Jon Rahm will continue the search for his first win of the season on the PGA Tour as he prepares to defend his title at the Memorial Tournament later this week as the +1000 betting favourite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Rahm enjoyed a brief reign atop the World Golf Rankings in the wake of his victory at this event a year ago, but he has failed to maintain that success this season. The 26-year-old Spaniard has finished no better than fifth in 13 PGA Tour appearances going into first round action of the 2021 Memorial Tournament on Thursday at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
Currently sitting at No. 3 in the rankings, Rahm has remained a consistent presence near the top of tournament leaderboards this season, cracking the top ten in 10 of 16 outings capped by an eighth-place performance at last month’s PGA Championship. However, Rahm has also struggled at times this season, finishing a distant 34th at last month’s AT&T Byron Nelson after missing the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship. He also faces the enormous challenge of successfully defending his Memorial Tournament title, a feat that has not been accomplished since Tiger Woods won three straight titles starting in 1999.
Rahm is closely trailed on the Memorial Tournament odds by Bryson DeChambeau, who joins Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy at +1400, followed by Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas, who sit knotted at +1600.
DeChambeau claimed his second career win on the PGA Tour at this event in 2018, but has failed to keep pace in subsequent appearances, tumbling to 22nd in 2019 and missing the cut last year. The hard-hitting 27-year-old has also battled inconsistency this season. DeChambeau opened the season with his first career major tournament win at last fall’s US Open, and also claimed victory at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. However, he has finished well out of contention in four of his past five outings, capped by a dismal 38th-place showing at the PGA Championship.
Sustained success has also eluded McIlroy, who failed to live up to his billing as the favourite at online sports betting sites at last month’s PGA Championship, which he finished in 49th place. The 32-year-old’s win at last month’s Wells Fargo Championship marked just his fifth top-ten finish of the season, while missing the cut on three occasions. Conversely, Spieth has shown steady improvement this season, claiming a spot among the top three in three of his past five outings.
Meanwhile, Corey Conners leads all Canadians on the Memorial Tournament odds for this week at +3500, well ahead of Adam Hadwin at +15000, and MacKenzie Hughes at +25000.
