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One of the PGA Tour’s perennially toughest layouts has been softened this year, with rough heights reduced and an end to the furrowed bunker experiment. How this impacts the leaderboard remains to be seen, but expect to see a few more bombers among the upper crust as well as a few more birdies. Pick a Foursome: Tiger Woods, a three-time Memorial winner who hasn’t finished outside the top 22 in his last eight starts at Jack Nicklaus’ soiree, has a better record than Ogilvy, but the Aussie – despite that closing 74 at Colonial – may be a little sharper. Ditto for Ben Curtis, who may not have the best record at Memorial but following back-to-back top-10 finishes in Europe his game seems to be peaking at the right time. A win at Nicklaus’ event would be like a second major for the Ohio native.Golf Apparel Picks: Geoff Ogilvy, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Ben Curtis Note: One player from four categories based on the World Golf Ranking (1-10, A; 11-20, B; 21-30, C; 31-40, D). Points awarded on money earned ($1 = 1 point). Salary Cap: We went heavy on Aussies this week. Ogilvy is an Open player who should excel on an Open venue, Mathew Goggin was among the pack that finished two behind Kenny Perry last year and after an injury-plagued start to his career Jason Day ‘s fourth-place finish at Colonial is his second top-5 of ’09 and a sign he’s ready to deliver on all that potential. Picks: Geoff Ogilvy, Ben Curtis, Mathew Goggin, Paul Casey, Jason Day (Total: $9.38 million) Note: Five players with a $10 million cap based on 2008 earnings. Rookies without 2008 earnings will be priced at $250,000. Standings based on overall team earnings.Golf Accessories Pick One: Kenny Perry. The Kentuckian has two Memorial titles and has finished outside the top 25 at Muirfield Village just twice in a decade. Even at a dialed-down layout, Perry’s game is a perfect fit and the best part of the week is he can drive home after the award ceremony. Note: Players must be picked before the start of the season and used only once. Standings based on total earnings. In addition to my PGA Tour Pick One, the GolfChannel.com staff will be offering up their picks to win. A player can be picked a maximum of five times. We will be keeping a running tally of the monies earned each week. The participants include: Jay Coffin, Editorial Director; Mercer Baggs, Editorial Manager; Brian Koressel, Senior Producer; Dena Davis, Assistant Editor; Erik Peterson, Travel Editor; Jerry Foltz, special contributor.Civilians Sports STAFF PICKS: Name Player Pick Reason Money Rex Hoggard Luke Donald Since returning from wrist surgery the Englishman has been solid with eight top 25s in 11 starts, and his tie for sixth last year in Ohio should have been even better if not for a 56-putt weekend. $2,385,119 Jay Coffin Stewart Cink Tim Clark killed me last week!!! This week we’ll go with Cink, who hasn’t missed a cut at the Memorial in the past 11 years and has four top-10 finishes at Muirfield. $4,158,652 Mercer Baggs Tiger Woods Since David Toms isn’t playing this week, I’ll go with Tiger. Eldrick hasn’t won here since 2001, so he’s due. I’ll get back on the Toms train in Memphis. $3,619,661 Callaway Golf Erik Peterson Jim Furyk I’m counting on you, Jim Furyk, to springboard me from my current state of mediocrity. $2,973,452 Brian Koressel Luke Donald His game is rounding into shape and had a solid showing last year at Muirfield Village. $4,556,492 Dena Davis Kenny Perry The defending champion feels right at home at Jack’s place. It’s where he notched his first win on the PGA Tour in ’91. And it’s where he has three titles and an additional nine top-25 finishes. I don’t mind that. $2,931,772 Jerry Foltz Ernie Els Now that I’m rapidly closing in on 3rd to last in this pool, I’m feeling cocky, so maybe some of my new found confidence will rub off on the ‘Big Easy,’ which is the only ingredient missing for him right now. $2,569,813
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