This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
Memorial Tournament – Dublin, OH
Muirfield Village Golf Club (7,392 yards, par 72)
$8.7M Purse
$1,566,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner
Tournament Preview
This week the PGA Tour heads to the Midwestern Buckeye state of Ohio, where Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village consistently attracts the best fields. Situated on the outskirts of Jack's hometown Columbus, the par-72 layout is best described as long but forgiving off the tee with plenty of short-game challenge around the greens. Despite Rory McIlroy's withdrawal from the event Monday, the 120-player field will showcase six of the world's top 10 including Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, and 2014 champion Hideki Matsuyama. As the highest purse behind only the four majors, THE PLAYERS, and the four WGC events, there's plenty to get excited about in Columbus this week.
Prior Decade Champions
2016 – William McGirt
2015 – David Lingmerth
2014 – Hideki Matsuyama
2013 – Matt Kuchar
2012 – Tiger Woods
2011 – Steve Stricker
2010 – Justin Rose
2009 – Tiger Woods
2008 – Kenny Perry
2007 – K.J. Choi
Key Stats to Winning at Muirfield Village
• Driving Distance
• Par-5 Scoring
• Scrambling percentage
Champion's Profile
As only Jack would have it, Muirfield's par-5s are scoring holes and the greens are lightning-quick. The field is rich with talent and smaller than a typical PGA event at 120 players, so it's no surprise the world's best have flourished in the winner's column, with the exceptions of 2015 and 2016. One thing lacking importance is driving accuracy, given the relative openness in the landing areas. This gives long hitters the green light to bomb it with little risk. The greens are large, but there's plenty of speed and notorious tiers that challenge even the world's best putters. What's more, thick rough and challenging bunkers surround these already tricky greens, making scrambling - especially from the sand – critical to scoring well at Muirfield Village. Sure, long hitters have an easier time because they're approaching the green with more lofted clubs, but this alone won't help them when they're greenside needing to get up and down. The bottom line is you'll see a mix of players contend, but the major underlying reason why boils down to great scrambling and/or putting.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Dustin Johnson, $11800 – World No. 1 has finished second, 12th, and 13th since returning from his slip-and-fall accident before the Masters. DJ has the length and overall ability to overpower Muirfield, and has done so, finishing third last season to go with four other top-20 efforts at this venue.
Jon Rahm, $10800 – The first-timer at Muirfield Village should have no problem adjusting considering his skills match the winner's profile quite well. Rahm is 12th in driving distance, 10th in par-5 scoring average, and 14th in scrambling percentage on the season and is among the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now.
Jordan Spieth, $10000 – Coming off a tie for second at Colonial last week, Spieth is back in form and will take a liking to putting the quick greens at Muirfield. His scrambling percentage has been subpar this season to date, but with an elite iron game and putting that turned the corner last week, look for Spieth to shine in Ohio.
Matt Kuchar, $9500 – If there's a horse for the course this week, it's Kuchar, who has notched six career top-10s in 11 starts at Muirfield, including a win in 2013. His elite short game coupled with recent finishes of ninth and 12th the last two weeks make Kuchar a strong buy this week.
Rickie Fowler, $9300 – Averaging 300 yards off the tee and fifth in par-5 scoring this season, Fowler is a nice course fit. The only red flags are three missed cuts the last three years at Muirfield. However, his price reflects this risk a bit too much in my opinion, so I'm backing Fowler as a value play and possible differentiator in lineups this week.
Justin Thomas, $9000 – Among the better tee-to-green players on Tour right now, Thomas is enjoying a breakout season with three victories and four other top-10s. The youngster matches the profile nicely and could very well be shaking the hand of Jack Nicklaus on Sunday if he can find himself in the mix Sunday.
Longer Shots Worth a Risk
Tony Finau, $8600 – Seventh in driving distance this season with a 305+ yard average, Finau has plenty of length to take advantage of Muirfield's scoreable par-5s. In fact, he's done just that the last two years, posting 8-under and 9-under on the par-5s respectively, leading to finishes of T11 and T8.
Billy Horschel, $7100 – Recent Byron Nelson champ has two top-15s at Muirfield in three career starts, showcasing a nice blend of recent form and course history.
Patrick Cantlay, $6600 – The youngster from UCLA earned his PGA Tour status with a runner-up at the Valspar in March and has gone on to post three top-25s in four starts since. At a mere $6,600 price tag, Cantlay is a great value buy considering his above-average length off the tee and strong putting numbers.
Strategy Tips for this week (based on 60k standard salary cap)
With a stacked field this week, it's prudent to solidify as many top dogs as possible, but look for a combination of good scrambling percentage and par-5 scoring metrics in the lower-tier players you'll need to fill your lineup.
