PGA DFS Picks
Take advantage of the info from this article to help aid with your fantasy golf picks for The Memorial Tournament, and check out our PGA Lineup Optimizer to make more educated player selections for your DFS lineups. Best of luck this week!
The Memorial Tournament
Recap from last week: It was looking like Jordan Spieth was going to win his second event in Texas in his last three played in the Lone Star State, but he shot a three-over 73 in the final round, and Jason Kokrak shot even par to win by two strokes and secure his second win on the campaign – congrats to Jason on a career season that just keeps getting better! I’m loving the sights and sounds of increasingly more and more fans on the courses – golf is looking closer to how it should as we start to slowly return to more normal existence with the pandemic seemingly winding down a little more day by day here in North America.
Preview for The Memorial Tournament: We have another invitational event this week with the PGA Tour heading from Fort Worth, Texas, to the Columbus, Ohio, area for The Memorial Tournament featuring a very solid field. Legendary golfer, Jack Nicklaus, founded this event in 1976 – this year marks its 45th anniversary, and it has always been played at the same course, Muirfield Village Golf Club. Tom Lehman still holds the tournament record of -20 which came back in 1994 when he beat The Shark, Greg Norman, by five strokes. The past five winners of this event include Jon Rahm in 2020, Patrick Cantlay in 2019, Bryson DeChambeau in 2018, Jason Dufner in 2017, and William McGirt in 2016.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at $9.3M, the winner receives $1.674M and also earns himself 550 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Muirfield Village Golf Club is 7,543 yards long, is a par 72, and the greens are bentgrass. The winning score at this tournament over the past ten years ranges from -9 to -19, so the course can play fairly tough depending on how the event organizers decide to set up the course, and weather conditions can play a factor too, of course. Some of the key stats that you will want to focus on this week are strokes gained: around the green, strokes gained: approach, driving accuracy and driving distance, and birdie or better percentage.
The field: We are seeing an invitational event for the second consecutive week, and that means a smaller field with 120 players in action – the top 65 plus ties after round 2 will get to play the weekend rounds. We will have a strong field in place like we are used to seeing for this tournament including defending champ, Jon Rahm, past winner Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Collin Morikawa, and several other elite golfers are also in action. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A.
Lineup construction strategy this week: The field size is small again this week so you can take more chances on players than you would when we see a full field of 156. You might want to look into taking a stars and scrubs approach for your core lineups since a focus on players at the top of the board is important as the past three winners here are supreme talents, and I expect this year to be no different. I typically go with hybrid lineups for my core plays, but when there are elite and deep fields that are small in size, I tend to go a tad more in the stars and scrubs direction. As always, be sure to look at projected player ownership on Wednesday, and leave at least $300 to $500 on the table for each lineup to better your odds at having unique configurations to win GPPs outright.
All the best in your quest to win some contests this week – here are my 15 DFS golf picks which feature my top 3 players from each tier on DraftKings (DK) in no particular order, plus I include player salaries for DK, as well. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performance at this event over the last 5 years, and add in some helpful pieces of information and stats, as well.
The $10K+ Range
Jordan Spieth (Salary: DraftKings – $11.3K) – Spieth has been rock-solid since early February with a win coming at the Texas Open, six other top 9’s, and three other top 30’s. It looked like Spieth was going to moonwalk to a victory last week but he came up a bit lame in the final round to finish runner-up. He’s still the hottest golfer on the planet in my opinion results-wise, plus his stats are just incredible outside of a cold putter here and there but he did gain over 6 strokes with his putting last week, so that’s promising. I also like that he has two top 13’s here over the last two years – everything is coming up Jordan these days and I think he’ll win at least one more time this season if he keeps playing the way he has been. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T13, 2019 – T7, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – T13, and 2016 – T57.
Collin Morikawa (Salary: DraftKings – $10.4K) – Morikawa continues to play well – he has five top 8’s in his last eleven starts including winning the WGC-Workday Championship, and he has two other top 18’s during that time, as well. He was uncharacteristically weak off-the-tee last week, but still finished T14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge – his approach, ball-striking, and tee-to-green were so solid, and I expect more of the same again this week. He did win on this course last year too for the Workday Charity Open – just keep in mind that it was set up to play easier than a Memorial Tournament, but a win’s a win. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T48.
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $11.1K) – Rahm is the defending champ at this tournament, and he hasn’t won since last season’s playoffs, so he must be licking his chops this week to get back onto a track that he played so well on a year ago. He has ten top 9’s this season including two at match-play events, and he’s coming off a T8 at the PGA Championship where he gained strokes in all stat categories. He’s just too good not to win at least once per season, and he can absolutely defend his title this week to win for the first time as a father. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Won and 2017 – Cut.
The $9K Range
Viktor Hovland (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – Hovland is a player I love riding every time he plays because he stacks up top 10’s and is often in the mix to win tournaments. He won late last year at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and has five top 5’s since then. Over his past three events, he has gained strokes in all major stat categories outside of his slight loss off-the-tee at the PGA Championship, and he’s just such a must-play when he gets hot – he has two top 3’s in his last three events, so it’s safe to say he’s hot now and needs to get into your lineups. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T48.
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $9.3K) – Outside of his around the green play and putting, it’s almost like he’s playing video game golf out on courses as he’s insanely strong in all of the other stat categories. He has seven top 10’s this season and another eight top 25’s – he’s consistent with great upside, and I’m riding him as much as any other player these days. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T22 and 2019 – T65.
