Multiple PGA Tour winner withdraws from Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament

Multiple PGA Tour winner withdraws from Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial

Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus
Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus

The 2026 Memorial Tournament has its first high-profile withdrawal. 

The PGA Tour announced on Friday evening that Norway's Viktor Hovland has pulled out of next week's signature event at Muirfield Village in Columbus, Ohio. 

No reason was given for Hovland's withdrawal, though it may be the case that the 28-year-old's neck injury has flared up again. 

The issue first arose during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black and it forced the golfer to miss the afternoon session on the second day of the matches and controversially sit out the Sunday singles. 

There is a chance that Hovland has decided to spend an extra week getting in some practice ahead of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills over 18-21 June. 

Alternatively, Hovland may have chosen to skip the event for a personal reason. 

Hovland has experienced a mixed campaign so far, making nine cuts in 11 PGA Tour starts, but registering just one top-10 finish - which arrived at his season debut at the WM Phoenix Open in February.

His most recent appearance came at the PGA Championship two weeks ago.

Viktor Hovland results 2026

Tournament

Round Scores

Position

WM Phoenix Open

69-70-65-68

T10

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

70-69-71-72

T58

The Genesis Invitational

69-73-70-69

T41

Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. by Mastercard

72-72-67-72

T13

THE PLAYERS Championship

69-70-69-74

T13

Valspar Championship

70-75

Missed cut

Masters Tournament

75-71-71-67

T18

RBC Heritage

64-65-73-76

T42

Cadillac Championship

75-71-72-66

T38

Truist Championship

69-73-69-70

T31

PGA Championship

74-72

Missed cut

Hovland came into the second men's major of the year expressing optimism that he had finally turned a small corner with his game, but shot rounds of 74-72 at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania to miss the cut by three strokes. 

There is every chance that Hovland isn't actually injured and is spending the next few weeks honing his game. 

In the past, Hovland has said that he prefers to practice rather than play in PGA Tour events when he is not fully confident. 

Two years ago, Hovland admitted that he almost withdrew from the PGA Championship at Valhalla such were his woes. 

Viktor Hovland is skipping the Memorial
Viktor Hovland is skipping the Memorial

He went on to contend for the Wanamaker Trophy, but ultimately finished three strokes behind champion Xander Schauffele. 

Whilst the Memorial will miss Hovland, who is also a past champion of the Golden Bear's tournament, the rest of the field is absolutely stacked. 

Scotte Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Xander Schauffele are just a few of the names who plan on heading to Dublin, Ohio, early next week.

McIlroy is playing the tournament for the first time in two years having skipped last year's event. 

The Northern Irishman took Nicklaus by surprise as he did not give the 18-time major champion a heads up he wasn't even participating. 

Take a look at the full field below:

2026 Memorial field

Ludvig Åberg

Zach Bauchou

Daniel Berger

Akshay Bhatia

Keegan Bradley

Jacob Bridgeman

Sam Burns

Brian Campbell

Patrick Cantlay

Bud Cauley

Wyndham Clark

Corey Conners

Jason Day

Nico Echavarria

Harris English

Tony Finau

Alex Fitzpatrick

Matt Fitzpatrick

Tommy Fleetwood

Rickie Fowler

Ryan Fox

Ryan Gerard

Lucas Glover

Chris Gotterup

Ben Griffin

Harry Hall

Brian Harman

Russell Henley

Ryo Hisatsune

Tom Hoge

Nicolai Højgaard

Billy Horschel

Mark Hubbard

Sungjae Im

Michael Kim

Si Woo Kim

Kurt Kitayama

Jake Knapp

Min Woo Lee

Shane Lowry

Robert MacIntyre

Hideki Matsuyama

Denny McCarthy

Matt McCarty

Rory McIlroy

Maverick McNealy

Alex Noren

Andrew Novak

Taylor Pendrith

J.T. Poston

Aaron Rai

Kristoffer Reitan

Patrick Rodgers

Justin Rose

Xander Schauffele

Scottie Scheffler

Adam Scott

Alex Smalley

Brandt Snedeker

J.J. Spaun

Jordan Spieth

Sam Stevens

Sepp Straka

Jackson Suber

Nick Taylor

Sahith Theegala

Justin Thomas

Jhonattan Vegas

Gary Woodland

Sudarshan Yellamaraju

Cameron Young

In This Article

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get the latest golf news, equipment reviews and promotions direct to your inbox!