Memorial Tournament Odds & Predictions: Two Win Bets, Prop Picks

Big money equals big stars showing up at a PGA Tour event, and that is reflected in our Memorial Tournament odds and predictions this week.

The Memorial Tournament, the pride and joy of Jack Nicklaus, has never had a problem attracting a top field.

For one, the winner receives a three-year exemption rather than the usual two-year pass that most other tournament winners receive (the other three-year exemptions being Tiger Woods’ Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational).

This year adds a new wrinkle to the event, as it’s also one of the “designated” events with a $20 million purse with the winner pocketing a cool $3.6 million.

Add in the fact the champ will also receive 550 FedEx Cup points (as opposed to 500 for most of the other events), and it’s quite the incentive to tee it up.

The list of winners for this event also stands out. Let’s start out with the obvious: Tiger Woods has won this event five times including three straight years, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Several others have won it twice including, most recently, Patrick Cantlay in 2019 and 2021. The 2021 win should have an asterisk beside it as Jon Rahm, who also won in 2020, held a six-shot lead after three rounds before being forced to withdraw due to COVID.

So, with 16 of the world’s top 20 players in the 120-player field this week, it’s going to be a talented group gunning for this prestigious title.

The tournament, which was first held in 1976 when Roger Maltbie pocketed the $40,000 first place check, will be held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, just outside of Columbus.

This week’s champ will pocket a few more dollars.

Bet Next Major: US Open Golf Odds 2023: Scheffler, Rahm Pre-Tourney Favorites

Odds to Win 2023 Memorial Tournament

We list odds from DraftKings, but shop around at other top-rated sportsbooks to find the best prices on your plays.  

Billy Horschel Looks to Repeat

In the 46-year history of the event, seven players have won this event more than once.

We’re thinking Billy Horschel, the defending champ, won’t join that elite group. Last year’s win was likely a case of a golfer getting hot for four straight days and riding the wave.

In this wraparound season, Horschel, at a sky-high +9000 this week, has only made eight of 14 cuts, and in his last eight events, he has four missed cuts with a best-finish to T-9 at the WGC Match Play event.

It’s going to be quite the challenge for Horschel to overcome having to deal with all of the commitments as the defending champ while still trying to get his game back in top form.

Well, that’s one player down, 119 to go as we look for winners.

Memorial Might Be Photo Finish

We’re taking a look at two of the favorites this week for a simple reason: They have won three of the last four Memorial events, and one of them was third last year.

It’s hard to go against those numbers, but contrary to our usual choices, Scottie Scheffler isn’t one of those two picks.

Scheffler is the favorite at +650, but we’re going to look at two players with slightly better odds who are coming into this event fresh. Scheffler has played–and played well–a couple of weeks in a row.

First, we’re going to pick Patrick Cantlay at +1000. He’s had more than his share of success at this event with those two wins, as well as finishing T-3 here last year despite an opening round 72.

This season, Cantlay has been under the radar despite solid play. We feel that’s about to change in a big way. He’s made 12 of 13 cuts in events he’s played and has seven top-10s, including a T-2 at the Shriners and a couple of third-place finishes.

Cantlay’s been right there. He just hasn’t won yet.

If there’s an ideal spot for Cantlay to get his first win in more than a year, it’s this week.

Jon Rahm Will Be in Mix

Then we’re going to look at Rahm at +700. While his odds are only slightly better than Scheffler, we still like the fact he’s the hottest player around.

It’s easy to pick Rahm every week, and being a favorite this week certainly won’t mean a big payday for bettors if he wins. But once you look at his record, it’s almost impossible not to pick him.

Like Cantlay, he knows his way around this golf course and was poised to win back-to-back before his WD in 2021. Then he stumbled (well, at least for Rahm) to a T-10 last year when a third-round 73 took him out of contention.

For this wraparound season, he’s already got four wins in the 12 events where he’s made the cut. (For the record, he WD’d at The Players Championship with a stomach illness).

He’s also got a point to prove to Scheffler. Scheffler has passed him, again, and is the No. 1 player in the world with Rahm at No. 2.

A victory here adds to his win total, his bank account, and his world ranking.

Pretty good incentives to have a great week.

Around the Prop Scene

We’re going to look at someone whose stock is on the rise and impressively so. We’re going to back Rickie Fowler being in the top 10 at +360.

He’s coming off a T-6 at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge that was a much needed finish. He was ranked No. 51 in the world, and needed to get into the top 50 after the tournament ended to earn a spot in the Open Championship.

Mission accomplished as his final-round 67, tied for the low round of the day, moved him up to No. 46 and into next month’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

One other prop to check out is the bet there will be a playoff at +300. Five of the previous nine tournaments have gone to a playoff including three straight from 2014-2016.