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The final leaderboard for the 2016 Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio is in. William McGirt (36) edged out runner-up Jon Curran in a playoff to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Below is the truncated top-10 leaderboard:
(1) William McGirt (-15)
(2) Jon Curran (-15)
(3) Dustin Johnson (-14)
(T4) Rory McIlroy (-13)
(T4) J.B. Holmes (-13)
(T4) Gary Woodland (-13)
(T4) Matt Kuchar (-13)
(T8) Patrick Reed (-12)
(T8) Keegan Bradley (-12)
(T8) Kevin Streelman (-12)
Here are my thoughts on the champion and some notables near the top of the leaderboard:
Winner: William McGirt (-15) – This is McGirt’s first win on the PGA Tour. This is a player that has popped up numerous times on leaderboards in past years, and it was now when he was able to finally close the deal. Aside from this week, his best finish in the 2015/2016 season was a T2 at the Sanderson Farms last November; he has also had several other top-10 finishes at the Shriners, Honda Classic and RBC Heritage. Here are his previous four finishes: T47 (DEAN & DELUCA), T43 (PLAYERS), T17 (Wells Fargo), T37 (Texas Open). Previous finishes at this event for McGirt were a T40 last year, missed cut in 2014 and T37 in 2013 — not good history at Muirfield, but evidently history that he was able to put behind him this week. Do I think this marks the start of any kind of significant run in McGirt’s career? No, and he probably won’t win again this year, but only time will tell what’ll happen.
Final round: 1 birdies and 17 pars (!) for a 1-under 71. His lone birdie came on the par-5 fifth hole. Scores in regulation: 70, 68, 64, 71 (273). Playoff results: 4, 4 (Win)
Jon Curran (-15) – Curran came into (and left) this event winless on Tour like McGirt did. Although he has no wins, Curran does have a Web.com Tour title under his belt (the Brasil Champions) and he also lost in a playoff at the 2015 Puerto Rico Open, so he’s proven that he has what it takes to consistently put himself in prime position to win. This is his best finish of the 2015-2016 season thus far, eclipsing his solo fourth at the RSM Classic last November. Recent results are not very good: his previous four Tour finishes prior to this week were no better than a T34. He has missed several cuts this season, mostly early in the year. Last week at the DEAN & DELUCA he finished T47 (coincidentally the exact same position as the person he would lose to in a playoff a week later, McGirt). This is Curran’s first start at the Memorial — impressive considering he didn’t have any real course experience to draw on as far as I know. It seems like this guy has a lot of potential, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets himself into contention again soon.
Final round: 4 birdies and 2 bogeys for a 2-under 70. Scores in regulation: 68, 67, 68, 70 (273). Unfortunately for him, Curran missed the 15-footer in 18 that would have won him the tournament outright. Playoff results: 4, 5 (Eliminated)
