Tour goes back-to-back at Muirfield
DUBLIN, Ohio – The most recent occasion the same golf course hosted a PGA Tour event in consecutive weeks came more than 60 years ago.
From 1948 through 1957, Tam O’Shanter Club in Niles, Illinois, pulled the double, with a stout list of winners including World Golf Hall of Fame members Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Julius Boros and Lloyd Mangrum.
Preston Hollow Country Club in Dallas also hosted Tour events in back-toback weeks in 1953.
Those courses are the only ones in the Tour’s history to pull off the doubleheader.
Until now.
Muirfield Village Golf Club will join the list as Jack Nicklaus’ revered layout hosts the Workday Charity Classic starting Thursday and then next week’s Memorial Tournament, one of the circuit’s premier events he founded in 1976 and one that annually lures a vast majority of the game’s best players. Muirfield and Workday stepped up when the John Deere Classic was canceled due to COVID restrictions in Illinois.
The Golden Bear’s gem, however, won’t fizzle over the two weeks as the nearly 7,500-yard layout will present two separate examinations.
“We’re certainly treating the two weeks very differently,” said Gary Young, the Workday tournament director who also will be working as part of the PGA Tour’s rules and regulations.
There’s a dual purpose behind that decision. One, the approach will relieve stress on a course that will hold nearly 800 rounds in two weeks. Two, there’s that variety is the spice of life thing.
That means varying green speeds and numerous pin placements, different lengths of the bluegrass rough, and a range of tee boxes.
The Workday test will be more receptive – expect lower scores – with the rough being topped out at 3½ inches compared to the 4-plus inches that will be present for the Memorial. Green speeds will run in the neighborhood of 11 to 11½ range on the Stimpmeter instead of exceeding 13 in the Memorial.
Never-before-used pin placements that could feature plenty of slope will be considered to protect the greens, which will receive more water due to the excessive heat expected through the week. And increased use of the numerous tee boxes on each hole will tee up uncommon views toward the intended target.
“I think you’re going to see some fun this week creating some different angles on teeing grounds. Certainly the par-3s, playing those at different yardages. It’s all about variety,” Young said. “These players are all about memory recall on these putts, and they’re going to see some hole locations that maybe they don’t have that memory recall. It’ll be interesting to watch the scoring.”
World No. 6 Justin Thomas likened the difference between the two weeks to his reconnaissance trips to Augusta National ahead of the Masters. In the fall and winter, the course plays much slower, and putts you would barely breathe on during the Masters allow for far more aggression. He senses the same will be true from Workday’s exam to the Memorial’s trial.
“Stuff like that is going to have an impact,” Thomas said.
The Dublin Double faces one very difficult challenge – divots. Despite different tee boxes and hole lengths, the potential for players hitting from the same areas in the fairway increases due to 800 potential rounds. The course was closed Monday ahead of Workday and will be closed Monday ahead of the Memorial.
“It is inevitable,” Young said. “That is probably the biggest concern that we have.”
As for scoring, world No. 2 Jon Rahm expects a birdie fest this week and one of the toughest tests next week.
“I’m probably even being conservative saying the winner’s difference is going to be five shots. I mean, it could be a lot more,” Rahm said. “The rumors are kind of scaring us.
“It seems like it’s going to play like a U.S. Open next week, which we’re kind of excited about. It’s great to see all those birdies, but from my perspective it’s getting a little tiring.
“I like to see a challenge, and we’re the best players in the world, it is the Memorial Championship, it is Jack’s event, and we want it to be a test. I want it to be a test.”