Cantlay vs Ram "Memorial Tournament Supremacy Battle"... What About the 'K Brothers'?

Cantlay Opens Memorial Tournament on Night of 2nd with 'Title Defense', Ram Recaptures Top Spot After 2 Years in 'Same Dream, Different Reality', McIlroy Joins

Patrick Cantlay is aiming for his third victory at the Memorial Tournament, following his wins in 2019 and last year.

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] 'Memorial Battle.'

'Playoff (PO) champ' Patrick Cantlay (USA) claimed the title in 2019 and last year, while world No. 2 Jon Rahm (Spain) topped the leaderboard in 2020. This is the story of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament (total prize money $9.3 million), opening on the night of the 2nd (Korean time) at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio (par 72, 7,533 yards). This tournament is especially famous as a special match hosted by the 'former golf emperor' Jack Nicklaus (USA).

Cantlay swept an impressive four wins last year. In October 2020, he won the Zozo Championship, which was included in the 2021 season, then claimed victory at this tournament in June 2021, and in August, he won the BMW Championship after a six-hole playoff battle against 'The Hulk' Bryson DeChambeau, maintaining his status as the No. 1 seed in the PO. In September, he sealed the deal with a Tour Championship win, hitting the '15 million dollar (17.3 billion KRW) jackpot.' This year, he also triumphed in April at the Zurich Classic, a two-man team battle.

2020 champion Jon Rahm is aiming to reclaim the top spot at the Memorial Tournament after two years.

In February, he finished second at the Phoenix Open and in April at the RBC Heritage, indicating a relative lack of wins. This time, motivation is added with the title defense and a fourth head-to-head showdown against Rahm. Rahm also has a story. Last year at the Tour Championship, he shot a best 14-under but couldn't overcome the PO's unique 'stroke advantage' barrier. Starting as the No. 4 seed (6-under), he stopped at 20-under, while Cantlay, the No. 1 seed (10-under), added 11-under to take a one-stroke victory (21-under).

It is interesting that after Rahm suffered repeated setbacks with a runner-up finish at the Sentry Tournament in January and third place at the Farmers Insurance Open, he flew to Mexico in May and finally secured a win (Mexico Open). Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is another strong contender. He has been on the rise with top 10 finishes in the last three tournaments: 2nd at the Masters, 5th at the Wells Fargo Championship, and 8th at the PGA Championship. Following his win at the CJ Cup last October, he is aiming for his second victory.

Colin Morikawa (USA) is dreaming of revenge after last year's playoff loss. Korea has thrown its hat in the ring with 'Shriners champ' Im Sung-jae (24), 'AT&T two-time consecutive winner' Lee Kyoung-hoon (31), and Kim Si-woo (27, all from CJ Logistics). Im Sung-jae, in particular, returned to Korea for the first time in 2 years and 7 months earlier this month to participate in the Korean Professional Golf (KPGA) Korean Tour Woori Financial Championship but was held back by COVID-19. However, he regrouped with a tie for 15th place at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which ended on the 30th.