Muirfield Village will look the same, minus the grandstands and thousands of spectators spread across the course Jack Nicklaus built in Dublin. The challenge for the PGA Tour is to make it feel different to the players the next two weeks. For the first time in 63 years, two PGA Tour events are being held on the same golf course in consecutive weeks. First up is the Workday Charity Open, which begins Thursday. Then it's onto the Memorial next week.
''I think this week we're going to have to be a little bit cautious with the golf course, certainly out of respect to Mr. Nicklaus and the Memorial Tournament being next week,'' PGA Tour rules official Gary Young said. “This week here we have an opportunity to present the golf course in a different way. You’re probably going to see a more receptive golf course, one where the greens will certainly be receptive. We’re going to have to be cautious with the heat and certainly put a little bit more water than we normally would, knowing that we’ve got to carry this golf course through a two-week period.”
That means slower greens, different tee placements and rough that won’t be quite as high this week. The Workday Charity Open field features five of the top 10 golfers in the world. Memorial champions in the field for the first event include last year’s winner Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose. Tiger Woods, a five-time Memorial champion, still hasn't played competitively since February and won’t play this week. The Memorial announced Thursday that Woods will play next week. Golfers have until this Friday to commit to the Memorial.
