Steve Palmer's Memorial Tournament first-round preview and free golf betting tips

Where to watch the Memorial Tournament

Sky Sports Golf, 5pm Thursday

Best bets

Stephan Jaeger to win 12.50pm twoball
5pts 8-11 general

Sam Burns to win 4.35pm twoball
3pts 8-11 general

Byeong Hun An first-round leader
1.5pts each-way 45-1 bet365

Viktor Hovland & Patrick Cantlay dual forecast
1pt 225-1 bet365

Memorial Tournament first-round preview

Juicy rough awaits the players at the Memorial in Ohio this week and anyone with tee-to-green weakness should quickly come unstuck.

A 72-hole total of just seven under par was enough to top the leaderboard at Muirfield Village in last year's Memorial and something similar should be competitive this time given the challenging course set-up and the breezy forecast.

Stephan Jaeger's driving has been hugely impressive this season as the German has taken his game to a new level and he looks set to boss his 12.50pm twoball with Peter Malnati. Jaeger, who fended off Scottie Scheffler to win the Houston Open in March, appears a bargain at a shade of odds-on.

Jaeger, who won one of his six Korn Ferry Tour titles in Ohio, returns to the state carrying more self-belief than ever. With four top-25 finishes in his last six events, the 35-year-old has cemented his place in the world's top 50.

Jaeger, who finished 24th in his Memorial debut last year, can approach Muirfield Village without fear. Malnati, in contrast, knows the course has beaten him in the past. Nobody scored worse than Malnati in last year's Memorial as rounds of 78 and 84 left him in last place, while in 2022 he missed the cut by four shots.

He missed the weekend by six shots in 2021, opening with a round of 81, and has failed to make the cut in four of his six Muirfield Village starts, finishing last of the weekend qualifiers in the 2020 Workday Charity Open there, slumping to a Saturday 84.

Malnati, who played alongside Grayson Murray in the first two rounds of the Charles Schwab Challenge last time out and was devastated by Murray's subsequent death, lacks the ball-striking quality to handle Muirfield Village.

Sam Burns to beat Adam Hadwin is the other appealing twoball investment. Burns was 13th at Quail Hollow last month and tenth in Canada last week. Hadwin has gone five tournaments without a top-40 finish, missing the cut in his national Open last week.

Byeong Hun An, who finished second in the 2018 Memorial, has been in fantastic form and has a perfect Thursday tee time from which to launch his 2024 campaign. An, 45-1 for first-round leader, may set the clubhouse mark before the wind gets up in the afternoon.

Save a small stake for a Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay outright dual forecast. Both players were advised in our tournament preview.

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