PGA Betting Odds: Scottie Scheffler Favoured Again at Memorial Tournament

Payton Matthews
Last Updated: June 5, 2024

Even though this is the week before the U.S. Open, it’s a stellar field at the big-money Memorial Tournament from Dublin, Ohio, a Signature Event on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler is favoured on the PGA golf odds.

Because the Memorial is a Signature Event, the overall purse is $20 million (U.S.) with $4 million to the winner. Some Signature Events have a cut and some don’t. The Memorial will have a 36-hole cut to the Top 50 players and ties, in addition to any players within 10 strokes of the 36-hole lead. It’s still a much smaller field than normal.

Sometimes there are also opposite-field tournaments when there are Signature Events but not this week so any golfers who didn’t qualify are getting the week off. The Memorial was founded and is hosted by Jack Nicklaus, who grew up in the greater Columbus area and starred collegiately at Ohio State.

The Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club is a par 72 at about 7,600 yards. The name is inspired by Muirfield, Scotland, where Nicklaus won his first of three British Opens in 1966. The “Golden Bear” re-designed the par-3 16th for 2024 after only 21 birdies were made all week on the hole in 2023. The course has held a spot on the PGA Tour since 1976, two years after it opened.

If he were healthy enough, Tiger Woods would be playing, but we will see him next week at the U.S. Open in North Carolina. Woods grew up idolizing Nicklaus and has won the Memorial a record five times, last in 2012. Nicklaus won this himself twice.

The defending champion is Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who beat American Denny McCarthy in a playoff after both finished 72 holes at 7-under 281. Hovland forced the playoff with a 30-foot birdie on the 17th — the only one on that hole in the final round — and saving par from behind the 18th green.

McCarthy’s only bogey came in the final round came at No. 18 … twice. He was leading by a shot when he was unable to drive into the fairway on his final hole and couldn’t make a 25-foot putt for par for the win. In the playoff, his shot from the right rough rolled back off the green some 50 yards away. He pitched to 12 feet and the putt caught the left edge and spun away. Scottie Scheffler closed with a 67 to finish third and miss the playoff by one shot after making the cut on the number.

We were high on Justin Thomas last year at +2600, but he missed the cut.

The Memorial Tournament Golf Odds

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the +350 favorite but slumping, at least by his incredibly high standards – but at least he no longer has to worry about that arrest nonsense in Louisville during the PGA Championship any longer with all charges dropped. I say struggling tongue in cheek because Scheffler has been T8 and T2 his past two Tour events this year after four wins in five events immediately prior. Scheffler has been third his past two times in this tournament.

Rory McIlroy and PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele are each +900. McIlroy is playing as well as anyone with a win, win, T12 and T4 (last week at the Canadian Open) in his past four outings. He has not won this tournament but was seventh in 2023. Schauffele hasn’t played since winning the PGA at Valhalla for his first career major title. He has been Top 25 in this event six straight years but no Top 10s. McIlroy and Schauffele are +750 favorites on the “win without Scheffler prop.”

Collin Morikawa (+1400) and defending champion Viktor Hovland (+1800) round out the favourites. Hovland also has a third-place finish in this event. He wasn’t having a very good year until a third at the PGA Championship. Morikawa has a won on this course but not this event: It was the 2020 Workday Charity Open when Muirfield Village hosted back-to-back tournaments due to COVID. Morikawa was a runner-up to two-time winner Patrick Cantlay (+2800) in the 2021 Memorial.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who captured his first career PGA Tour win at the Canadian Open in Hamilton on Sunday, withdrew from the Memorial even though he played his way in with that victory. Davis Thompson took his spot.

No Canadians have won this tournament. Mike Weir was one of four runners-up in 2008, two shots behind Kenny Perry. Taylor Pendrith was the top finisher last year at T60, while Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Adam Svensson and Corey Conners all missed the cut. Conners is +5000 this week with Hughes +10000, Hadwin +15000, Pendrith +15000, Svensson +20000 and Nick Taylor +25000.