By Greg Robertson
ESPN Golf Online
Monday, May 29

Details
When	Thursday-Sunday
Course	Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
Par/Yardage	Par 72; 7,193 yards
Purse	$3.1 million (Winner: $558,000)
1999 champion	Tiger Woods
Tournament record	20-under 268 (Tom Lehman, 1994)
Television	Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. (USA) Saturday: 3-6 p.m. ET (CBS) Sunday: 2-6 p.m. ET (CBS)

The tournament

	Hole by hole
	Hole	Par	Yards
	1	4	451
	2	4	455
	3	4	401
	4	3	200
	5	5	527
	6	4	447
	7	5	563
	8	3	182
	9	4	407
	Out	36	3633
	10	4	441
	11	5	539
	12	3	163
	13	4	455
	14	4	363
	15	5	503
	16	3	215
	17	4	437
	18	4	444
	In	36	3560
	Total	72	7193
	Key holes: Muirfield Village has undergone considerable changes, with 11 greens being rebuilt since last year. The most dramatic is No.15, the final par-5. A stream now runs behind the green rather than in front, and the green has changed in shape, size and contour, and is now guarded by deep bunkers on both sides. No. 18 remains relatively the same with a troublesome creek running down the left side, huge fairway bunkers on the right, and a well-guarded, two-level green that becomes difficult to hit as the pressure mounts.

For the third consecutive week, a golfing legend takes center stage on the PGA Tour.

After Texas stops honoring Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan, the Memorial Tournament is all about Jack Nicklaus. He is host of the tournament played on a course he designed, and this year he is the person being honored by the tournament committee.

Nicklaus will also be playing in this week's event, just his fifth start of the season on the PGA Tour. The only cut he made was at The Masters, but the odds are better this week at Muirfield Village. With just 105 players starting, more than two-thirds of the field will be around for the weekend.

Most of the big guns on tour are in the field, although Phil Mickelson, Jesper Parnevik and Davis Love III are among those taking the week off.

The Memorial is the last big event on the schedule before the U.S. Open in three weeks at Pebble Beach. It is the last time many of the top players will tee it up before the year's second major.

Players will find a much different Muirfield Village course this year than in year's past. Eleven of the 18 greens were rebuilt in the fall, with several getting completly new shapes and contours. Adapting to the changes will be more important than a history on the course this time around.

One thing that hasn't changed are the wide fairways which benefit players who are a little eratic off the tee. How wide are they? In the history of the PGA Tour, only four times have any players been 100 percent in fairways hit for all four rounds of a tournament. Three of those four instances took place in this event.

Memorial tends to bring out the best in the top players. Evidence of that can be found in the list of past champions, with the last seven winners all owning major championships as well -- Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Tom Lehman and Paul Azinger.

Azinger's victory at Memorial is one of the more memorable on the PGA Tour in recent years as he holed out from the bunker on the 72nd hole to beat Corey Pavin by a shot. He went on to win the PGA Championship that year and finished second on the money list to Nick Price.

Players should be prepared to go low if they expect to win the Memorial. In the past 12 years, the winning score has averaged close to 16-under for the week. But don't count on a wire-to-wire winner. No first-round leader of the Memorial has ever gone on to win.

Last year, Woods took control of the tournament on Friday with five consecutive birdies during a 66 which gave him a two-shot lead over Vijay Singh. He maintained that same margin on Saturday and Sunday for his second of eight wins in 1999.

Next week, the tour heads to Maryland for the Kemper Open, followed by the Buick Classic in New York before the U.S. Open.

A dozen players to watch
Stewart Cink: Cink came close to his second win in a month last week at the Colonial before settling for a tie for second. Has finished in the top 10 in six of 13 starts this year.

Fred Couples: Couples' last victory came at the Memorial two years ago. He showed signs of life at Colonial, contending until a poor front nine on Sunday. Has played just 10 events this year.

David Duval: It's been 14 months without a win for Duval, but he's always played well at Memorial. He was second in both 1995 and 1996 and third last year. Leads the tour in total driving and is second in greens in regulation.

Ernie Els: Has made the cut in all 10 events he's played this year and been in top 20 eight times. Had close calls at both the Mercedes and Masters, but still looking to put together four strong rounds in one event.

Carlos Franco: Franco tied for third in this event last year and is playing solid golf again this year. Won at New Orleans for one of five top-10 finishes in 12 starts this year.

Jim Furyk: Runner-up in this event in 1997, Furyk has been consistent all season. Won at Doral and was eighth last week at Colonial. Riding a streak of 34 consecutive cuts made, second only to Tiger Woods among current runs.

Tom Lehman: Back on tour after a month off, Lehman set the tournament record at 20-under in his 1994 win. Has six top-10 finishes in just 10 starts this year, including a win at Phoenix.

Greg Norman: Twice a winner and twice a runner-up in this event, Norman is making just his seventh start of the season and is playing for the first time in six weeks.

Vijay Singh: Singh won this event in 1997 and was runner-up to Tiger Woods last year. The wide fairways at Memorial help the weakest part of Singh's game -- accuracy off the tee. This is his 16th start of the season already, including his fourth straight week.

Hal Sutton: Already a two-time winner this year at The Players Championship and Greensboro, Sutton's game has fallen back a little since, finishing 29th, 54th and 56th in three starts since.

Mike Weir: New dad took a month off after The Masters and responded with an eighth-place finish at Colonial, his fifth top-10 finish of the season.

Tiger Woods: What's not to like about Woods at Memorial? He's the defending champion and has three wins and three seconds this season already. Only knock this week is Woods could be a little fatigued after playing in Germany last week.