Patrick Cantlay (Salary: DraftKings – $9.5K) – Cantlay has been going through some turbulent weeks since THE PLAYERS Championship with four missed cuts in six stroke-play events, but he’s coming off a T23 at the PGA Championship where he gained over 12 strokes ball-striking, so it looks like he’s finding his way back to being one of the best golfers in the world. He won here two years ago, was T4 three years ago, and I can see another top 10 this week if he brings the same form he had two weeks ago. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T32, 2019 – Won, 2018 – T4, and 2017 – T35.
The $8K Range
Matt Fitzpatrick (Salary: DraftKings – $8.7K) – I don’t find Fitzpatrick’s stats particularly impressive, but he’s great off-the-tee, and fantastic with his putter and it consistently results in high finishes. He has five top 11’s in his last nine starts and three other top 34’s during that time period, so the results are good despite his approach game not being where you’d like. He tied for 3rd here a year ago – I don’t expect something that great again this week, but a top 10 or 15 certainly isn’t a stretch for him, plus he loves navigating tough courses like this one. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T3 and 2019 – T68.
Keegan Bradley (Salary: DraftKings – $8.0K) – Bradley has been very solid since his T10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, finishing inside the top 30 in seven straight tournaments, and eight of his last nine starts. His putting was pathetic for a long time, but it’s showing signs of life now and he actually mentioned he’s putting better than he ever has in his career. The blueprint is in place now for Keegan to win again as putting is the only part of his game that has been lackluster, but it isn’t now. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T68, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T23, 2017 – Cut, and 2016 – T8.
Louis Oosthuizen (Salary: DraftKings – $8.5K) – Oosthuizen is on a nice heater right now with three straight top 8’s and two of them were runner-ups at the PGA Championship two weeks ago and at the Zurich Classic with Charl Schwartzel at the team-play event. His results are better looking than his stats, but he is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour (drive for show, putt for dough) and he has been spectacular with his approach play and ball-striking over his last two starts. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T54, 2019 – T57, and 2018 – T13.
The $7K Range
Patton Kizzire (Salary: DraftKings – $7.3K) – Kizzire is looking quite attractive this week from a DFS perspective as he’s coming off back-to-back T3’s at the AT&T Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge, has five top 10’s on the season, and has only missed the cut three times in 20 starts overall. I think his salary price tag would be higher if he had better finishes at this event in the past, but I’m not too concerned about his history here as he’s playing arguably his best golf ever, and I can see him topping his T38 from five years ago. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T74, 2017 – Cut, and 2016 – T38.
Gary Woodland (Salary: DraftKings – $7.9K) – Woodland is fighting his way back from injury and is doing a pretty good job of that lately as he has five top 40’s in his last six tournaments, and two of them were top 6’s. He has a decent track record at this event too including his T4 five years ago, so I think everything aligns quite well for Gary this week. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T22, 2019 – T52, 2018 – T23, 2017 – T49, and 2016 – T4.
Kevin Streelman (Salary: DraftKings – $7.5K) – Streelman was somewhat in the mix to win at the PGA Championship two weeks ago – he ultimately settled for a T8, and he has three straight top 26’s. He likes this course, has played great on it, and I think there’s lots to like about Kevin at this price. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T54, 2019 – T4, 2018 – T44, 2017 – T13, and 2016 – T8.
The $6K Range
Troy Merritt (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – Merritt has back-to-back T7’s and three T8’s in his last four starts – not too bad for a $6K player on DraftKings. His stats have been decent lately and I like that he’s a good and consistent around the green player as that stat is perhaps the most important one to look at this week. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T17, and 2016 – Cut.
Kyle Stanley (Salary: DraftKings – $6.1K) – Vincent Whaley was under-priced a bunch last week at $6.2K and I think that Stanley is this week at pretty much a minimum price on DraftKings. He has made three straight cut lines, four if you count the Zurich Classic, and he’s coming off a T8 last week where he gained over 10 strokes with his ball-striking and almost 10 strokes tee-to-green. He has two top 6’s here over the last three years including his T2 three years ago. If you want to stack two or more elite players in your lineups this week, then look to Stanley to anchor them on the low-end as he’s dirt cheap, in good form, and has the course history working for him, as well. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T2, and 2017 – T6.
Alex Noren (Salary: DraftKings – $6.8K) – Noren is a decent low-cost option this week as he has six straight made cuts in a row if you count the Zurich Classic, and has only missed the cut once in his last nine tournaments played. His stats are spotty, but he’s consistently a solid short-game player, and he’s not too shabby off-the-tee either. If you’re investing in stars and scrubs or hybrid lineups this week, then do a deep dive on Noren to see if he’s serviceable as the last man or a second-last man in. Memorial Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut and 2019 – T41.
Results of the 15 players I picked for last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge
The 10K+ Range
- Jordan Spieth – 2nd
- Collin Morikawa – T14
- Patrick Reed – Cut
The $9K Range
- Will Zalatoris – T59
- Abraham Ancer – T14
- Corey Conners – T20
The $8K Range
- Charley Hoffman – T3
- Brian Harman – T8
- Matt Wallace – T56
The $7K Range
- Brandt Snedeker – T50
- Emiliano Grillo – T8
- Branden Grace – Withdrew after round 1
The $6K Range
- Vincent Whaley – T20
- Richy Werenski – T45
- Brian Stuard – T56
