Golf Tips: Best bets for Memorial Tournament and Austrian Alpine Open

• Steve Rawlings sticks with Scottie Scheffler at 3/14.00

• Dave Tindall backs MacIntyre to thrive on Memorial debut at 50/151.00

• Course info, first round leader, outsiders to back at over 100/1101.00

---

Memorial Tournament tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Stick with Scheffler at 3/1

Steve Rawlings: "I'm going to keep things extremely simple here and back the defending champ, Scottie Scheffler. He was disappointing last week in Texas, where a cold putter over the first two days severely hindered his chances of winning the Charles Schwab Challenge, but he rallied well over the weekend to finish tied for fourth and a successful title defence could well be on the cards here.

"He's already won four events twice - the US Masters, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the Phoenix Open - and he successfully defended the title at the last two named. The world number one has Muirfield figures reading MC-22-3-3-1, current form figures reading 2-4-8-1-1-4, and the stats suggest he's playing even better than he was last summer.

"He's ranked first for Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in each of his last three starts and, while I'm a little concerned that his Scrambling numbers haven't been brilliant over the last few weeks, and that this will be his third start in as many weeks, he's far and away the most likely winner. I was happy to back him at 3/1.

Each-way picks: Back Mac at 50/1

Dave Tindall: "Robert MacIntyre knows how to win then and I'm going to back him to kick on again with another PGA Tour victory at Muirfield Village this week.

"MacIntyre had a great run through February and March when sixth at the Phoenix Open, 11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and a pair of ninths at The Players Championship and the Singapore Classic. After an unexpected missed cut at Augusta, he dipped a little but came back onto the radar by sitting seventh at halfway in the US PGA.

"Despite fading away over the weekend at Quail Hollow, MacIntyre showed there was something in those first 36 holes as he followed it with sixth place at last week's Charles Schwab Challenge. Surprisingly, this is his Memorial debut but his strong show at another extremely tough course, Bay Hill, bodes well as does his 23rd place in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green, 29th for Approach and 32nd for Par 4 Scoring Average."

Find Me a 100 Winner: Back Bridgeman to take to Muirfield at 269/1

Steve Rawlings: "Bridgeman finished second at the Cognizant Classic, 15th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and third at the Valspar Championship. The 25-year-old finished only 50^th at the Players Championship but he sat tied for 11^th at halfway and showed signs that he may be returning to form at the last Signature Event - the Truist Championship.

"Bridgeman was a slow starter at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, but having sat tied for 43rd at halfway, a pair of 65s saw him finish fourth. Bridgeman has missed his last two cuts, which will go some way to explaining his massive price, but he's an exceptional scrambler around the greens and he might just take to Muirfield Village.

"Playing in the final two-ball, Bridgeman kicks off the event at 19:00 (UK time) on Thursday."

Place order to lay 8 Units @ 10.0 and 12 Units @ 2.0

First-Round Leader Tips: Back Matsuyama for fast start at 40/1

Dave Tindall: "Hideki Matsuyama has plenty of strong history at Muirfield Village. The 2021 Masters champion won this event on debut and has had six further top 25s at the course since. That run includes a fifth, a sixth and an eighth (last year).

"What's more, he's twice been first-round leader at the Memorial thanks to openers of 64 and 65. His form is a little patchy of late and he suffered a surprise missed cut in the US PGA but, a week earlier at the Truist Championship, the Japanese star shot rounds of 63 and 65 on his way to 17th.

"There are hints that he has another low one in him here and 40/1 (1/4, 5 Places) looks well worth a punt." 

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "Putting surfaces at Muirfield Village are undulating and extremely quick, and there is a plentiful supply of sand. Although water comes into play on 11 holes, many of these hazards appear in the shape of ditches, rather than large ponds or lakes.

"Accurate iron-play has always been a major requirement for all wannabe winners at Muirfield Village. As with many Nicklaus courses, a little generosity is afforded off the tee, but therein pin-point accuracy takes centre stage as pros attempt to locate lightning fast Bentgrass greens that are smaller than the PGA Tour average. The reasonably-long Muirfield Village layout is the epitome of a second-shot course.

"Defending champion Scottie Scheffler 11/4 will once again tee-up as the clear favourite to win this week's prestigious title in Ohio. His most recent three appearances in this event have all ended in podium finishes...

"Another player with a great course history is world No 4 Collin Morikawa 16/1, who won on this course in 2020, and has since added a brace of runner-up finishes."

---

Austrian Alpine Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Chacarra chanced at 33/1

Steve Rawlings: "Spain's Eugenio Chacarra looks fractionally over-priced at anything above 30.0. Like Neergaard-Petersen, he missed the cut at the US PGA Championship, but he's been in fine form other than that and was an impressive winner of the Indian Open at the end of March.

"He finished only 31^st last week in Belgium but I'm far from convinced Rinkven International would suit the big-hitting Spaniard and he's better judged on his recent victory in India and his fourth and 11^th placed finishes in China.

"The 25-year-old looks to have a touch of class and I thought he'd be closer to the head of the market than he is so I was happy to take a small chance at 34.0."

Each-Way Tips: 50/1 Ayora can fly in the mountains

Matt Cooper: "The modern way of discovering if a golfer has been revealed to the world (or not) is quite straightforward: have they got a Wikipedia page? Angel Ayora has not, but that is likely to change very soon. The 20-year-old turned pro without having enjoyed a startling amateur record yet his talent was known, and LIV Golf was said to have offered him a deal.

"Instead, however, he went to Qualifying School and eventually earned his promotion to the DP World Tour via a year on the Challenge Tour. His one victory on the second tier came in last year's Rosa Challenge Tour. It's an absolutely horrendous tournament title - imagine giving an event the same name as the circuit it's on! But it came at Rosa GC in Poland and it is a parkland test much as he'll experience this week in Austria.

"Later in the year he came up against a Nicklaus design - the Hangzhou Westlake International in China - and was top five all week before finishing second. He graduated in style when second again in the Grand Final.

"His early weeks on the main tour were solid: sixth in the Australian PGA Championship (reduced to 54 holes so all the more impressive because he was T110 after 18 holes), T23 in the Australian Open, and fifth in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

"Top 20s followed in Qatar and Kenya. But he got off to a flier last week in the Soudal Open (a 65 for a share of the first round lead) and, after a second round hump, he carded a pair of 69s at the weekend for T11. He can make a bold bid for the first top level win this week."

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "Laid out on Alpine lowlands, not far from the German border, Gut Altentann is a stunningly picturesque course which returns to the DP World Tour schedule for the first time since the early 1990s (staged Austrian Open 1990-92).

"More recently, the course has undergone a complete refurbishment as it prepares to host this week's event. Although the fairways are reasonably generous in width, they do change direction frequently, while water comes into play on six holes. There is also a sizeable quantity of sand...

"Hao Tong Li 22/1 and Jordan Smith 14/1 continued their recent run of good form by both finishing inside the top six at last week's DP World Tour event in Belgium. Li, who began 2025 outside the world's top 300, is extremely close to edging his way back into the leading 100. There has been five T10s from his most recent eight starts, including a victory in the Middle East."

---

Read the Punter's in-play blog for the latest from this week's event

---