The FedEx St. Jude Championship
Preview for the FedEx St. Jude Championship: The first leg of the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs starts this week in Memphis, Tennessee, and while it’s maybe not quite as exciting as a major championship, we still have most of the world’s top players in action this week. This event goes back to 1967 when Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural edition then named the Westchester Classic, with a score of -16. This will be just the second straight year that this tournament has been held on this course, and the first leg of the playoffs has seen seven courses play host to either The Barclays, The Northern Trust, or the FedEx St. Jude Championship since 2007. Matt Kuchar is the only player to qualify for the playoffs each and every year since its inception some 16 years ago. FedEx St. Jude Championship winners over the last five years include Will Zalatoris in 2022, Tony Finau in 2021, Dustin Johnson in 2020, Patrick Reed in 2019, and Bryson DeChambeau in 2018.
Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is $20M, the winner collects $3.6M and also earns a whopping 2,000 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: TPC Southwind is 7,243 yards in length, is a par 70, and the Bermudagrass greens average 4,300 square feet. The winning score at this event over the last five editions ranges from -15 to -30, the -15 belonging to Will Zalatoris who shot that last year on this course, so the winning score could be in the mid-teens again this year. In order, some key stats to focus on this week are strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: putting, strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained: total, and driving accuracy percentage.
The 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship: We have the top 70 FedEx Cup point earners in the field this week, there is no cut line, and the top 50 FedEx Cup point achievers after this tournament will move onto the second leg of the playoffs next week at the BMW Championship. We have an elite field with Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and tons of other stars competing this week. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+.
DFS PGA Tour Golf Picks
Make the most of this article’s data, predictions, and insights to help with your fantasy golf picks for the FedEx St. Jude Championship. And check out our PGA Projections and Optimizer tools to make more informed player selections for your DFS DraftKings lineups. Best of luck this week!
Three questions that are relevant to the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week:
- Which 10 players have gained the most strokes total over their last 24 rounds? Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, and Viktor Hovland.
- Which 10 players does my custom model like the most? Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Tom Kim, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Russell Henley, Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Cantlay, and Brian Harman.
- Which 10 players gained the most strokes total (minimum 6 rounds) at this event since 2018? Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Corey Conners, Harris English, Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Davis, Viktor Hovland, Hideki Matsuyama, and Sungjae Im.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in some contests this week – here are (in no particular order) 15 DFS golf picks on DraftKings (DK), plus I also include player salaries for DK. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performances at the event over the last five years, and add in some valuable data.
15 Players Who Are Either High-Potential or Solid-Value Plays This Week – Get Them Into Your DFS Lineups
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $11.1K) – Rahm hasn’t won since the Masters in April, but in seven starts since he has a 2nd, a T2, a T10, and two other teen finishes. He continues to maintain strong ball-striking, is a solid putter, and doesn’t really have any weaknesses in his game. His T5 here last year could have been a whole lot better had he not lost 0.07 of a stroke on the greens – if he gains 2 or 3 to the field this week with his putter, then he should be firmly in contention. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T5, 2021 – 3rd, 2020 – T6, 2019 – T3, and 2018 – cut.
Scottie Scheffler (Salary: DraftKings – $12.1K) – Scottie pretty much finishes top 5 or top 10 every time he tees it up as he has seven top 5’s over his last eight starts, and it’s because he’s an unbelievable ball-striker and is very solid around the greens, as well. Once his putter starts to wake up again then he will be pretty much unstoppable. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – cut, 2021 – T43, and 2020 – T4.
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $11.5K) – Rory is on an incredible streak of his own right now with seven consecutive top 9’s including winning the Scottish Open and finishing 2nd at the U.S. Open. McIlroy actually doesn’t have a very good record at this event over the years with just one top 10 since 2010, but he’s really dangerous right now and should be motivated to redeem himself from last year as he missed the cut here. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – cut, 2021 – T43, 2020 – T65, and 2019 – T6.
Rickie Fowler (Salary: DraftKings – $9.5K) – What a season that Fowler has had with numerous top 10’s, teen finishes, top 20’s, and let’s not forget about his win just three starts ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Every part of his game is in sync, and here’s to hoping that he can finish the season strong starting with a sound performance this week. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T64, 2020 – T49, and 2019 – cut.
