The 2026 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday begins Thursday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, with Scottie Scheffler bidding to become the first player since Tiger Woods to win the event three consecutive years. The $20 million Signature Event, carrying 700 FedExCup points and $4 million to the winner, marks the tournament’s 50th anniversary and features nine of the top 10 players in both the FedExCup standings and the Official World Golf Ranking.

Jack Nicklaus, the tournament’s founder and host, is scheduled to address media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the week’s opening round.

Scheffler’s History Bid

Scheffler, the 20-time PGA TOUR winner and reigning World No. 1, has dominated this tournament in recent years. His record at Muirfield Village across six career starts reads T22, 3rd, 3rd, Won, Won. A third consecutive Memorial title would make him the first player to achieve that at any PGA TOUR event since Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic three straight years through 2011, and the first to do it at the Memorial since Woods managed it from 1999 to 2001.

A victory would also move Scheffler level with Kenny Perry for the second-most Memorial titles in history, behind Woods’s five. Scheffler leads the FedExCup standings with 2,711 points, 170 clear of Cameron Young, and has made 75 consecutive cuts on TOUR, the longest active streak.

McIlroy Returns

Rory McIlroy, the 2026 Masters champion and the most prolific winner in the field with 30 PGA TOUR victories, makes his first TOUR start since finishing T7 at the PGA Championship. McIlroy successfully defended his Masters title earlier this season, making him the most recent player to defend any title on TOUR.

A Memorial victory would add him to a short list. According to PGA TOUR Communications’ pre-tournament notes, only five players have won the Memorial and a major or THE PLAYERS Championship in the same season: Raymond Floyd (1982), Curtis Strange (1988), Paul Azinger (1993), Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001), and Scheffler (2024, 2025). McIlroy has made 11 cuts in 13 Memorial starts, with five top-10 finishes and a best result of T4 in 2016.

Rai and Fitzpatrick Headline British Contingent

Aaron Rai arrives at Muirfield Village as the reigning PGA Championship winner, having claimed his second PGA TOUR title and first major last month. The Englishman makes his fourth Memorial appearance and would become only the second player from England to win the event, after Justin Rose in 2010. Rai has missed two cuts here, with a best finish of T26 in 2022.

Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, leads the TOUR with three victories in 2026: the Valspar Championship, RBC Heritage, and Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He has posted three top-10s at the Memorial, including a third-place finish in 2020, despite never opening better than 73 in seven appearances at the course.

Clark, Henley, and Kim in Form

Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, enters off his fourth career PGA TOUR victory at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson, where he shot a final-round 60 to win by three strokes over Si Woo Kim. Clark is the only player on record to post a final-round 60 or better and go on to win twice on TOUR. He has one top-25 in six Memorial starts.

Russell Henley claimed his sixth PGA TOUR victory at last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge and sits at World No. 5. Si Woo Kim has made 15 cuts in 15 starts this season, with seven top-10 finishes, tied with Scheffler for most on TOUR.

How the Field Was Set

As a Signature Event and one of the TOUR’s three player-hosted invitationals, the Memorial assembles its field through a combination of exemptions, world ranking, and performance-based qualifiers. The Aon Next 10 brought in the top 10 FedExCup points earners not otherwise exempt, including Alex Smalley, Min Woo Lee, Nicolai Højgaard, Adam Scott, and Aaron Rai.

The Aon Swing 5, based on FedExCup points from the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic, CJ CUP Byron Nelson, and Charles Schwab Challenge, delivered Wyndham Clark, Eric Cole, Brandt Snedeker, Mac Meissner, and Mark Hubbard. Cole, Meissner, and Hubbard will each compete in their first Signature Event of the season.

Snedeker, the 2026 U.S. Presidents Cup captain, earned his 10th PGA TOUR victory in Myrtle Beach, his first win since the 2018 Wyndham Championship. The 45-year-old shot 65 in the final round at last year’s Memorial and finished T7.

50 Years at Muirfield Village

This week’s tournament is the 50th edition of the Memorial, which has been played at Muirfield Village every year since the inaugural event in 1976. The course, set up at par 72 and 7,569 yards, remains the only venue in the United States to have hosted the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup, and Presidents Cup.

This year’s Memorial Honoree is David Graham, the two-time major champion who won the 1980 Memorial. The Captains Club will also posthumously honour golf pioneer Allan Robertson, an early St. Andrews professional, during Wednesday’s ceremony.

The field includes six past Memorial winners, 16 major champions, and four sponsor exemptions: Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Matt Kuchar, and Patrick Rodgers. One qualifying spot for The Open Championship is available to the leading non-exempt player who makes the 36-hole cut.

The last 14 Signature Events have been won by 14 different players. Scheffler is trying to make it three in a row.