Tiger Woods holds the record for the largest margin of victory at the Memorial Tournament after finishing seven shots clear of his closest rivals back in 2001.
No one has had greater success at Muirfield Village than Woods. He won five times between 1999 and 2012. He also registered three victories in a row, culminating in a stunning performance 25 years ago.
His 2001 triumph was certainly his most emphatic.
What impressed Jack Nicklaus most about Tiger Woods after his win at the 2001 Memorial Tournament
Tiger Woods actually started the final round in Ohio one shot behind Paul Azinger. However, he went on to produce a scintillating display to retain his title.
Woods was seven shots ahead of both Azinger and Sergio García. There was such a gulf between Woods and the rest of the field that Azinger told the media afterwards that he actually apologised to his countryman for not giving him a better game.
And when Azinger’s claim about Woods being the most dominant athlete in sport was put to Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear was full of praise for the champion.
“I don’t know about the history, but certainly, since I’ve been playing the sport, I’ve never found anybody that’s dominated anything more,” he said.
“Some of the comparisons that [Jim] Nantz was trying to run with me on television, I come in a very distant second. And certainly, there’s other sports that the guys have dominated, but I don’t think anybody has dominated an individual sport anywhere near the level that he has dominated anything at. Tennis would be the only other game, and I don’t see anybody that dominated quite to that level.
“You know, what he’s done has been pretty special, and what amazes me, is that week after week, he’s prepared. There’s never a slack. And that’s pretty special when you can do that.”
How Jack Nicklaus reacted to Tiger Woods tying him for all-time PGA Tour wins at Memorial in 2012
Woods’ final victory at Muirfield Village would come in 2012. It was a fitting venue for an incredibly significant win in his career.
The victory was Woods’ 73rd on the PGA Tour. With that, he moved level with Nicklaus on the all-time list.
And of course, Woods’ week would be remembered for the incredible flop shot he hit on the 16th hole during the final round.
Nicklaus was, once again, full of praise for the eventual winner.
“He had to rub it in my face right here, didn’t he?” Nicklaus joked. “No, if he’s going to do it, which he was obviously going to, I’d like to see it happen here. And the way he did it, you know, he just played great.”
Of those in the field this week, just two players have registered multiple victories at the event.
Of course, Scottie Scheffler has won in each of the last two years. Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay was victorious in both 2019 and 2021.
Should either triumph this week, they would join Kenny Perry as the only three-time winners of the Memorial Tournament.
But they would still have some way to go to catch Woods.