Tommy Fleetwood (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – Fleetwood has four top 10’s over his last five starts including a 2nd at the Canadian Open, a T5 at the U.S. Open, and a T10 at The Open Championship in his most recent start. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T44, 2019 – T43, and 2018 – T20.
Eric Cole (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – He has had a hot approach and putting game since early June, and it has led to a T6, and four other top 30’s in eight starts. It will be interesting to see what Cole can do in his first playoff start in a high-pressure event, but it should be noted that he had a T15 at the PGA Championship in May. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: none.
Wyndham Clark (Salary: DraftKings – $8.5K) – What a breakout season for Clark who has two wins in his last seven starts including taking the U.S. Open four starts ago. He has five top 6’s in his last twelve starts, and could be a potential superstar in the making. He was good here last year with a top 30, but he will be looking for a better approach game and around the green play to have a chance at a top 10. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T28, 2021 – cut, 2020 – T29, and 2019 – T18.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $8.3K) – If Clark winning the U.S. Open wasn’t enough for you, Harman won The Open Championship in a surprising twist thanks to a scorching putter that gained him 11.35 strokes on the greens. He’s on a great run now with four straight top 12’s including that massive win overseas and his T2 at the Travelers Championship. Add to it that Brian had a T3 here last year, and you got a good recipe for potential success this week also. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T3 and 2021 – T36.
Tom Kim (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – Kim has three top 8’s over his last five starts including a T2 at The Open Championship and a T8 at the U.S. Open, and he narrowly missed out on finishing top 10 here last year gaining 8.07 strokes ball-striking. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T13, 2021 – 75th, 2020 – T11, 2019 – T52, and 2018 – T48.
Sepp Straka (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – He was firing on all cylinders with a win at the John Deere Classic and a T2 at The Open Championship, then he missed the cut at the 3M Open, but I won’t fault him for that given all of the excitement leading up to that weak event which he likely just couldn’t get up for. He gained strokes here across the board last year and finished runner-up to Zalatoris after losing to him in a playoff, so there’s a lot to like about Straka this week. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – 2nd, 2021 – cut, 2020 – cut, and 2019 – cut.
Lucas Glover (Salary: DraftKings – $7.4K) – What a solid run that Glover has been on over his last five starts with four top 6’s including winning just last week at the Wyndham Championship. His ball-striking has been stout since early April, and he has gained at least 3.59 strokes putting in three out of his last five starts. He was solid throughout his play here last year which led him to a T3 – don’t expect another top 10 this week, but it’s possible given his recent outstanding form and good yet limited history on this track. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T3, 2021 – cut, 2020 – cut, 2019 – T43, and 2018 – T40.
J.T. Poston (Salary: DraftKings – $7.3K) – I couldn’t keep Poston off my list this week given he has four top 7’s in his last five starts including a T2 at the 3M Open. As long as his good approach play and strong putting continue, he should find himself another top 20 to make it two years in a row at this venue. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T20, 2021 – cut, 2020 – T39, 2019 – T59, and 2018 – cut.
Cameron Davis (Salary: DraftKings – $7.2K) – Davis has back-to-back top 10’s, and three top 17’s over his last four events played. He has finished no worse than T31 at this event in three years and almost had a top 10 here last year after gaining strokes in all of the major stat categories. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T13 and 2021 – T31, and 2020 – T29.
Emiliano Grillo (Salary: DraftKings – $7.1K) – Much the same as Davis above, Grillo has back-to-back top 10’s and won seven starts ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge. If his ball-striking and putting continue to shine, then he could better his T31 result from a year ago. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T31, 2021 – cut, 2020 – T44, 2019 – cut, and 2018 – T48.
Lee Hodges (Salary: DraftKings – $6.5K) – I decided to throw another $6K golfer on this list and went with Hodges since he won two weeks ago at the 3M Open gaining 11.19 strokes ball-striking and 6.20 putting, plus he just missed out on a top 10 here last year and that was with losing 0.02 of a stroke putting. FedEx St. Jude Championship finishes over the last five years: 2022 – T13.
