Jack Nicklaus has confirmed that the Memorial Tournament is returning to its traditional date on the PGA Tour calendar from 2025.
The event - which began in 1976 - has nearly always taken place shortly after Memorial Day at the end of May but was shifted to later in the year during 2024 in order to comply with the PGA Tour's new Signature Event model. The Canadian Open - where Robert MacIntyre triumphed - took its place.
Nicklaus said he agreed to a temporary switch as "a favor" to the PGA Tour but admitted he had been in conversation with commissioner Jay Monahan for a while about ensuring the event was put back in its traditional time slot from next year.
Prior to the 49th staging, which was won by Scottie Scheffler, the 18-time Major winner said "we would prefer the other week" when asked about the switch before going on to explain: “I would rarely play a week before a major championship, so I’m asked to be putting on a golf tournament that I would never play, and that is the essential (issue) from my standpoint."
In a statement released on Monday, Nicklaus confirmed that his Memorial Tournament would be returning to the week of Memorial Day "in the best interest" of the event itself, the tour, and the players in 2025. The 50th staging will see Barbara Nicklaus - Jack's wife - as the official honoree.
Nicklaus said: "The relationship the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday has enjoyed with the PGA Tour is more like a partnership. The Tour has acted in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, and we, in turn, have always supported the Tour and its initiatives.
"That is why a year ago when the Tour presented us its new business model, we were willing to work with them and move the 2024 date to a week before the U.S. Open.
"Over recent months, we have had a number of conversations with [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan and his team... and together we determined that in the best interest of the Memorial Tournament, the Tour and its players, we would return to our traditional date and start Tournament week on the Memorial Day holiday."
Midway through the 2024 Memorial, Rory McIlroy stated his preference would be to let the tournament "stand alone" and move it back to late May, therefore avoiding a logjam of elite championships - as was the case this year.
He said: "For me personally, I love to play the week before majors. I think it really helps me. Jack didn't like to play the weeks before majors, so I can certainly understand where he's coming from. I think, regardless, you're going to get a great field, you're going to get the same field that you would get two weeks before, a week before, and I think it's just personal preference.
"I think this stretch of golf where it goes Signature Event, major championship, Signature Event, I think that needs to maybe change because I feel like this tournament should stand alone in a way."
Scheffler was another to advocate a change in timing for the Memorial but admitted during the Dublin, Ohio-based event that he would come to play at Jack's Place no matter the date it was staged.
He said: "I'm going to come play the [Memorial] tournament regardless of the date. Would it be more advantageous to have a week off before the U.S. Open? I mean, I guess we'll find out. I'll come play whether or not it's last week or this week."
Yet, following a disappointing US Open tilt in which he finished T41 on eight-over, the two-time Masters champion went on to admit that while he would always turn up at Muirfield Golf Village, doing so in the week before a Major was not ideal for his preparation.
Scheffler said: "I've done it before. I've kind of mixed it up throughout the year. During the Masters, I've never really played the week before -- or I did it once and it didn't work out as well as I had hoped it would.
"I think playing the week before, a lot of it depends on the golf course, but I think last week with the golf course the way it was, it probably was not the best prep work for me coming into another challenging event [U.S. Open]."
