This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
the Memorial Tournament
Course: Muirfield Village Golf Club (7,533 yards, par 72)
Purse: $12,000,000
Winner: $2,160,000 and 550 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
Last year Jon Rahm played one of the best opening three rounds we have ever seen on the PGA Tour. He held a six-shot lead at an incredible 18-under-par on one of the most challenging golf courses on Tour. When Rahm walked off the 18th green after he completed the third round, he was approached by an official who broke the news to the Spainard that he would have to withdraw from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. That brought so many players back into it for the final round, which ultimately led to a duel between Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa, both former winner's at Muirfield Village in the previous two seasons. Cantlay would ultimately get the best of Morikawa in a playoff, which was the start of his run to the 2021 FedExCup title.
Cantlay, Morikawa, and Rahm will all be back in the field for the 2022 edition of the Memorial Tournament. They will be joined in the field by four other top-10 players in the OWGR with those being No. 3 Cameron Smith, No. 7 Viktor Hovland, No. 8 Rory McIlroy, and No. 10 Jordan Spieth. The Memorial Tournament along with the Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational are elevated status events that are limited to 120 players and give the winner a three-year PGA Tour exemption and 550 FedExCup points.
Some early week precipitation will give way to a sunny final three rounds. After three straight weeks of dealing with hefty wind gusts in Texas and Oklahoma, the wind will be relatively calm in Dublin, Ohio. With the exception of 2019, the winning score has been between 9-under and 15-under for the last decade. That's what we should expect again in 2022 with a 36-hole cut very close to even par.
Recent Champions
2021 – Patrick Cantlay (-13)
2020 – Jon Rahm (-9)
2019 – Patrick Cantlay (-19)
2018 – Bryson DeChambeau (-15)
2017 – Jason Dufner (-13)
2016 – William McGirt (-15)
2015 – David Lingmerth (-15)
2014 – Hideki Matsuyama (-13)
2013 – Matt Kuchar (-12)
2012 – Tiger Woods (-9)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Approach
- GIR Percentage
- SG: Tee-to-Green
- SG: Putting
Champion's Profile
Muirfield Village is expected to have a bit more fire in 2022 after the first year of a hefty renovation to the course prior to the 2021 Memorial Tournament. It will now tip at 7,533 yards, which is a new tournament-record, and the greens should be back up to their typical 13-14 on the Stimpmeter. These putting surfaces are historically some of the slickest around outside of Augusta, and with the lack of wind this week I expect the greens staff to really try and let them go.
Muirfield Village is a second-shot golf course. There is plenty of room off the tees, but if you do miss the fairways the rough is thick and will make stopping it on firm greens very tricky. These greens features a lot of tiers and undulation, so being precise with your iron game will be important to try to give yourself a realistic chance for birdie and avoid being on the back-foot trying to avoid a three-putt.
Scrambling and SG: Around-the-Green numbers are actually something I'm not too focused on this week. This is a bit of a classic U.S. Open setup that features thick rough in close proximity to most of the greens. Because of that, the ball will not travel very far away from the hole if you miss the green. It also limits the way you can play shots around the greens. Players will pretty much take out a 60 degree wedge every time and open up the face. That limiting of potential shots will close the gap between the best and worst short game players in the field.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Xander Schauffele ($11,000)
Schauffele still has a case of being the most underrated player in the world. There are zero holes in his game, which is why he's already collected eight top-20's in just 13 PGA Tour starts this season. Schauffele ranks 22nd in SG: Off-the-Tee, 16th in SG: Approach, ninth in SG: Tee-to-Green, 10th in GIR percentage and third in total driving. He has posted four top-15 finishes in just five starts at Muirfield Village.
Viktor Hovland ($10,900)
We know the only issue in Hovland's game is around the putting surfaces, and as I mentioned in the profile that skill will largely be negated this week. You look at his tee to green game and it's sensational. Hovland ranks 12th in SG: Off-the-Tee, fourth in SG: Approach, second in total driving and 13th in proximity to the hole. His putting has also taken a massive leap forward in 2022. Hovland recorded a solo third place finish here back in 2020 and checks in at a very tasty price this week.
Will Zalatoris ($10,700)
This seems like a prime spot for Zalatoris' first career PGA Tour win. He plays tough golf courses so well and he leads the PGA Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green. Throw out the missed cut last week, which was very predictable after a playoff defeat at the PGA Championship. Zalatoris has already racked up eight top-15 finishes this season and it would be pretty surprising if he wasn't up there again on Sunday at Muirfield Village.
Max Homa ($10,600)
Homa has a case for being them most consistent player on the PGA Tour this season. It doesn't matter the type of course, Homa is always on the first couple pages of the leaderboard come Sunday. He ranks top-30 this season in a number of key stats like SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, SG: Putting, SG: Tee-to-Green, birdie average and scoring average. Homa also posted a T6 finish at Muirfield Village last season.
Longer Shots with Value
Brendan Steele ($9,400)
Steele is flying under the radar, but that might not last for too much longer with how well he is playing. After missing the first five cuts of 2022, Steele has found his game and has gone 6-for-6 with three top-15 finishes. One of those came at the PGA Championship where he ranked fourth in SG: Approach, third in SG: Tee-to-Green and first in GIR. Those are all massively important stats to success at Muirfield Village, where he has made his last seven cuts.
Keegan Bradley ($9,200)
Bradley has been on a roll over the last few months. Over his last eight starts, he has made seven cuts with five top-11 finishes. Bradley is a tremendous ball-striker, ranking 16th in SG: Off-the-tee, 30th in SG: Approach, 18th in SG: Tee-to-Green and 14th in proximity to the hole. The 35-year-old is in a great spot to try to pick up that first PGA Tour win since the 2018 BMW Championship.
Aaron Wise ($8,800)
Wise checks in at a great price this week given his ball-striking prowess. The Oregon product ranks 38th in SG: Off-the-tee, 26th in SG: Approach, 25th in SG: Tee-to-Green, 18th in GIR percentage and 18th in birdie average. Wise didn't have a great start to 2022 after a very impressive fall, but he has posted three top-25s over his last four starts. He also scored a top-10 at Muirfield Village last year.
Russell Knox ($8,700)
Knox has been one of the most accurate ball-strikers on the PGA Tour for the last few years. This campaign he is second in GIR percentage, 11th in driving accuracy, 24th in SG: Approach and fifth in proximity to the hole. The Scot is coming off a top-15 at Colonial last week, another course that is big on accuracy. Knox has made the cut in six straight starts at Muirfield Village.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
This is an exceptionally deep field, so I don't think there's any need to try to load up on the top dogs. The middle of the salary board is just so strong this week. While they have both been statistically great iron players this season, I'm going to fade Collin Morikawa and Cameron Smith this week. Morikawa has finished outside the top-25 in each of his last four starts and Smith is just 2-for-6 with a best finish of T65 at Muirfield Village. Kevin Streelman ($8,200), Lucas Glover ($8,200), Matthew NeSmith ($8,200), Emiliano Grillo ($7,800), and Justin Lower ($7,400) are some names further down the salary board that might surprise this week.
