Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour betting tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator, Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and frequent guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network dedicated to sports and sports betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on X at @LasVegasGolferand you can read his picks below for the 2026 Memorial Tournament, which begins Thursday in Ohio.
The PGA Tour’s “Legend Swing” concludes with a bang this week in Dublin, Ohio. It was three weeks ago that we started with the Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch. That was followed by a trip to Ben Hogan’s home, the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. And now we come to Jack’s place, Muirfield Village, for the Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament, the seventh Signature Event of the golf season.
As the level of fantasy has increased, so has the difficulty of the tournament. Wyndham Clark blew away Byron Nelson by 30 points in the under division. Russell Henley beat Eric Cole in the playoff last week after both finished at 12 under. This week at Muirfield, even with the seemingly calm weather, the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook winning point proposition bet is Under/Over 278.5, which means 9.5 under the division. And if that’s not hard enough, next week is the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The temperatures are hot and so is the golf. Along with the Genesis Invitational at the storied Riviera Country Club, I feel the Memorial at Muirfield Village is the best PGA Tour event on the schedule outside of the four major tournaments.
Nicklaus built the golf course in 1974 and it debuted on Tour 50 years ago in 1976. He named it after his favorite Open Championship course, Muirfield, and much of the design is inspired by his love of Augusta National, where Jack won the Masters six times. It’s a par 72 tradition that now stretches to nearly 7,600 yards after the last major renovations were made to the course after the 2020 edition of the tournament.
The fairways are not very narrow but the misses will have one of the tightest and worst holes. Bentgrass greens are very small. They are like Augusta: fast, unmodified, and strong. There are 68 sand bunkers on the golf course and it is interesting to note that the approach to the hole is one of the worst (difficult) on the Tour for shots attempted in the sand. Yes, the tests Mr. Nicklaus has done are perfect to make a player do a little of everything at a high level.
I’m leaning heavily on Strokes Gained: Approach and Scrambling this week. The iron must be really sharp and a deft touch around the greens is a must. I also looked at Strokes: Off The Tee, Par 5 Scoring, Bogey Avoidance, and Hole Proximity from 175-200+ yards.
As for related studies, I looked at some of Nicklaus’ designs. Concession (2021 Workday Championship), Sherwood Country Club (2020 Zozo Championship), Montreaux (Reno-Tahoe Open), and Valhalla (2024 PGA Championship). I also looked at TPC Deere Run, Augusta National, and the Country Club (2022 US Open).
Jordan Spieth (53-1)
I was completely unaware, before doing my research this week, that Spieth has been very good at this tournament in the past. Before the latest overhaul in 2020, Spieth recorded two 13th-place finishes at the Memorial, a seventh and a third. Since the 2020 transition, he has been 18th twice, seventh and fifth. We know what you did at Augusta and you won the John Deere Classic twice. Spieth has played in 14 tournaments so far this season. In half of those tournaments, he finished between 11th and 19th. All tools fire in 2026, they need to do that four days in a row. If they do, you will win.
Chris Gotterup (60-1)
The young shot already has two wins this season and is tied for the top 10 at the PGA Championship. He is the total package, being one of the best in the game off the tee and ranked 53rd on Tour for SG: Approach, 68th in Scrambling, 31st in Sand Saves, and 40th for SG: Putting. In his first Masters appearance earlier this season, Gotterup finished 24th. He was fourth in the 2022 John Deere Classic.
Adam Scott (70-1)
The Australian scientist has successfully circumnavigated these parts many times over the years. This will be his 17th time playing the Memorial and Scott has finished in the top 10 five times. There aren’t many better in the game right now as he is second in Tour in SG: Approach and second in Hole Proximity from 175-200 yards. Scott is ranked 60th in Scrambling, 25th in Bogey Avoidance, and 20th in Par 5 Scoring.
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Nicolai Hojgaard (75-1)
Like Gotterup, Hojgaard is another young star on the rise and combines it with an excellent short game. He was third at Gotterup in Phoenix earlier this season and then sixth at the Cognizant Classic, another Nicklaus project. He finished second in Houston and again last month at Quail Hollow. Hojgaard was runner-up at Torrey Pines back in 2024, further proof that he can handle the big boys’ golf courses, and was 16th in his Masters debut that same season.
Gary Woodland (80-1)
Let the trend continue of big hitters who can also do it on the green. Woodland was better than Hojgaard earlier this season in Houston where he won. He placed sixth last week at the Colonial in that category, ranked fifth in SG: Off the Tee and third in SG: Putting. He has been top 10 here at the Memorial twice and top 25 four times. Woodland won the Reno-Tahoe Open in Montreux in 2013 and finished 10th in the 2022 US Open at the Country Club.
Nick Taylor (90-1)
Like Gotterup, Taylor also won the Sony Open and WM Phoenix Open. He missed just one cut all season and finished 9-14-26 in his last three appearances, two Signature Events and the PGA Championship. He’s not a hitter like all the other players this week but he’s proven he’s up to the job, as he finished fourth here last year, ranking first in Greens Saves, second in Greens in Regulation, and 10th in Scrambling. He is ranked 31st on Tour for SG: Approach, 19th in Hole Proximity from 175-200, and 14th in Scrambling.
