The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, which is hosted by Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, announced a new six-year deal for the tournament that has become a fixture on the PGA Tour.
The purse has been increased to $8.5 million, with $1,615,000 going to the winner for the 41st edition of the tournament, which will be played June 2-5, 2016. The new deal runs through 2021.
“When we created the Memorial Tournament, in many ways it was a gift to the people of Central Ohio and to the community that helped shape me as a player, but, more important, as a person,” said Nicklaus, whose 18 major titles are the most for any player in golf history.
“We wanted to create a significant event for the passionate fans; use it as a way to honor the greats of the game; and impact the local community in a meaningful way through charity. It was also about leaving a legacy. Simply put, as we walk through life, the footprint we leave behind is what determines your legacy.
“For 40 years, I have been enormously proud and humbled by the success of the Memorial Tournament. And because of the support of friends and partners like Nationwide and the PGA Tour, the footprint the Memorial will leave behind for generations to come should remain a source of pride and accomplishment for everyone in Central Ohio.”
Nationwide has been presenting sponsor of the Memorial Tournament in 2011 and has supported the PGA Tour for more than 20 years.
The Memorial Tournament announced in November that it donated $2 million to charitable organizations in central Ohio this year, including a record-setting $1,607,118 for Nationwide Children’s Hospital through the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation.
Since it was first played in 1976, the Memorial has donated more than $26 million to charities in Central Ohio, including more than $14 million to Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Roger Maltbie, now a on-course golf analyst for NBC Sports, won the inaugural Memorial Tournament in 1976, host Nicklaus claimed the title a year later and again in 1984, while Tiger Woods has captured the event a record five times–the last in 2012.
