Dan Roebuck’s Memorial Tournament preview: Woods to get sixth win

Tiger Woods returns to action for the first time since his success in the Players Championship brimming with confidence as he looks to win the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village for an incredible sixth time.

The world number one is the defending champion at the Ohio venue, affectionately known as ‘Jack’s Place’ as the club was founded and is run by Jack Nicklaus. And Woods is the overwhelming favourite to win a fifth event of the season. It is a stunning run and one punters should not ignore despite the cramped odds of 5/2.

With the Stimpmeter set to run at 13, nervous putters can be discounted this week, which is handy for Woods’ legion of supporters as he currently tops the strokes gained in putting stats category on tour. He barely put a ball where he didn’t want it to go at Sawgrass and this could be as easy a win as we’ll see all season.

For those preferring an each-way selection, Brandt Snedeker (25/1) and Charl Schwartzel (33/1) are my two place predictions. Snedeker has failed to make the cut in five attempts at Muirfield Village but after struggling with injury a few months back looked in good nick in the Players Championship where he was a career best eighth.

When in form he putts brilliantly and he appears to be swinging the club as well as he was when he claimed the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am title back in February.

Schwartzel surprisingly missed the cut at Colonial last week, but he has far more form at Muirfield, with top-25 efforts on his last two visits. Crucially, he tops the three-putt avoidance stats in America in 2013, while it’s also worth pointing out he ranked first in greens in regulation in the Byron Nelson Championship a fortnight ago.

My three to follow – Woods, Snedeker and Charl Schwartzel.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication