Head-To-Head Bets To Target At The 2023 Memorial Tournament

Published|Updated

The PGA Tour heads to Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio for the 2023 edition of the Memorial Tournament hosted by all-time great Jack Nicklaus.

I made my official Starting 5 for the 2023 Memorial Tournament Tuesday and now I'm circling back to bet a few tournament matchups. Honestly, head-to-heads (H2H) have been the bane of my golf gambling existence this season.

MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT 2023 ‘STARTING 5’ INCLUDES XANDER, HATTON

Despite hitting five outrights, I'm still down -2.25 units (u) entering the Memorial. I brought this up with my buddy, Esten McLaren from SportsbookReview.com in this week's Hot Links golf betting show on the OutKick Bets podcast feed.

With that in mind, instead of betting full units on the following tournament matchup bets for Memorial, I'm going to place 0.5u wagers. Hopefully, Muirfield Village will be a get-right spot for me in H2Hs.

Memorial Tournament 2023 Tournament Matchups

Matthew Fitzpatrick (-110) > Cameron Young

Both of these guys let me down at the 2023 PGA Championship by missing the cut. But, I've forgiven Fitzpatrick quicker. Nah, I'm just messing around. Yet Fitzpatrick's game does fit Muirfield better.

Fitzpatrick is 22nd in my Memorial Tournament power rankings and Young is 37th. While Young is a terrible putter, Fitzpatrick has picked up strokes in all five major golf stats throughout his career.

There is good weather forecasted for Dublin this week, which would make the greens at Muirfield fast and firm. Young ranks 98th in this field for SG: Putting on firm and fast greens, Fitzpatrick is

Matt Fitzpatrick putts on the 4th green during the 1st round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

Matt Fitzpatrick putts on the 4th green during the 1st round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Over the last 24 rounds, Fitzpatrick is 14th in this field for total Strokes Gained (SG) and Young is 33rd. Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage in April, played at a comp course to Muirfield, and Young is still winless on Tour.

Around-the-Green (ARG) and Scrambling abilities matter more at Muirfield. Fitzpatrick ranks 24th on Tour this season in SG: ARG and Young is 141st. Fitzpatrick is 16th in Scrambling and Young is 178th.

BET: 0.5u on M. Fitzpatrick over C. Young at Memorial

Shane Lowry (-120) > Tom Kim

This is a gut play that my model at FantasyNational.com doesn't fully support. Lowry is 24th in my Memorial power rankings and Kim is right behind him at 25th.

Both Lowry and Kim are elite ball strikes who struggle with the putter. However, course history is more predictive at the Memorial than at most other PGA Tour events.

This will be Lowry's 7th start at the Memorial and this is young Tom Kim's 1st appearance at Jack's Place. Muirfield went through a renovation after the 2020 Memorial. Lowry finished 32nd in the 2022 Memorial and 6th in 2021.

Shane Lowry plays his shot from the 5th tee during the 2nd round of the 2022 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield.

Shane Lowry plays his shot from the 5th tee during the 2nd round of the 2022 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The toughest holes at Muirfield are these long Par 4s between 450-500 yards. Well, Lowry ranks 3rd in this field for Par 4 Efficiency (EFF): 450-500 at courses with difficult scoring conditions.

Plus, Lowry is a PGA Tour vet that plays well at challenging courses. Lowry is the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year and is +0.834 total SG in difficult scoring conditions for his career. Kim is +0.776 in total SG.

BET: 0.5u on S. Lowry (-120) > Tom Kim at Memorial

Harris English (-120) > J.J. Spaun

This is a numbers play: English is 43rd in my Memorial Tournament power rankings and Spaun is 67th. Spaun has missed the cut in his two Memorial starts and English finished T13 in 2020 and T18 in 2015.

English was -9 entering Round 4 of the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge last week before puking all over himself. Emiliano Grillo won the Charles Schwab in a playoff and shot -8 and English finished T12 with a -3.

However, Spaun has missed six cuts in his last 10 starts with his highest finish being T22 at the Valero Texas Open, which Spaun won last season. Spaun is 70th for total SG over the last 24 rounds and English is 37th.

Harris English lines up a putt on the 4th hole during the 2nd round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Harris English lines up a putt on the 4th hole during the 2nd round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. (Eston Parker/ISI Photos/Getty Images).

English was T3 at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship earlier this month and T2 at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational, both of which are played at comp courses to Muirfield. Also, English's game is a better fit for Muirfield than Spaun's.

Over the last 24 rounds, English ranks 11th in this field for SG: Putting on firm and fast greens and 24th in SG: Putting on Bent grass. Spaun is 43rd for SG: Putting on Bent and 81st for SG: Putting on firm and fast greens.

BET: 0.5u on H. English (-120) > J.J. Spaun at Memorial

Check out the Hot Links golf gambling show hosted by Geoff Clark on the OutKick Bets podcast feed. New episodes drop Tuesdays for most full-field PGA Tour events in the 2022-23 season