Memorial Tournament 2018: Course and current form stats for this week's PGA Tour event in Ohio

The PGA Tour arrives at its most northerly location since September last year, with the 43rd staging of the prestigious Memorial Tournament.

Muirfield Village, situated a few miles north of Columbus, Ohio, was opened in May 1974 and two years later made its Tour debut.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus and Desmond Muirhead, this testing parkland layout became an almost instant success, and in 1987 was the venue where Europe won the Ryder Cup on American soil for the first time.

The Bentgrass putting surfaces are slightly smaller than average, and usually some of the quickest on the professional calendar.

Water comes into play on around half of its holes, while large greenside bunkers are a constant threat.

The stats from 2017 suggest that a strong all-round performance is vital for any serious challengers this week.

Last year's winner Jason Dufner topped the Greens in Regulation category, and was inside the top 10 for both Driving Accuracy and Putting (GiR).

Meanwhile, joint runner-up Rickie Fowler led Driving Accuracy (for those who completed 72 holes) and was top-10 for Greens in Regulation.

Superb Field

With less than three weeks to go until the second major championship of the year, an excellent field has assembled in the Golden Bear's backyard.

Eight of the world's top 10 are in action this week, and these don't include Masters champion Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson or Phil Mickelson.

Rory McIlroy has dashed across the Atlantic, after finishing second at Wentworth on Sunday, with world No 5 Jordan Spieth teeing-up for a fourth straight week after failing to register a top-20 finish from his last three starts.

Yet To Shine In Ohio

One of golf's current stars, Jason Day, has never found Muirfield Village to his liking.

The Australian, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour during 2018, will be competing in the Memorial for a 10th time but has so far registered just a single top-25 finish.

That did, however, happen 12 months ago when he tied-for-15th alongside his in-form compatriot Marc Leishman.

Course Specialist

One golfer who rarely performs poorly at Muirfield Village is Matt Kuchar.

The Olympic bronze medal winner from 2016, who turns 40 in a little over three weeks, has posted seven top-10s from his last nine visits.

He won here in 2013 and his worst finish from his last 10 trips is a tie-for-26th.

Another former champion is Justin Rose who has stood on the Memorial podium three times.

He won last week in Fort Worth by an impressive three strokes and, over four days in Texas, his poorest round was 66.

This latest triumph has moved Rose to a highest-ever No 3 in the world.

Tiger Time

Sooner or later 14-time major winner Tiger Woods is going to return to the winners' enclosure.

The 42-year-old might find it difficult to finish ahead of all the big guns this week, but don't be surprised if he is in contendtion at the weekend.

He's won The Memorial five times, and has made giant strides during the past six months.

And if Driving Accuracy and Greens in Regulation are to play key roles over the next few days, then Kyle Stanley could prosper.

The 30-year-old American is close to the top of both categories this season, on the PGA Tour, and in two of his last three starts at Muirfield Village has finished inside the top six. Adam Scott might also be worth a sneaky look.

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Twitter: Andy Swales@GolfStatsAlive

• Andy Swales
• 28 May 2018