The Memorial Tournament is yearly held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, United States. The three objectives of the Jack Nicklaus-founded tournament are as follows: to pay tribute to golfers, to entertain spectators on one of the most challenging courses in the world, and to support numerous Greater Columbus Charities in partnership with the Nicklaus Children's Healthcare Foundation, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, and countless other local organizations.
Memorial Tournament Honorees
The Memorial Tournament honors a deceased or living individual who has significantly contributed to the game of golf. Jack Nicklaus came up with the concept to help preserve the accomplishments of the greatest golfers in history. The Captains Club, a group of individuals who operate independently of the tournament organizers but provide guidance on player invitations and event management in general, chooses the honoree.
Find out all the Memorial Tournament honorees:
- 2025 — Barbara Nicklaus
- 2024 — Juli Inkster
- 2023 — Larry Nelson
- 2022 — Ben Crenshaw
- 2022 (P) — Charlie Sifford
- 2020/2021 — Nick Price
- 2020/2021 (P) — Gene Littler and Ted Ray
- 2019 — Judy Rankin
- 2018 — Hale Irwin
- 2018 (P) — Jock Hutchison & Willie Turnesa
- 2017 — Greg Norman
- 2017 (P) — Tony Lema, Ken Venturi & Harvie Ward
- 2016 — Johnny Miller
- 2016 (P) — Leo Diegel & Horton Smith
- 2015 — Sir Nick Faldo
- 2015 (P) — Dorothy Campbell, Jerome Travers, Walter Travis
- 2014 — Annika Sorenstam, Jim Barnes, Joe Carr, Willie Park, Sr.
- 2013 — Raymond Floyd
- 2012 — Tom Watson
- 2011 — Nancy Lopez
- 2010 — Severiano Ballesteros
- 2009 — Jackie Burke, Jr. & JoAnne Carner
- 2008 — Tony Jacklin, Ralph Guldahl, Charles Blair MacDonald, Craig Wood
- 2007 — Louise Suggs & Dow Finsterwald
- 2006 — Michael Bonallack, Charles Coe, William Lawson Little, Jr., Henry Picard, Paul Runyan & Densmore Shute
- 2005 — Betsy Rawls & Cary Middlecoff
- 2004 — Lee Trevino & Joyce Wethered
- 2003 — Julius Boros & William Campbell
- 2002 — Kathy Whitworth & Bobby Locke
- 2001 — Payne Stewart
- 2000 — Jack Nicklaus
- 1999 — Ben Hogan
- 1998 — Peter Thomson
- 1997 — Gary Player
- 1996 — Billy Casper
- 1995 — Willie Anderson, John Ball, James Braid, Harold Hilton & J.H. Taylor
- 1994 — Mickey Wright
- 1993 — Arnold Palmer
- 1992 — Joseph C. Dey, Jr.
- 1991 — Babe Zaharias
- 1990 — Jimmy Demaret
- 1989 — Sir Henry Cotton
- 1988 — Patty Berg
- 1987 — Tom Morris, Sr. & Tom Morris, Jr.
- 1986 — Robert De Vicenzo
- 1985 — Charles "Chick" Evans
- 1984 — Sam Snead
- 1983 — Tommy Armour
- 1982 — Glenna Collette Vare
- 1981 — Harry Vardon
- 1980 — Byron Nelson
- 1979 — Gene Sarazen
- 1978 — Francis Ouimet
- 1977 — Walter Hagen
- 1976 — Robert Tyre Jones, Jr.
Read More: Memorial Tournament Format
Memorial Tournament 2025 Honoree
Barbara Nicklaus is the 2025 Memorial Tournament honoree. After the announcement, Barbara told the Memorial Tournament website:
"This honor is so incredibly special to me, and I can't thank the Captains Club enough for thinking of me."
Jack Nicklaus praised his wife, telling the Memorial Tournament website:
"I am so delighted and so happy, and I'm so proud of her. She's done so much for so many, and for 50 years here at Muirfield Village Golf Club she has contributed so much and has had very little recognition."
Barbara Nicklaus
Barbara Nicklaus, the 2025 Memorial Tournament honoree, is the wife of Jack Nicklaus. She is often known as the "First Lady of Golf". She is also the inaugural recipient of the PGA of America First Lady of Golf Award which was given in 1998. Barbara, who assisted her husband throughout his Hall of Fame career, supported Jack during the establishment of the Memorial Tournament in 1976. She also helped Jack set up Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, which has raised over $200 million, as of May 2025.
Barbara was born Barbara Jean Bash in Columbus, Ohio, United States on February 28, 1940. She was born to the late Stanley Bash and Helen Bash. She met Jack during her freshman year at The Ohio State University while studying nursing. The pair got married on July 23, 1960 and are parents to five children, according to the Memorial Tournament's website.
FAQs on Memorial Tournament
A. The Memorial Tournament is yearly held at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, United States.
A. The Memorial Tournament will be held from May 29, 2025 to June 1, 2025.
A. No, the public cannot play at the 18-hole private Muirfield Village Golf Club.
