Will patrons at the 2026 Memorial Tournament be serenaded by buzzing cicadas this year?
Cicadas, which emerge from below ground in their respective broods, are definitely not known for their golf etiquette; instead, they dominate the summer soundscape with their bawdy, bellicose beats after they hatch.
Last year’s Memorial Tournament was during a dormant year for cicadas. Find out below if they’ll be present at Muirfield Village Golf Club in 2026.
Will cicadas be at the 2026 Memorial Tournament?
Cicadas will not likely be a noticeable presence at the 2026 Memorial Tournament.
Periodical cicadas do not travel very far, typically less than half a mile from where they emerge, according to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, so according to USA Today, a small group of stragglers from Brood XXII may be present in Ohio this year. Still, those cicadas will emerge closer to Cincinnati on the Ohio-Kentucky border, according to a map from the University of Connecticut.
The next time Memorial Tournament attendees will have to contend with a large contingent of cicadas is in 2038, when Brood X, which last appeared in 2021, emerges from the ground.
What’s the deal with cicadas, anyway?
Periodical cicadas begin their life cycles as nymphs on trees, feeding on sap before dropping to the ground. Then, they dig into the ground and begin feeding on sap from plant roots, according to the National Museum of Natural History.
“They’re just kind of chilling down there,” Elizabeth Christopher, a program administrator at the Ohio Division of Forestry, previously told The Dispatch.
They live underground for 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood. When it is time for them to emerge, they wait until the ground warms and then come out to mate.
The male cicadas then vibrate their bodies to make the bugs’ iconic chirping or buzzing noise to attract a female. Once they mate, the female lays her eggs on trees. The adult cicadas, which only live for three or four weeks after emerging from the ground, die shortly after.
2026 Memorial Tournament schedule
Here is the schedule of events for the 2026 Memorial Tournament
Monday, June 1
Tuesday, June 2
Wednesday, June 3
Thursday, June 4
Friday, June 5
Saturday, June 6
Sunday, June 7
2025 Memorial broadcast schedule: How to watch
Here’s the broadcast schedule for the 2025 Memorial Tournament:
Thursday, June 4
Friday, June 5
Saturday, June 6
Sunday, June 7
Live Final Round coverage: CBS, 2:30-6:30 p.m.
Live Final Round coverage: Golf Channel, 12:30-2:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will there be cicadas at the 2026 Memorial Tournament in Columbus?
Reporting by Dan Aulbach, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
