THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Muirfield Village GC
Dublin, OH
Par: 36-36—72Yards: 7,239
FedExCup Points: 25,000 Winner: 4,500
Purse: $5,800,000Winner: $1,044,000
2006 Champion: Carl Pettersson (276, -12)

One of the keys to Carl Pettersson’s victory in 2006 was his ability to get up and down from the furrowed bunkers. He was seven for nine (77.8 percent) compared with his 2006 season average of 53.1 percent.

The PGA TOUR experimented with furrowed bunkers at the 2006 Memorial Tournament. Entering the tournament a year ago, the TOUR average sand-save percentage was 49.1 percent, while the 2006 Memorial Tournament field averaged 43.8 percent. These were the round-by-round averages for the week: 36.03 percent, 49.76 percent, 41.1 percent and 40.2 percent.

Three players have made the Memorial Tournament their first PGA TOUR victory: Keith Fergus (1981), Kenny Perry (1991) and Tom Lehman (1994).

Ernie Els is 13-of-13 in cuts made at the Memorial Tournament and is one of four players in tournament history to have played in the event at least 10 times and never missed a cut. After winning the event in 2004, Els has tied for 45th and tied for 68th the last two years. The 2004 Memorial Tournament victory was Els’ last TOUR win in the U.S.

Only eight times has a player managed to record four rounds in the 60s at the Memorial Tournament: Bart Bryant (2005), Tiger Woods (2001), Fred Couples (1998 and 2004), Steve Elkington (1995), Tom Lehman (1994), Paul Azinger (1993) and Hal Sutton (1986). Only Couples in 2004 and Elkington failed to win.

While the Memorial Tournament has always had an international field, only five different international players have won the event: David Graham (Australia, 1980), Greg Norman (Australia, 1990, 1995), Vijay Singh (Fiji, 1997), Ernie Els (South Africa, 2004) and Carl Pettersson (Sweden, 2006).

The Memorial Tournament’s Captains Club will honor former PGA Championship winner Dow Finsterwald and Louise Suggs this week. Suggs, 83, co-founded the LPGA and won 58 tournaments during her playing career. Finsterwald, 77, an Ohio University graduate, won 12 times on the PGA TOUR.

In the history of the Memorial Tournament, only five players in their 40s have won. They include: Jack Nicklaus (1984), Greg Norman (1995), Tom Watson (1996), Kenny Perry (2003) and Bart Bryant (2005). Watson is the oldest champion at 46 years and 271 days.

There have been four playoffs in the 31-year history of the Memorial Tournament. After posting a final-round, 4-over-par 76, Roger Maltbie went extra holes to edge Hale Irwin at the inaugural event in 1976. Jack Nicklaus defeated Andy Bean in the next playoff in 1984. Kenny Perry topped Hale Irwin on the first extra hole in 1991 and, in the process, earned his first PGA TOUR title. In 1992, David Edwards went two holes to defeat Rick Fehr in the most recent playoff.