Which golfer founded the Memorial Tournament?

Jack Nicklaus founded the Memorial Tournament.

The PGA Tour event was established in 1976 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a course Nicklaus co-designed with Desmond Muirhead. Nicklaus had deep ties to the Columbus area, where he grew up and learned golf at Scioto Country Club, and he wanted the tournament to celebrate golf’s history while honoring influential figures in the sport.

Muirfield Village opened in 1974, two years before the first Memorial Tournament. Roger Maltbie won that inaugural edition after defeating Hale Irwin in a four-hole aggregate playoff. Nicklaus later won the event himself in 1977 and 1984.

The tournament is more than a competition bearing Nicklaus’s name. Its foundation supports charitable programs in central Ohio, with Nationwide Children’s Hospital among its primary beneficiaries. The event also honors people who have made significant contributions to golf, which reflects Nicklaus’s original vision of combining elite competition, history and community service.

Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson are plausible distractors because each was a major champion and tournament figure, but none founded this event.