Top players flock to house that Jack built

**Gateway** · 06-01-2006 , 09:02 AM

If the Players Championship is the fifth major, the Memorial surely is the sixth.

Year in and year out it has the strongest field of any PGA Tour event outside of the majors, the World Golf Championship events and the Players Championship.

There is one reason: Jack Nicklaus.

"When you have a golf course that's so pristine, you just want to play well," Ernie Els said. "Jack Nicklaus has also got something to do with that. Everybody wants to win this golf tournament.

"He just makes this place better every year. The golf course keeps improving, the quality of the way they present the golf course gets better all the time, and I think this year is no different. It's just great playing on a golf course like this. He runs a great show."

The Memorial will be played this week for 31st time at Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Of the 30 previous winners, 22 have claimed major championships during their careers. Major champions Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin and Greg Norman won twice and Tiger Woods trumped them all by winning from 1999-2001.

Other winners of Grand Slam events who won at Jack's Place include Els, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Tom Lehman, Paul Azinger, Bob Tway, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Raymond Floyd and David Graham.

"When you get all the best players in one place, it's more likely that they're going to win," said Davis Love III, who would love to add his name to the list.

Even Phil Mickelson, who is gearing up for his bid to win a third consecutive major championship in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Winged Foot, is in the Memorial field.

Lefty has not played at Muirfield Village since 2002, when he posted his best finish in seven Memorial appearances, a tie for ninth.

However, three of the top 11 players in the world are not playing, including the leader, Woods, who will miss the Memorial for the first time as a pro because he is still grieving the death of his father, Earl. He probably will not play again until the Open.

David Toms was the only top-10 player last week in the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which he won two consecutive years before finishing second last year, and he will skip the Memorial with a busy stretch coming up.

Luke Donald of England played near home last week in the BMW Classic at Wentworth and is spending extra time in the U.K.

But the most notable absentee from the field will be the greatest golfer in the history of the game, Nicklaus himself, who has played in the 30 previous Memorials.

When he retired from competitive golf last year in the Open Championship at St. Andrews, Nicklaus reserved the right to play in the Memorial if he decided his game was up to it.

Apparently, he thinks it is not.

"I don't play much anymore," he said recently while dedicating his renovation of the Scarlet Course at Ohio State, his alma mater. "I think I've played nine times in the last 10 months. I haven't shot a round for a score since the British Open."

Instead, he is concentrating on preparing a major-like test for the best golfers in the game.

In addition to being in immaculate shape, Muirfield Village has such an honor roll of champions because it requires the best of the best to test every facet of their games.

"You look down that list, you can't really say that guy was a chop ball-striker," Woods has said. "You have to hit every single golf shot. Plus, this golf course, you have to manage your game so well. The majority of the winners who have come through here are major-championship winners."

Nicklaus has been one of the loudest voices in the ongoing discussion about modern technology, saying that while it is good for the game in many ways, it is making some classic courses obsolete.

Muirfield Village played to 7,027 yards when Roger Maltbie won the first Memorial in 1976. Because the designer has resisted the temptation to lengthen it, the course will play to 7,300 yards when Bart Bryant defends his title this week.

"Well, you know, Muirfield when we did it was a pretty long golf course, a pretty strong golf course at that time, and it's become a relatively short golf course as standards are today, even though it's not short," Nicklaus said a year ago.

"You know, I think that all we've tried to do is stay a little bit with technology ... there's 10, for instance, I lengthened 10. I don't like lengthening holes, but what happened with 10 was the break in the hill on 10, if a guy was really long, he hits it over the break and gets it down so he was playing a wedge, where a guy who's not very long hits back there and is playing 4-iron. So I couldn't figure I could put any more bunkers or do anything else out there, so basically I moved the tee back.

"Frankly, we've done it more with narrowing the golf course than lengthening it."

Perhaps the USGA and PGA of America can take note.

06-01-2006 , 09:02 AM	#1
Gateway Admin Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 65 Rep Power: 10	Top players flock to house that Jack built If the Players Championship is the fifth major, the Memorial surely is the sixth. Year in and year out it has the strongest field of any PGA Tour event outside of the majors, the World Golf Championship events and the Players Championship. There is one reason: Jack Nicklaus. "When you have a golf course that's so pristine, you just want to play well," Ernie Els said. "Jack Nicklaus has also got something to do with that. Everybody wants to win this golf tournament. "He just makes this place better every year. The golf course keeps improving, the quality of the way they present the golf course gets better all the time, and I think this year is no different. It's just great playing on a golf course like this. He runs a great show." The Memorial will be played this week for 31st time at Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Of the 30 previous winners, 22 have claimed major championships during their careers. Major champions Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin and Greg Norman won twice and Tiger Woods trumped them all by winning from 1999-2001. Other winners of Grand Slam events who won at Jack's Place include Els, Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, Jim Furyk, Tom Lehman, Paul Azinger, Bob Tway, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Raymond Floyd and David Graham. "When you get all the best players in one place, it's more likely that they're going to win," said Davis Love III, who would love to add his name to the list. Even Phil Mickelson, who is gearing up for his bid to win a third consecutive major championship in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Winged Foot, is in the Memorial field. Lefty has not played at Muirfield Village since 2002, when he posted his best finish in seven Memorial appearances, a tie for ninth. However, three of the top 11 players in the world are not playing, including the leader, Woods, who will miss the Memorial for the first time as a pro because he is still grieving the death of his father, Earl. He probably will not play again until the Open. David Toms was the only top-10 player last week in the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which he won two consecutive years before finishing second last year, and he will skip the Memorial with a busy stretch coming up. Luke Donald of England played near home last week in the BMW Classic at Wentworth and is spending extra time in the U.K. But the most notable absentee from the field will be the greatest golfer in the history of the game, Nicklaus himself, who has played in the 30 previous Memorials. When he retired from competitive golf last year in the Open Championship at St. Andrews, Nicklaus reserved the right to play in the Memorial if he decided his game was up to it. Apparently, he thinks it is not. "I don't play much anymore," he said recently while dedicating his renovation of the Scarlet Course at Ohio State, his alma mater. "I think I've played nine times in the last 10 months. I haven't shot a round for a score since the British Open." Instead, he is concentrating on preparing a major-like test for the best golfers in the game. In addition to being in immaculate shape, Muirfield Village has such an honor roll of champions because it requires the best of the best to test every facet of their games. "You look down that list, you can't really say that guy was a chop ball-striker," Woods has said. "You have to hit every single golf shot. Plus, this golf course, you have to manage your game so well. The majority of the winners who have come through here are major-championship winners." Nicklaus has been one of the loudest voices in the ongoing discussion about modern technology, saying that while it is good for the game in many ways, it is making some classic courses obsolete. Muirfield Village played to 7,027 yards when Roger Maltbie won the first Memorial in 1976. Because the designer has resisted the temptation to lengthen it, the course will play to 7,300 yards when Bart Bryant defends his title this week. "Well, you know, Muirfield when we did it was a pretty long golf course, a pretty strong golf course at that time, and it's become a relatively short golf course as standards are today, even though it's not short," Nicklaus said a year ago. "You know, I think that all we've tried to do is stay a little bit with technology ... there's 10, for instance, I lengthened 10. I don't like lengthening holes, but what happened with 10 was the break in the hill on 10, if a guy was really long, he hits it over the break and gets it down so he was playing a wedge, where a guy who's not very long hits back there and is playing 4-iron. So I couldn't figure I could put any more bunkers or do anything else out there, so basically I moved the tee back. "Frankly, we've done it more with narrowing the golf course than lengthening it." Perhaps the USGA and PGA of America can take note.