Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick among four golfers to commit to playing Memorial Tournament
Rory McIlroy was among four new players commitments announced Tuesday to play in the Memorial Tournament June 1-4.
Defending U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, 2013 Memorial champion Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker also committed to joining the field.
McIlroy, a four-time major champion, will be making his 12th appearance at Muirfield Village Golf Club. His best finish was a tie for fourth in 2016. He finished tied for 18th last year after faltering with scores of 73 and 74 on the weekend.
McIlroy, 34, ranks second in PGA Tour career earnings with $71,559,057 since turning pro in 2007.
“Rory has always been a huge supporter of the Memorial Tournament,” tournament director Dan Sullivan said Tuesday. “He likes the golf course. Unfortunately from his perspective, he hasn't won here.
“He's got a great relationship with the (Jack) Nicklaus family personally, and he's got a great relationship with (sponsor) Workday.”
More: Oller: Jack Nicklaus nails it; Slow play on PGA Tour is a poor form of selfishness.
McIlroy has been a prominent voice supporting the PGA Tour after the rival Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Tour poached some prominent players in the last year and spurred changes in the PGA tour.
One of those changes is higher pursues for selected “elevated” tour events, including the Memorial. Its purse this year will be $20 million, with the winner earning $3.6 million. The purse last year was $12 million.
“Rory's a leader, as everyone sees,” Sullivan said. “He's leading the tour. He's speaking on behalf of the players. He's speaking with the players. He's an advocate of what the PGA Tour means, and we couldn't be more proud that he's coming here to take part in this event.”
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Fitzpatrick, 28, won last year's U.S. Open at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. He also won the U.S. Amateur title there, joining Nicklaus as the only players to win those two tournaments at the same course.
Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage last month, and this will be his fifth Memorial tournament.
Kuchar, 44, will be playing the Memorial for the 18th time. His career earnings of $3,418,537 at Muirfield Village rank third in tournament history.
Snedeker, the 2007 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: McIlroy, Fitzpatrick commit to play Memorial Tournament
