2020 Workday Charity Open Preview

By Dave Shields

The PGA Tour begins the first of two stops at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Thursday when the Workday Charity Open tees off. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re not alone as this is a new stop that was slated to replace the John Deere Classic, which had originally been scheduled for this week.

But the course is very familiar to tour players and fans alike, as it is the site of the Memorial Tournament, which, by the way, tees off a week from Thursday on July 16. But first things first, let’s take a look at the Workday Charity Open.

The Field

Muirfield Village, aka the House that Jack Built, is a 7,392-yard, par 72 course designed by the great Jack Nicklaus in his hometown. It is usually the home of the Memorial Tournament. One player who is not among the players in the field is Bryson DeChambeau, who won the Memorial in 2018. DeChambeau also won last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club, shooting 23-under par to win by three shots over Matthew Wolff. After seven straight top 10s and a win, DeChambeau is taking a well-earned week off.

But there are plenty of big names in the field this week at Muirfield Village including world No. 2 Jon Rahm, No. 5 ranked Justin Thomas, No. 6 Brooks Koepka, No. 8 Patrick Cantlay, No. 11 Xander Schauffele, and No. 13 Justin Rose. Cantlay won here at the Memorial last year, while Rose, Hideki Matsuyama, and Matt Kuchar have all won here in the past.

The favorite this week is Thomas at 11-1, followed by Rahm at 12-1. Matsuyama, Koepka, and Cantlay are all 14-1. Among the other favorites are Schauffele (16-1), Viktor Hovland (22-1), Rose (25-1), Rickie Fowler (28-1), Collin Morikawa (28-1), Patrick Reed (33-1), Jordan Spieth (35-1), Marc Leishman (35-1), Joaquin Niemann (35-1), Sung-Jae Im (40-1), Adam Hadwin (40-1), Kuchar (40-1), Gary Woodland (50-1), Wolff (50-1), and Matthew Fitzpatrick (50-1).

The Picks

Hideki Matsuyama (14:1). Last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, I picked Matsuyama as one of my favorites to win. He did not win, finishing in 21 st place at 13-under, but he had his best tournament in weeks. The thinking last week was, Matsuyama, is too good to be playing this bad – he is due for a breakout tournament. He hasn’t had it yet, but this could be the week. Matsuyama is starting to hit his stride and he has had success at Muirfield Village, winning the Memorial Tournament in 2014.

Patrick Cantlay (14-1). It’s hard not to go with Cantlay here. The guy is not only the defending champion at the Memorial, but he finished 4th two years ago at the tournament. He obviously likes this golf course. Cantlay hasn’t played all that much since play resumed, but the event he did play in, the Traveler’s Championship, he performed well, finishing in 11th place at 13-under. Expect him to be in the mix once again.

Jordan Spieth (35-1). Spieth always plays well at Muirfield Village. Last year was no exception as he finished in a tie for 7th at 10-under. Spieth has been playing good golf, but he has not been playing great, certainly not like he did when he broke out and won 3 majors. Spieth is due for a win. Spieth has not won in almost three years, his last win coming at the 2017 Open Championship. If he doesn’t win this week, it’ll be next week at the Memorial. In this two-week stay here at Muirfield, I like Spieth to emerge with a win.

First round action begins Thursday with the first tee off at 6:50 a.m.

Some Info Taken From CBS Sports