FantasyDraft PGA: Memorial Tournament

This article is part of our FantasyDraft PGA series.

Maneuvering Through Muirfield

Muirfield Village G.C. -- designed by Jack Nicklaus -- presents an opportunity for the game's top players to prepare for the upcoming U.S. Open on a course with a similar style. The 2017 edition of the prestigious Memorial Tournament features six of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. They and the rest of the field will be challenged by wide fairways lined with intimidating rough and daunting par fours, but Muirfield also includes relatively easy par-fives as well as shorter par-threes. Accuracy off the tee will be essential in order to avoid heavy rough, but wide fairways will allow for bombers to see their FIR percentage rise as a result. Average proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 175 yards could turn out to tell the story come Sunday afternoon, as strokes gained with mid-to-long irons and par-four scoring is a winning recipe at Muirfield. There's up to a 60 percent chance of rain throughout the weekend in Dublin, so wet conditions would lend a slight advantage to longer hitters while birdie-or-better rates increase.

Past 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

FantasyDraft Value Picks - based on $100,000 salary cap

Cream of the Crop

Dustin Johnson - $19,700
Jon Rahm - $18,100
Jason Day - $17,700
Hideki Matsuyama - $17,200

Cash-game Target (50/50s, Double-Ups): As a security blanket at the top of cash-game lineups, Day is a prime candidate for success at his home course. There's a lot to like about the No. 3 golfer in the OWGR despite his struggles earlier in the season, especially coming off a runner-up finish at the AT&T Byron Nelson where he lost due to a surprising miss on a four-foot putt during the first hole of a playoff. Hungry for redemption, Day also knows the ins-and-outs of the course as a Muirfield member, and he's a whole $2,000 cheaper than Johnson.

GPP Weapon:Johnson's extremely lofty price tag should shy away potential owners, but he's that expensive for good reason. Going off recent form alone, the world No. 1 has no finish worse than a T13 in his last seven events, and he notched three consecutive wins during that span. Getting a bit more scientific, Johnson ranks first on Tour in both SG: off-the-tee and GIR percentage, two of the most important stats not only at Muirfield, but on a weekly basis overall. He's also 19th in proximity to the hole on approach shots from 175-200 yards, and third in proximity from the rough. Johnson finished solo third at the Memorial in 2016.

Second-Level Studs

Matt Kuchar - $16,000
Justin Thomas - $15,600
Patrick Reed - $15,600
Tony Finau - $15,300

Cash-game Target: Even at $16,000 Kuchar is a blatant steal, so don't be surprised if he's over 50 percent owned in these formats. He won the event in 2013 and posted a whopping eight top-15s in nine attempts at the Memorial throughout the last decade. He's simply a horse for the course and coming off back-to-back top-12s in his past two starts.

GPP Weapon:Finau has also experienced past success at Muirfield Village, albeit at a lesser extent than Kuchar -- the long-hitter finished T11-T8 in his first two attempts at the event. Finau's ownership figures to be a bit more inflated than you'd like to see on a GPP roster, but his dominant ball striking and prowess off the tee is tough to fade on this course and at this price.

Mid-Tier Glue Guys

Byeong-Hun An - $15,000
Kevin Chappell - $14,700
Marc Leishman - $14,500
Shane Lowry - $14,100
Ryan Moore - $13,600

Cash-game Target: Top 10 on Tour in SG: off-the-tee and top 20 in SG: tee-to-green? Sign me up for Byeong-Hun An. The 56th-ranked player in the world is a below-average putter, but that hasn't stopped him from posting three consecutive top-25 finishes and making the cut in every Tour event he has played since last year's PGA Championship. An placed T11 at the Memorial in 2016, and his high floor/ceiling combination makes him a solid play again this year.

GPP Weapon:Lowry might fly under the radar after his missed cut at the PLAYERS Championship, but he finished T6 among a competitive field at the Euro Tour's BMW Championship last week. He owns a dismal track record at Muirfield, missing the cut during his lone appearance at the event in 2013, so why go this direction? Lowry is top-50 on Tour in both driving accuracy and GIR percentage and ranks 40th in proximity from 175-200 yards. Lowry provides great value in this spot with those key stats and is priced just below the average of $14,285 allotted per player.

Hidden Gems

Smylie Kaufman - $13,200
Stewart Cink - $12,900
Graham DeLaet - $12,900
Kevin Streelman - $12,600

Inside Scoop: The invitational structure of the Memorial Tournament involves a 120-entrant field, much smaller than usual PGA Tour events. With a higher percentage of the field making the cut, hitting on lower-priced risks is essential for raking in the big bucks. Kaufman is finally playing quality golf again following a disappointing stretch, and he's coming off finishes of T35-T12-T5 in his last three events. He's also top 50 on Tour in proximity from 175-200 yards out of both the rough and fairway. Cink hasn't missed the cut at Muirfield since 1997, making 18 consecutive cuts in the process. The 44-year-old has posted eight top-30s in 13 events so far throughout his 2017 campaign. DeLaet has finished T26-T21 in his last two appearances at Muirfield, and he's currently top-30 on Tour in both SG: off-the-tee and GIR percentage. If he can avoid the bunkers this week, a top-20 from the Canadian is in the picture. Streelman missed the cut three years in a row from 2012-2014 at the Memorial, but he has since finished T18-T8. He's top-50 on Tour in driving accuracy, and recently ranked fourth among the field in terms of SG: approach-the-green at the DEAN & DELUCA Invitational, where he finished T18.