Muirfield Village is one of the PGA Tour’s most recognized and iconic venues.
Also known as simply ‘Jack’s Place’, the club was founded by 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus and opened for play in 1974 when Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf played an exhibition match. The Golden Bear shot a brand new course record 66 (-6), which stood until 1979.
The Memorial Tournament has taken place every year at Muirfield Village since 1976.
The course record currently stands at 61 (-11), which was set by John Huston in the second round of the 1996 tournament. The American, who won seven times on the PGA Tour between 1990 and 2003, beat the previous course record by two strokes.
He started with five consecutive birdies and eagled the 7th to turn in a new front nine record of 29. He then birdied another five consecutive holes between the 11th and 15th. Huston needed a par-birdie finish for 59 but missed a three-footer on the 17th for par and then parred the 18th.
Huston’s course record still stands today
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“It was kind of like playing with the bank’s money in Vegas,’’ Huston said. “You just don’t feel like you can lose. You’ve got the big ‘cush.’ If you don’t birdie this hole, you birdie the next hole. It’s a fun game when the putts are dropping.
‘’The course record is nice,’’ he said, ‘’but winning the Tournament is why we’re here.’’
He ended in fifth-place after rounds of 71-73 over the weekend.
The course record was almost matched in 2007 by Adam Scott, with the Aussie carding a 10-under-par 62 in the second round. He made a tournament record 11 birdies that day. Ricky Barnes also shot 62 in the 3rd round of the 2010 Memorial.
Scott made 11 birdies in his 62 at the 2007 Memorial
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Jason Dufner holds the low first 36-holes record with 130 (-14), set in 2017, while Scott Hoch (1987) and Jon Rahm (2021) share the low first 54-holes record at 198 (-18).
Rahm’s is significant as he led by six strokes but was forced to withdraw after the third round following a positive Covid-19 test.
The four-day 72-hole record at The Memorial was set by former World No.1 Tom Lehman in 1994. The American’s 20-under-par total of 268 has yet to be beaten.
Tom Lehman shot a record 20-under-par 72-hole total in 1994
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