The Memorial Tournament begins Thursday in Dublin, Ohio. Yet another rookie made a name for himself on the PGA Tour as Keegan Bradley beat Ryan Palmer in a playoff to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship. With 14 events left on tour this year, four rookies have won. But the big names lead the odds this week.
Luke Donald is the favorite to win the Memorial Tournament after becoming the World No. 1 last week with his win at the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour last week. He has now finished in the top 10 in nine tournaments, along with two wins and only one missed cut. He finished 14th here in 2009.
Phil Mickelson is second in the odds and fourth in the world rankings. He has just one win this year and four top 10 finishes. He’s hard to back after finishing outside the top 20 in five of his last eight tournaments. He came in fifth at the 2010 Memorial Tournament.
Nick Watney is third in the odds. He’s had a strong season with seven top 10 finishes, including his last two times out. He placed 14th here last year and missed the cut in 2010. Matt Kuchar has a better career record at the Memorial Tournament, coming in eighth last year and fifth in 2009. Kuchar finished in the top 10 for the seventh time last week, ending a streak of four tournaments outside the top 15.
The Memorial Tournament Outright Odds (provided by William Hill)
Luke Donald: 9/1
Phil Mickelson: 12/1
Nick Watney: 18/1
Matt Kuchar: 20/1
Rory McIlory: 22/1
K.J. Choi: 25/1
Dustin Johnson: 25/1
Hunter Mahan: 25/1
Steve Stricker: 25/1
Justin Rose: 28/1
Stewart Cink: 33/1
Rickie Fowler: 33/1
Jim Furyk: 33/1
Bubba Watson: 33/1
Ryan Moore: 40/1
Aaron Baddeley: 50/1
Bill Haas: 50/1
J.B. Holmes: 50/1
Robert Karlsson: 50/1
Martin Laird: 50/1
Steve Marino: 50/1
Sean O’Hair: 50/1
Charl Schwartzel: 50/1
Bo Van Pelt: 50/1