Odds Outlook: Defending champ Scottie Scheffler opens as short betting favorite at the Memorial

Jack Nicklaus and Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, welcome the seventh of eight Signature Events on the 2025 PGA TOUR calendar with the playing of the 50th edition of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. The 2024 champion, Scottie Scheffler (+280), defends his title as a clear betting favorite against a field of 72 players.

Scheffler, who shared fourth last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge after winning the 107th PGA Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, is playing for the third consecutive week. Defeated by only three players over his last three events on TOUR, the Texan has only lost to four players at Muirfield Village Golf Club in his previous three visits. The Golden Bear and his team manufacture perhaps the most rigorous non-major challenge of the season. Leading the TOUR in Strokes-Gained: Tee to Green and Approach the Green, Scheffler is also the best in Bogey Avoidance while sitting second in Scrambling and Proximity from the Rough. The lowest winning score in the last five years is 13 under, and three events have not cracked double digits, including his total of 280 in 2024.

For the fourth time in five events, second choice on the odds board is Xander Schauffele (+1400). Unable to successfully defend his PGA Championship (T28) in Charlotte two weeks ago, the Californian did not play last week in Fort Worth. Rested and ready for the arduous challenge outside Columbus, he makes his eighth consecutive start at "Jack’s Place" and has not missed the cut in his last six appearances. Last year, he earned his first top-10 result with T8, continuing his streak of T24 or better.

One of the four players in the field this week to beat Scheffler on this layout over the last four years, Collin Morikawa (+1600) fell one shot short of forcing a playoff here last June with the No. 1 player in the world. The 2020 winner of the Workday Charity Open on this track, Morikawa was defeated in a playoff the following spring by Patrick Cantlay (+2000), the only two-time winner (2019, 2021) in the field this week.

Without a win since the 2022 BMW Championship, Cantlay flashed with T4 at the Philadelphia Cricket Club for the Truist Championship and appeared to be heading in the right direction. Sadly, his momentum stalled, and he missed the weekend at the PGA Championship. A streak of seven consecutive paydays at the Memorial was snapped by a missed cut in 2024. The pair are stout throughout the bag and are excellent tee to green. Morikawa ranks second in Fairways, while Cantlay ranks second in GIR. Each player sits in the top 10 in SG: Approach the Green and has multiple top-five finishes at this venue.

Before locating to Jupiter, Florida, Louisville native Justin Thomas (+1800) considered Muirfield Village Golf Club his annual home game. The playoff winner at the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters, he earned his 16th title on the PGA TOUR and his third top-two payday in four starts. The early spring heat did not follow him to Charlotte, where he was the course defending champion for the PGA Championship. Rounds of 73-72 saw him eject early from the second major championship of 2025, and he has not played since. He produced back-to-back top-10 finishes in 2017 and 2018 but has cooled over his last five visits to the Buckeye State. Leading the TOUR in Birdie Average and Putting Average, his hot iron play (fifth, SG: Approach the Green) produces plenty of chances.

Two-time TOUR winner Ludvig Åberg (+2200) earned his second victory earlier this year on another monster layout, Torrey Pines South (7,765 yards). The Swede, who cashed a check for seventh at Augusta National Golf Club, his second top-10 payday in two visits to the Masters, arrived in Ohio with a T5 on debut in 2024. His tee ball and long iron proficiency translate well. His numbers with the putter do not provide inspiration, but he is confident putting on premium Bentgrass greens.

Viktor Hovland (+3000) and Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood (+3000) close out the top of the board at +3000 or better. Hovland, the 2023 winner in a playoff against Denny McCarthy (+4500), returned to the winner’s circle on TOUR at the Valspar Championship, holding off Thomas by a shot the week after THE PLAYERS Championship. Never satisfied with his swing, the Norwegian continues tinkering, and investors must be aware of the weekly ups and downs. He’s played the weekend in his last five events, but his victory is the only top-10 result. Fleetwood has not missed the cut in his previous 21 attempts worldwide and owns seven top-five payouts. The only thing missing from his mantle and bank account is the trophy and first-place check. One poor round, a 76 in Round 3 at the PGA Championship (T41), interrupted a three-tournament run of top-seven results, including T4 last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Other top finishers from the Charles Schwab Challenge in the field this week include champion Ben Griffin (+6000), former Louisville Cardinal and runner-up Matti Schmid (+15000) and third-place finisher Bud Cauley (+10000), who led the field in Bogey Avoidance at Colonial Country Club.

Joining Scheffler in the past champions category playing this week is 2014 winner Hideki Matsuyama (+3500).

Here's a look at the odds for other notable players, via FanDuel Sportsbook:

• +3300: Corey Conners
• +3500: Jordan Spieth
• +4000: Shane Lowry
• +4500: Daniel Berger, Sepp Straka, Si Woo Kim
• +5000: Tony Finau, Sam Burns, Sungjae Im, Russell Henley, Matt Fitzpatrick
• +5500: Keegan Bradley
• +6000: Maverick McNealy
• +6500: Robert MacIntyre, Harris English, Max Homa
• +7500: Adam Scott
• +8000: J.T. Poston, Rickie Fowler, J.J. Spaun, Aaron Rai, Akshay Bhatia, Wyndham Clark, Byeong Hun An, Alex Noren, Sahith Theegala
• +9000: Min Woo Lee, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes

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