This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
The Memorial Tournament
Dublin, Ohio
Muirfield Village Golf Club - Par 72 - 7,571 yards
Field - 120 entrants
Purse - $20M
The Preview
Another loaded field embarks on a journey to Jack's place this week, but this time Muirfield Village earns the hosting duties of an officially designated event with a $20M purse to spread among those who stick around for the weekend. Similarly to last week's Charles Schwab Challenge, the invitational nature of the Memorial Tournament features a limited 120-man contingent, which in turn might encourage a stars-and-scrubs approach to lineup building from a DFS perspective, especially with super elites Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm atop the board.
The difficult Muirfield Village Golf Club is known for its small and firm bentgrass greens, which become burdensome to hit in regulation when wayward tee shots find the thick rough that lines these otherwise relatively wide fairways. Adequate long iron play is paramount, as seven par-4s measure between 455 and 503 yards, while all four of the layout's par-3s fall within the 180-220 yard range. Favorable weather conditions are expected throughout the first two rounds before the breeze picks up Saturday and Sunday afternoon, though the par-5s should remain reachable in the heat.
Recent Champions
2022 - Billy Horschel
2021 - Patrick Cantlay
2020 - Jon Rahm
2019 - Patrick Cantlay
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau
2017 - Jason Dufner
2016 - William McGirt
2015 - David Lingmerth
2014 - Hideki Matsuyama
2013 - Matt Kuchar
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Proximity: 150-200 yards
Par-4: 450-500 and Par-5 Efficiency
Bogey Avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $48
Notching his third straight top-5 finish since the AT&T Byron Nelson this past week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Scheffler gained a tournament-best 15 strokes from tee to green while another frustrating flat-stick performance kept him from the winner's circle. He ranked 71st of 72 in SG: Putting, losing a season-low 4.6 strokes on the greens. However, in post-round interviews at Colonial he essentially relayed that it's not a technical nor a comfort issue like it was in April at Augusta, the hole just looks small when even his well-struck putts aren't falling. A $48 Yahoo salary remains very affordable compared to his 6/1 outright odds in the betting market.
Patrick Cantlay - $47
Cantlay actually grades better than Scheffler in SG: Off-the-Tee, P4: 450-500 Efficiency and par-5 scoring over his last 24 measured rounds, as the former lands No. 1 in each of these metrics. Seeking his first win of the 2022-23 season, Cantlay heads to Muirfield Village as a horse for the course with top-4 results in four of his last five outings here, including Memorial Tournament victories in 2019 and 2021. The coveted recent form/course history combination figures to make him an especially popular selection in cash games this week.
Xander Schauffele - $43
Cantlay's best buddy, Xander, has enjoyed four consecutive top-20s of his own at Jack's place, despite lousy showings with the flat stick here in 2020 and 2022 when he lost a combined 6.4 strokes on the greens across these two editions. He gained at least 6.8 strokes from tee to green in all four instances, however, especially excelling with his iron play the past two years. For a more important dive into his last 24 rounds, Schauffele ranks top-5 in Prox: 150-175, bogey avoidance and par-5 efficiency, but the putter also came alive in his last two starts at the Wells Fargo Championship and the PGA Championship en route to finishes of 2-T18.
Glue Guys
Tyrrell Hatton - $36
Hatton finished on the positive side of all five SG subcategories in each of his last three consecutive starts dating to a third-place effort at the Wells Fargo Championship, which is quite an impressive feat as very few players possess the all-around game to flash such consistency across the board. Throughout these past 12 rounds, he's third in SG: T2G and 12th in bogey avoidance. Although he doesn't have much Muirfield experience, he tied for 33rd in his lone appearance back in 2019 when he shot par or better all four rounds and finished T11 in GIR percentage.
Hideki Matsuyama - $35
Rounding back into form since neck issues accompanied his back-to-back missed cuts at the Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year, Matsuyama has posted five straight top-30s from THE PLAYERS through the PGA Championship. The long-iron play remains stout, as expected from Matsuyama, while he's also top-10 in bogey avoidance and par-5 scoring over his last 24 rounds. The past champion won during his Memorial Tournament debut back in 2014 when he gained over eight strokes on approach.
Rickie Fowler - $34
Fowler's first missed cut of 2023 finally came a couple weeks ago at the PGA Championship, albeit by just a shot, but he rebounded nicely with a sixth-place showing at Colonial C.C. where he led the field in SG: Around-the-Green. Over his last 36 rounds, Fowler sits No. 2 in Par-3: 175-200 Efficiency, sixth in SG: APP and top-20 in both Prox: 150-175 and Prox: 175-200 yards. He's made the cut in nine of 13 career appearances at the Memorial Tournament, notably securing a pair of runner-up finishes.
Bargain Bin
Christiaan Bezuidenhout - $25
Seemingly out of thin air, Bezuidenhout found something with his irons at THE PLAYERS Championship in March, and he's now gained an average of 3.95 strokes approaching the green per tournament throughout his last six events. The South African also has gained north of two strokes putting in five of these starts, guiding him to five top-30s. Bezuidenhout is fourth in SG: APP and ninth in Prox: 175-200 over his last 24 rounds, and he's 2-for-2 in cuts made at the Memorial.
Byeong Hun An - $20
An strung together four consecutive top-25s at the Memorial Tournament from 2016 to 2019, including a T2 in 2018 when he ranked third among the field in SG: T2G. The putter has gone cold as of late, but he still managed to place T14-T21 at the AT&T Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge despite losing a collective 6.5 strokes on the green. An's driving distance is certainly an admirable asset, but he's also second on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green and fourth in sand save percentage this season. Additionally, he's fifth in P4: 450-500 Efficiency, sixth in scrambling and 11th in SG: OTT over his last 24 rounds.
Austin Eckroat - $20
Just two weeks after posting the best finish of his young PGA Tour career with a T2 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, Eckroat returned to Texas for another top-20 performance at the Charles Schwab Challenge where he paced the field in driving accuracy during his Colonial C.C. debut. He's now gained strokes off the tee in five straight starts, and he's 10th in P4: 450-500 Efficiency over his last 24 rounds. Eckroat has gained at least 2.4 strokes with his irons in three consecutive outings, and he's top-5 in each of Prox: 150-175, Prox: 175-200 and Prox: 200-plus across this recent 12-round stretch.
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