Seven of the world's top 10, including Nos.1 & 2 Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy, will go head-to-head at Ohio's Muirfield Village this week in the Memorial Tournament.

Lee Westwood, Jason Dufner and Matt Kuchar are the only three missing, which means Tiger Woods is back to try to banish the memory of three bad events in a row and Masters champion Bubba Watson is playing for only the second time since his triumph at Augusta.

Donald, of course, is flying high after his successful defence of the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday. The fact that he had another tournament to head for did not stop him celebrating. After returning home to Chicago he posted on Twitter: "Quick sweat in the gym to get the last of the Moet out! Then off to The Memorial to do it all over again."

For McIlroy it is a matter of finding some form with his defence of the US Open which is now only a fortnight away. The Northern Irishman lost top spot to Donald at the weekend after missing his second successive halfway cut by eight shots at Wentworth.

McIlroy, who has entered next week's St Jude Classic in Memphis, admitted: "I think I might have taken my eye off the ball a little bit. Maybe it's just not practising as hard as I might have been. Pretty much everything went wrong, but I don't think it will be hard to fix.."

He could move back to No.1, but that requires him winning and Donald finishing outside the top 13.

Woods already has been at the Olympic Club in San Francisco this week preparing for the second major of the season. His last three finishes have been 40th in the Masters, missed cut at Quail Hollow then 40th again at the Players Championship.

In an online chat with fans – the second time this year he has done that rather than a press conference – Woods said he was happy with how things are going with coach Sean Foley. "We're excited about what we're working on. I hadn't played well in a couple of weeks, but we know what it is," he said. "It's a matter of getting reps in and getting the trust in it."

Watson played in New Orleans three weeks after his first major success, but then announced he was having a month off to devote time to his wife and their son.

The left-hander, now fourth in the world, admits he is ready to resume his career. "I'm looking forward to the challenge of being out here and beating some great players," he said.