Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland among the latest golfers to commit to the 2024 Memorial Tournament

The Memorial Tournament will be the seventh Signature Event of the season and will be played during the first week of June, just seven days before the US Open, the third major of the season. The field is expected to feature the best players available on the circuit.

On Tuesday, May 7, Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland officially committed to the Memorial Tournament. The news was announced during a press conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club, the venue for the event.

At the same press conference, it was also announced that Matt Fitzpatrick has officially committed to the event. Hovland, McIlroy, and Fitzpatrick are among the top players on the PGA Tour, with the Norwegian attending as defending champion.

The Memorial Tournament is one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour calendar and is hosted by legend Jack Nicklaus. The event has been played at Muirfield (designed by Nicklaus himself) since 1976.

Among those who have lifted the Memorial Tournament trophy are Jack Nicklaus himself, Greg Norman, Hale Irwin, Patrick Cantlay and Tom Watson, all with two victories. Kenny Perry won it three times, while Tiger Woods is the top winner of the event, with five titles.

Other players confirmed for the Memorial Tournament field

Several players have formalized their commitment to the Memorial Tournament. Among them are several of the PGA Tour's most recent winners.

Nick Dunlap, Jake Knapp and Austin Eckroat were confirmed in late April, while Tommy Fleetwood, Sahith Theegala, and former champions Hideki Matsuyama and Patrick Cantlay committed in mid-April.

As a Signature Event, the event will have a limited field, as only players meeting strict exemption categories will qualify. However, unlike most tournaments of this type, the Memorial will have a cut after 36 holes.

The cut will be made by the Top 50 (plus ties) as well as all other players within 10 strokes of first place.

Qualifying to play at Muirfield are members of the 2023 FedEx Cup Top 50, as well as all 2024 PGA Tour tournament winners (excluding opposing tournaments that only award 300 FedEx Cup points to the winner).

Also qualifying are the Top 30 in the world rankings if not otherwise exempt (PGA Tour members only), and the top 10 players in the 2024 FedEx Cup rankings who are not exempt (so-called Next 10 method).

The top five players who have earned the most FedEx Cup points between Signature Events (not counting those already exempt) will also have a spot at Muirfield (method called Swing 5).

Finally, sponsors can give out several exemptions, usually about five. With these measures, a field of approximately 70 players is expected, as has been the case with most other Signature Events.