Champions Tour pros on favorite Memorial moments

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A view of the fifth hole at Muirfield Village GC, where several current Champions Tour players won on the PGA TOUR.

This week's PGA TOUR stop is the Memorial Tournament, held near Columbus, Ohio for the 34th consecutive year. The event founded by Jack Nicklaus will be held at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Several former winners of the Memorial who are now members of the Champions Tour were recently asked what they remember best about playing in the tournament.

Keith Fergus, winner of three PGA TOUR events, including the 1981 Memorial, and three Champions Tour events --

"I remember the second shot I hit out of the right fairway bunker on the last hole of the tournament in 1981. I had a one-stroke lead on Jack Renner. The ball was up near the front lip and I was standing eight to 10 inches above the ball outside of the bunker with a 6-iron in my hand. It was one of those shots you never practice, but I was fortunate to have had almost the same type of shot from a different bunker in either the first or second round that week. It was a hard shot. I remember hooking it in there about 20 feet and two-putting for my first PGA TOUR victory. It's a shot I'll never forget."

Fergus' Memorial stats

Events 19 Rounds 63 1st 1 2nd 0 3rd 0 Top 10 2 Top 25 4

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Bob Tway, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including the 1989 Memorial Tournament --

"I won the tournament in 1989, but what I remember most about playing there happened to me in 1994. I made two holes-in-one at Muirfield Village in the same week, becoming the first TOUR player in 30 years to do that. I think the first one was at the 8th hole in the opening round and the other one was on Saturday when I aced the 12th hole. I had never done that before and haven't since."

Tway's Memorial stats

Events 23 Rounds 80 1st 1 2nd 0 3rd 0 Top 10 3 Top 25 5

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David Edwards, a winner of four PGA TOUR events, including the 1992 Memorial Tournament, and one Champions Tour title --

"Other than the chocolate milk shakes they served at the Memorial each year, I remember all of the rain delays we had when I won in 1992. In the final round, I was on the par-5 6th hole and had just hit my second shot into the left rough when they blew the horns to stop play. I managed to find the nearest house and lo and behold, the owner and his friends were just starting to watch the Indianapolis 500. Being a big auto racing fan, I ended up sitting with them for 3 ½ hours and we watched Al Unser Jr. win. Tournament officials resumed play shortly after the race ended and I went on to win the golf tournament. Even with the rain delay, it turned out to be a perfect day for me."

Edwards' Memorial stats

Events 21 Rounds 68 1st 1 2nd 0 3rd 0 Top 10 2 Top 25 4

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Don Pooley, a winner of two PGA TOUR titles, including the 1987 Memorial, and two Champions Tour events --

"In 1987, I remember shooting 64 in the third round and it took two days to do that because of the weather. I think I played 11 holes on Saturday and seven the next. On Sunday afternoon, I remember being tied down the stretch, but I birdied the last two holes to win by three strokes over Curt Byrum. I made a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 17 and a seven-footer for birdie at No. 18. It was very memorable and I ended up going over to Jack Nicklaus' house for dinner that night. When I was on the PGA TOUR, I always felt like The Memorial was the best tournament we played all year. Jack always did everything first-class for the players to make things as nice as they could be."

Pooley's Memorial stats

Events 22 Rounds 74 1st 1 2nd 1 3rd 1 Top 10 3 Top 25 9

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Hale Irwin, a winner of 20 PGA TOUR titles, including the 1983 and 1985 Memorial Tournament, and 45 Champions Tour events --

"My success at Muirfield Village paled in comparison to the hospitality that was given to us there. With the support of the greatest name in the game and Barbara, his wife, being a guiding hand, the hospitality was fantastic. As with any of our events, it's always the people who are the measure of success and I think that's why the Memorial has been one of our top events over the years. The chosen path of that event was to honor either one or several of the greatest names in the game each year. It gave it added significance. It just wasn't another golf tournament. It was something truly special. I played my last Memorial the week I turned 50 in 1995 and because of rain, I ended up taking my family for a delayed 50th birthday celebration at Wendy's."

Irwin's Memorial stats

Events 19 Rounds 73 1st 2 2nd 3 3rd 0 Top 10 6 Top 25 10