Rory McIlroy returns, Scottie Scheffler eyes three-peat at 2026 Memorial Tournament

One of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar takes place this week as the 50th anniversary of the Memorial Tournament will welcome the best that the tour has to offer. Representing the penultimate signature event and final player invitational tournament, the Memorial features a field of 72 players that will be cut to the top 50 players and those within 10 strokes of the lead at the halfway point.

Only 17 players have completed a three-peat in PGA Tour history, and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler looks to make that number 18 this week. The two-time defending champion has made his name synonymous with Jack Nicklaus' event as he comes in with wins in 2024 and 2025 as well as a pair of third-place finishes the two years prior.

Scheffler looks to join the likes of Steve Stricker, Stuart Appleby and Tiger Woods -- who accomplished this multiple times -- as players to win the same tournament three years in a row since the turn of the century. Other legends like Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Johnny Miller accomplished the same as well.

Unlike last season when Scheffler got the better of Ben Griffin, this season's tournament will include the world No. 2. Rory McIlroy makes his return to competition in what can only be described as a light playing schedule up to this point. The Masters champion has completed just six tournaments on the PGA Tour this season as the calendar flips to the sixth month of the year.

After forgoing last year's playing of the tournament due to scheduling conflicts, McIlroy looks to shake the hand of Nicklaus by week's end.

Players in the field to have done just that before include two-time tournament winner Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Matt Kuchar and Justin Rose. Viktor Hovland pulled his name out of the field due to unknown reasons as the 2023 champion is the lone top player to take the week off.

2026 Memorial Tournament schedule

Dates:  June 4-7 Location:  Muirfield Village Golf Club -- Dublin, Ohio Par:  72 |  Yardage:  7,569 |  Architect:  Jack Nicklaus Purse:  $20,000,000

2026 Memorial Tournament odds

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- Scottie Scheffler (3-1) - Rory McIlroy (9-1): After a sluggish opening salvo at the PGA Championship, McIlroy battled his way back into contention before ultimately settling for a T7 finish at Aronimink. Coincidentally, T7 has been his best finish at this tournament over the last half decade as big numbers in final rounds in particular have kept him from seriously threatening to take down this tournament. While he has been able to maneuver his golf ball around big ballparks this year, McIlroy will need to find some control off the tee in particular to win this golf tournament. - Cameron Young (13-1): He played his final 36 holes at Aronimink in 2 over to finish the championship outside the top 20. It's a number all too familiar to Young at Muirfield Village, where he has finished outside the top 20 in four trips. The Players Championship winner's best effort has been a T25, which came last season. Young is a far different player now than he was then as he has the full arsenal at his disposal. His iron play remains sharp but is slightly duller than what it was in the early spring. - Xander Schauffele (18-1) - Ludvig Åberg (20-1): Players like Matsuyama and Bryson DeChambeau have claimed this title to announce their arrivals, and while Åberg has been here for a while, it would have a similar feel. Having already shaken Tiger Woods' hand with his win last season at the Genesis Invitational, Åberg can capture the second of three player invitationals this week. Everything suggests that he will contend as he ranks third to only Scheffler and Young in terms of total strokes gained these last three months. Something needs to change to suggest he will win, and perhaps it is the putter switch that produced his second-best putting performance since the Masters. - Matt Fitzpatrick (21-1): Fitzpatrick has been feast or famine in seven previous trips to Muirfield Village as the three-time winner this season has three top-10 finishes but no other top-30 results, including a pair of missed cuts. His game continues to be as well-rounded as they come, but a good driver week would go a long way for the Englishman. Fitzpatrick tops this field in strokes gained around the green the last three months. - Si Woo Kim (23-1) - Russell Henley (26-1) - Patrick Cantlay (26-1): He's a player who is trending in the right direction and has won twice at this golf course, but Cantlay is still without a victory since the 2022 BMW Championship. Approaching four seasons without a title, the former FedEx Cup champion comes to a place where his comfort level can only be described as high. He has four top-12 finishes in his last five starts and was percolating at the PGA Championship before a poor weekend sent him tumbling down the leaderboard. - Tommy Fleetwood (27-1)

2026 Memorial Tournament picks

Scottie Scheffler Winner (3-1): Often times with Scheffler, if it feels like a win is coming, then it is most definitely arriving. He comes in following a third-place finish at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson where he putted beautifully in what was his fourth podium result in his last five tournaments. Muirfield Village is a happy hunting ground for the world No. 1 and a Scheffler-like iron performance should give him a good chance to shake Nicklaus' hand for the third straight year.

Xander Schauffele Contender (18-1): Flying in under the radar, Schauffele has shown his game translates to the most difficult tests on the calendar. He has six top-12 finishes in his last eight tournaments, including fine efforts at both major championships as well as The Players. He is driving the ball as well as he ever has and the iron play was red hot before a big of a hiccup at the PGA Championship. Schauffele has seven straight top 25s at the Memorial, but he'll do a few better this week.

Justin Rose Sleeper (60-1): After a couple of caution flags were waved, Rose emerged from the pit at the PGA Championship with a top-10 finish on the shoulders of his iron play. While inconsistencies continue to spread in his game, the former Memorial winner has shown that he can still get up for the biggest tournaments of the year. He has four top-15 finishes this season -- the two majors, the Players and his win at the Farmers Insurance Open -- and will be up for the challenge that Muirfield Village presents.

Who will win the Memorial Tournament 2026, and which longshots will stun the golfing world?  Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard , all from the model that's nailed 17 golf majors heading into the weekend, including the past five Masters, and find out.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/memorial-tournament-2026-predictions-odds-picks-field-rankings-preview-rory-mcilroy-scottie-scheffler/)._