has just 1 win since coming back from knee surgery, but has yet to finish outside of the top 10 in stroke play this season. Woods didn’t play in this tournament a year ago, but has three wins here at Muirfield, all coming in succession from 1999-2001. Woods will be in the hunt to win this thing come Sunday, its just a matter of him finding the fairway and making putts.

Kenny Perry +2000 to win: Perry is the defending champion here at Muirfield, but that isn’t his only win at this event, as he won this tournament back in 2003 as well. Perry also played well here in 2007, finishing tied for 3rd just two shots off the lead. Perry has struggled in his last 3 starts since finishing tied for 2nd at the Masters, but I have a good feeling he will have his game going strong with the US Open right around the corner. If you are looking for a guy who knows how to win on this course, and is a pretty safe bet to be right in the thick of things come Sunday afternoon, Perry is just the guy you are looking for.

Sean O’Hair +2500 to win: Here is another guy who is really playing some good golf this year, and I feel like he has a great shot at winning this weekend. O’Hair has finished in the top 15 twice in 4 starts here at Muirfield, including a tie for 12th in 2006 and a tie for 5th in 2007. O’Hair has three top 5 finishes this season already, including a first place finish at the Quail Hollow Championship. What really makes O’Hair a strong play this weekend, is he is 2nd in greens in regulation this season, and that is a huge part of playing well here at Muirfield.

For those of you looking to do some PGA Tour betting this weekend, be sure to check out our expert golf picks and grab the latest golf odds for the tournament at Betfirms.

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