DUBLIN, Ohio – It is a tradition like no other.
And they are not even the Masters.
It’s the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club, where players are drawn to the hand-made smoothies in the clubhouse as they are to the legendary tournament founder and organizer Jack Nicklaus.
The first Memorial was played in 1976 and won by Roger Maltbie, who defeated Hale Irwin in a playoff and took home the winner’s $ 40,000 check. Knowing Maltbie’s love of food and drink, he definitely shot down some milkshakes along the way during the week.
Since 1976, when Nicklaus came up with the idea of ”giving kids what they want”, milkshakes have become all the rage at Muirfield Village.
“It just happened,” Nicklaus told The Post. “We have always tried to take care of everyone and someone has decided, ‘How about a milkshake?’ ”
Except that no one asked this question last week during the Workday Charity Open event that took place in Muirfield Village.
According to the design of the PGA Tour, during the Workday event no smoothies were made for deference to the reserved delicacies as part of the tradition of the commemorative tournament.
The only milkshake that was made during the week of the Workday tournament was at the end, when 23-year-old Collin Morikawa, who had never been to Muirfield Village before, was delivered one along with the winner’s trophy and a check for $ 1.12 million on the 18th green after defeating Justin Thomas in a sparkling three-hole playoff.
“It was expected,” said Nicklaus. “A smoothie all week – to the winner.”
Morikawa, who had heard about the Muirfield milkshake tradition and was disappointed that they weren’t served, was taken aback when he received one in the 18th green.
“It was the tastiest milkshake I’ve ever had,” Morikawa told The Post. “They had it right behind my trophy. I have heard from everyone I played or practiced milkshakes with, and they didn’t have them last week. I’ve been waiting for one this week [at the Memorial]. So, it was a surprise to get one at 18. It’s probably the best thing I could have had, because I was definitely hungry and thirsty after that playoff.
“I had heard of tradition. When I first stepped onto the property, the boys in the locker room said, “Oh, sorry, no milkshakes this week.” I already had a couple this week. ”
According to Nicholas LaRocca, the club’s general manager for the past 23 years, Buckeye, which is a combination of peanut butter and chocolate flavors, is the “No. 1 favorite ” among what has defined the infinite number of combinations of flavors.
“It started in 1976 and crashed,” LaRocca told The Post. “From there in the world of golf, we are known for having the best milkshake on the PGA Tour. It has become a tradition in Muirfield Village. Players enjoy smoothies throughout the week. The only way to get a smoothie is if you are a club member, a player or have access to the clubhouse during the tournament week. ”
Morikawa said he had no “idea” that a smoothie was part of the privilege of victory last Sunday.
“It’s been what they’ve been doing all week, so I’ve been very, very lucky to have it,” he said.
Morikawa said his favorite Oreo flavor, but the Buckeye he was given on Sunday was “fantastic”.
Jack’s favorite?
“I like Buckeye, but I’m a vanilla malt guy,” he said. “That was my lunch today – a vanilla malt milkshake.”
LaRocca said that the number of milkshakes made during the week of the tournament is “one of those classified objects that we keep hidden under the jacket, only an internal number to have some fun.”
Nicklaus said that every year of the tournament “we have exceeded 1,000 during the week”.
This is what made such a joke last week for players in the workday field who have already played at Memorial.
“The [PGA] The tour asked us not to make the smoothies last week, to keep it a tradition of the memorial week, to keep the two weeks totally separate – since the conditions of the golf course were different, the smoothie tradition was different. ” called LaRocca. “Many guys wanted smoothies last week, so our joke throughout the week was: ‘Well, play well on Sunday.’ ”
Moriwaka did just that, and added immensely to the spoils of victory.
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