The 50th anniversary of The Memorial Tournament is in the books and featured just about everything: weather delays, great play and a dramatic finish.
WOSU's Stu Osborne spoke to Tournament Director Dan Sullivan about the impact the golf event has had on Dublin, central Ohio and the game of golf.
Stu Osborne: It's often referred to as golf's fifth major. This year's Memorial Tournament certainly lived up to the hype with the dramatic final round. How much pride do you and the tournament organizers and even Jack Nicklaus take in giving patrons such an exciting weekend?
Dan Sullivan: I would take a lot of pride in it. First of all, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus created an incredible event 50 years ago. And we were able to take time to celebrate the 50th anniversary. And the week set up perfectly for us. Beautiful weather, as you said, except for Saturday afternoon. Golfers from around the world come to play this incredible golf course and enjoy our city. And the competition did not disappoint. The crowds were tremendous. They're very much golf connoisseurs. They understand the game. They appreciate the talent that it takes and it was on full display this weekend.
Stu Osborne: Now some news about next year's tournament. It's going back to the week right after Memorial Day. Why the change in schedule over recent years?
Dan Sullivan: Well, it's interesting as a calendar goes this year. Memorial Day was as early as it can be, I believe on May 25 and next year, it goes back to being the latest it can be on May 31. We always like to be two weeks before the U.S. Open, which is traditionally on Father's Day. So that's just the way the calendar fell this year. Memorial Day was early, Father's Day late [and] next year, Memorial Day will be May 31, and so we'll have our traditional first week of June date and be two weeks before the U.S. Open, which is perfect for us.
Stu Osborne: Now the tournament's not only a great sports attraction, it's also a big economic event for the Dublin area. How has that tournament helped grow the Dublin area, and how's Dublin helped the tournament grow over the past 50 years?
Dan Sullivan: Yeah, we think that we're equal parties and equal partners on this. Back in 1976, Dublin was 500 people and the Memorial Tournament was created through Muirfield Village Golf Club. There weren't a lot of residents out here at Muirfield. It's a brand new development. It's grown so much over the years, Dublin now has over 50,000 plus people from a growth standpoint, exposing Dublin, central Ohio to a broader national and international audience.
Stu Osborne: Now as we look ahead to next year and beyond, what are your hopes and goals for the next five, 10, even 50 years of the Memorial?
Dan Sullivan: It's a great question. We want to make sure that as the PGA Tour evolves, which it is evolving, the Memorial Tournament maintains its position as one of the most prominent events in golf through the PGA Tour. And so we spent a lot of time working with the tour to understand their direction, what they want to do as an organization, as a brand, what they expect out of the member tournaments that are part of the tour, and ensure that the Memorial Tournament is achieving those expectations, or matching those expectations.
Meanwhile, maintaining the expectations of Jack Nicklaus and what he set out to create with this tournament over 50 years ago, and I think we're doing that. We're in a really nice position on the PGA Tour. We got a great relationship with the governing body of the PGA Tour. We have maintained that original mission of Jack Nicklaus, which was to honor the game, honor those who have contributed to the game, showcase the best in the world and a world class facility and benefit local community charities, and we've been able to achieve that through 50 years and I know that we will keep on going.
