The 2026 Memorial Tournament at the Links at Gateway in Romulus delivered everything this event is supposed to deliver. A leaderboard that stayed compressed all morning. A playoff that came down to inches. And a champion pairing that came back to Gateway with unfinished business and finally got it done. Jeff Cubel and Chris Stalo are your 2026 Memorial Tournament champions. Net -12. Won in a playoff. And if you were paying attention to last year’s Memorial, you already know what that means. In 2025, Cubel and Stalo finished at -10 and watched Puffenberger and Fitzpatrick win it on the fifth playoff hole. In 2024, this same Cubel/Stalo pairing won the Memorial outright at -8. Saturday at Gateway, they came back to the playoff tee with a score to settle and the kind of performance that earned the right to settle it. Five birdies and an eagle on the back nine. A birdie and two eagles on the front. Fifteen of eighteen greens hit. A total team effort that produced the best scorecard of the day and then had to survive extra holes to prove it.
The team that pushed them there was Mike Geisser and Eric Mullen — and nobody in that gallery saw it coming until it was already happening. Six birdies. Four eagles. A strategic, pick-each-other-up partnership that turned a scramble into something that looked like an art form. When one player hit a bad shot, the other one covered. When the opportunity came to attack, they attacked. Geisser and Mullen matched Cubel and Stalo stroke for stroke through 18 holes and brought the Memorial back to a playoff for what feels like the event’s natural state.
The playoff, however, was its own story. Neither team came out of the gate cleanly. The assembled gallery watched both teams three-putt and four-putt on the first two playoff holes, prompting a few raised eyebrows among those wondering if these were really the two best teams of the day. They were. It was nerves, and Gateway’s greens, doing what they do under pressure. On the third extra hole, Geisser and Mullen had a two-footer to extend the playoff. It didn’t go in. Cubel and Stalo two-putted their way home and claimed the Memorial green towels that had slipped through their fingers one year earlier. Redemption. Delivered in the most Memorial Tournament way possible.
Third place belonged to Tyler Floyd and Rick Floyd at net -10 — six birdies, three eagles, 83% greens in regulation, and 57% fairways in what was one of the most complete ball-striking performances of the day. The Floyds have made a habit of showing up at Gateway, and Saturday was another top-three Memorial finish to add to a growing record at this event. Fourth place went to John Ferlito and Willi Hesse at -9, and that number undersells what the round looked like. Ten birdies. Twelve of fourteen greens hit. Ferlito’s form in 2026 has been extraordinary — Sparty Classic champion, multiple top-two finishes — and paired with the back-to-back Tour Championship winner, this team had the birdie production to win almost any Memorial. On Saturday, -9 wasn’t enough and they leave Gateway knowing the game was right.
Tied for fifth at -8 were Anthony Dean and Mike Thacker — seven birdies, two eagles, a round that put the money race leader and his partner right in the championship conversation through the back nine. Dean, already a two-time winner in 2026 and the overall money leader, added another top-five at the first major to a résumé that is becoming the season’s defining performance. Jeff Pasz and Ned Loving also finished at -8, with nine birdies and 78% greens hit — the kind of deep-field performance in a scramble major that earns respect and a check.
As for the conditions — crisp at the 8am shotgun start but warming quickly as the morning wore on. The rain that had been forecast held off until the final holes, meaning the field got nearly a full round of good scoring weather before Gateway’s May skies finally made good on their promise. The teams that came out aggressive early were rewarded. The first major of the 2026 Mulligan Tour season played out the way you’d draw it up.
The 2026 Memorial Tournament was played in remembrance of Fuzzy Zoeller, the two-time major champion who passed away on November 27, 2025. Fuzzy won the 1979 Masters and the 1984 U.S. Open — both in playoffs — and left behind a legacy as one of the game’s most beloved figures. Saturday’s finish would have made him smile.