The PGA Tour is getting settled in central Ohio for an extended stay.
The Tour will host two straight events at Muirfield Village Golf Club, beginning with this week's Workday for Charity Open. The differences between the two tournaments will be minor but potentially important: a larger field this week will tackle a familiar venue with shorter rough, slower greens and potentially more variance in tee box placement.
From a former Memorial champ to a few under-the-radar selections, here are players to consider when building your lineup for this week's event at Jack's Place:
Favorites
Hideki Matsuyama ($10,000 on DraftKings): Whenever folks get hesitant adding Matsuyama to a roster, it's usually because of the putter. But Muirfield Village is where he got his maiden PGA Tour title back in 2014, and now the Japanese star can tackle a familiar layout on much slower greens - which should help off-set his most glaring weakness. Matsuyama is coming off a T-21 finish in Detroit that was highlighted by a Saturday 65, ranks second on Tour this season in strokes gained: tee-to-green and deserves to be considered among the tournament favorites.
Justin Rose ($9,700): Like Matsuyama, Rose also has a victory here to his credit having won the Memorial in 2010 for his first Tour title. The Englishman came out of the gates strong post-lockdown, with a T-3 finish at Colonial and a T-14 result at Harbour Town. While he missed the cut in Connecticut, that's likely more the exception than the rule as more success is expected on a course he knows well. Even with a few tweaks and adjustments made by the agronomy staff, this is still the same course where Rose has six other top-10 finishes to go along with his 2010 victory.
Value Plays
Adam Hadwin ($8,200): The Canadian quietly snagged a share of fourth place last week in Detroit, his third straight made cut since the re-start. Hadwin has only missed one cut in 11 starts this season, and that consistency is a big reason why he ranks 13th on Tour in total strokes gained. He's had similar success at Muirfield Village, making the cut in four of five prior appearances including a T-11 finish back in 2016.
Byeong-Hun An ($7,900): Like Matsuyama, An could be poised for a big week on slower than usual greens. He remains one of the best ball-strikers on Tour who is often undone by a balky putter, as the Korean ranks 27th in SG: tee-to-green but a ghastly 210th in SG: putting. This could be the week where those deficiencies on the greens are neutralized, and An has had plenty of success here even with slick surfaces: four straight top-25 finishes at the Memorial highlighted by a playoff loss back in 2018, when he carded all four rounds in the 60s.
Sleepers
Joel Dahmen ($7,700): It seems like only a matter of time before Dahmen snags his first PGA Tour win. After a career year in 2019, he has added top-20 finishes in half of his starts (8 of 16) this season. That includes top-20s at both Colonial and Travelers, and Dahmen is currently 13th on Tour in SG: tee-to-green. Like others on this list, his weakness is on the greens and could be somewhat nullified on the slower surfaces this week.
Chesson Hadley ($6,500): Hadley missed the cut last week in Detroit despite shooting 4 under for 36 holes. Rather than head south to Ohio, he stuck around Detroit Golf Club to practice and even spent part of his Saturday afternoon following the tournament leaders, an effort to glean insight that he hoped to use on his own game. Hadley has made the cut in two of his four prior trips, posting top-50 finishes both times, and his tee-to-green rank (55th) indicates that he could find some quick success with less emphasis on the greens.