There are 120 players on the field and among them the top three golfers in the world stand out, but in the list of favorites of the Pga Tour, in addition to Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlory, there is also Francesco Molinari. The tournament we're talking about is the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwid, taking place today through Sunday at Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio. This is Jack Nicklaus' club, which always does the honors on this splendid course.
For Francesco and for Italian golf it is an honor to be part of this great event. The 33-year-old from Turin has now reached full sporting maturity and on the American tour he continues to obtain good placings, however he lacks full success and every time could be the right one. Winning at Muirfield means putting over a million and a half dollars in your pocket, but also a nice package of exemptions for the most prestigious tournaments and for the tour over the next three years.
The challenge is open, but also super demanding, because the filed is at the highest level. We have already mentioned the leading trio in the ranking and we can add Bubba Watson, Richie Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, just to name a few of the most famous players. Swede David Lingmerth defends the title, even if his current form conditions are not comparable to those of 2015.
Molinari however, on American soil, is back from a seventh place in The Players and there is a good chance that he will continue on this path. The prize pool is $8,5 million. The course is a par 72 of 6700 metres. While Francesco is in Ohio, his Italian colleagues playing on the European tour are playing the Nordea Masters between today and Sunday at the Bro Hof Slott GC in Stockholm, Sweden.
Among them Matteo Manassero, who a few days ago managed to qualify for the US Open, the second major of the year, scheduled from 16 to 19 June at the Oakmont CC in Pennsylvania. The other blues on the track are Edoardo Molinari, Nino Bertasio, Renato Paratore, Francesco Laporta and Nicolò Ravano. Star of the event is the Swede Henrik Stenson, number six in the world rankings, joined by other great names on the tour such as Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood, Nicolas Colsaerts, Thomas Bjorn.
The jackpot is 1,5 million euros, 250 thousand for the first. Both races are broadcast live on Sky Sports.
