After a week where there was a fairly clear top of the pricing list at the Charles Schwab, we now have a mix of elite players in a top notch field at the Memorial. We have 18 of the Top 25 in the Official World Golf Rankings (assuming the pro/am and media WD of Rory McIlroy doesn’t carry over to the tournament) ready to tee it up this week at Jack’s tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
As usual you can find the prep articles for the week on Fantasy Labs with my course preview and Landon’s cash game article. Matt Vincenzi also has his stats that matter article available on Action Network. All of these set things up well for the week ahead, and will help you frame an outline for your DFS plays this week.
Our target contest this week will be the main $20 $1M Pitch + Putt with $250,000 to first. The payout structure overall has a much more reasonable and flat payout structure than we are used to for these large tournaments, which is a nice change for the week. Let’s get right into the picks in an effort to win the big prize.
Top Tier
Collin Morikawa ($10,400 DK/$11,600 FD)
There are a lot of ways to go this week, especially at the top, but my favorite play is going to be with Collin Morikawa. He is an elite ball striker in every sense of the word and approach play is the key on nearly every Jack Nicklaus track, so I will be erring on the side of iron play this week.
While Morikawa has noted struggles on the greens, two of his best performances have been on Nicklaus courses. One of those was on this course at Muirfiled Village for the Workday event he won the week prior to the Memorial. He gained 4.7 strokes that week, before losing more than 8 during this event last year, but I am willing to forgive the kid for that off of his first career TOUR win. His putting is something that will clearly be up and down at times throughout his career, but the weeks he’s on or even field average, we can expect to see him near the top of the leaderboard.
Hideki Matsuyama ($9,400 DK/$10,900 FD)
One of my favorite plays this week is with the current Masters Champion, Hideki Matsuyama. He came back after his first major in the same form he had leading during his week at Augusta. He gained 5.8 strokes with his ball striking at the Byron Nelson in his first event back, then followed it up with 8.9 gained at the PGA Championship.
Hideki could be in a scenario where the Masters win opens the floodgates to his game allowing him to play freely and start to consistently contend. He also falls in a range just below a bunch of chalk in Xander and Cantlay. Everything is aligning for Matsuyama to be a solid play this week.
Tony Finau ($9,200 DK/$10,800 FD)
My pick to win this week is Tony Finau. I’ll give you a minute to digest that and possibly stop laughing before I give you where I’m coming from with this.
Finau was one of the best players in the field tee to green last week at Colonial Country Club as he gained more than nine strokes tee to green on the week, including 8.2 with his ball striking. He gave more than half of those strokes back with his putting during the Charles Schwab, but his preference for bentgrass greens has me coming back to Tony this week. He always seems to contend in elite fields and around tough courses, both of which fit the mold at Memorial.
Patrick Reed ($9,100 DK/$10,600 FD)
I am going to try to jam in as many players as I can above $9,000 on DraftKings, so this week we get an extra pick up top. It comes with Patrick Reed who is the grinding type of player that can find success at Memorial. He missed the cut last week on the number at Colonial, but we often find him bounce back with success off of poor weeks. I’m making a play on that happening again this week, and on a course where everyone will miss these firm greens, I love his around the green game to help make him a contender throughout the weekend.
Mid Tier
Charley Hoffman ($8,300 DK/$9,800 FD)
One of the best players over the past few months on TOUR has consistently been Charley Hoffman. He hasn’t had a single finish outside of the Top 20 since the start of April, and has two Top 3 finishes in that timeframe. I know he will be a popular pick this week, especially priced at the midrange, but it’s hard to ignore the results and he’s some of the chalk I am willing to eat this week.
Sungjae Im ($8,200 DK/$9,800 FD)
We have reached a point where Sungjae Im has fallen into the midrange and it’s understandable with the way he has been up and down lately. He missed the cut in a similar fashion to Reed at the Charles Schwab, and he will be looking to bounceback this week.
The talent is there for Sungjae, but it’s been consistency he’s been lacking. This is part of what makes him an ideal GPP play this week, as he has every opportunity to bounceback with another Top 20 in the same way he has alternated up and down weeks throughout the year.
Stewart Cink ($7,500 DK/$8,900 FD)
I posted on twitter last night as I was doing my research for this article that Cink has lost strokes on approach in 3 ROUNDS since the beginning of February. He has posted positive strokes gained with his irons in 18 of his past 21 rounds on TOUR, and it’s simply too good to ignore on a week that is so reliant on approach play. He’s someone I feel good about, and has shown the upside that others may lack in this same price range.
Value Plays
Matt Wallace ($7,400 DK/$9,300 FD)
The recent run of great form for Matt Wallace is showing some signs of slipping, but he is a high quality player that sets up well to handle the conditions at Muirfiled Village. I will go back to the well here because the price is too good to pass up with the way he has played over the past few months. He’s also the grinding type that will have the short game to keep himself in holes and in position to save par, which is a vital characteristic at this event.
Aaron Wise ($7,000 DK/$8,700 FD)
I could argue that the one player with more upside than most other names in this price range is Aaron Wise. Like many of the young players on TOUR his short game is the biggest question, but in weeks it shows up he can compete throughout the weekend. His ball striking has been some of the sharpest of late and he put it to the test and passed with flying colors in the elite field at the PGA. Wise gained 3.6 strokes on approach that week, and was sharp throughout his short game. If he can do that again this week, he will smash his value.
K.H. Lee ($7,000 DK/$8,200 FD)
Lee got his first win on TOUR as the Byron Nelson a few weeks back, so I am willing to forgive him for lackluster results the following week at the PGA. He took last week off and should come into this event refreshed and with a game that at the very least can find the weekend. K.H. has been remarkably consistent this season, and his approach play has been the key, alongside a good around the green game. He makes for an interesting and reliable play in the low range this week at Muirfield Village.
Sleepers
Henrik Norlander ($6,400 DK/$7,800 FD)
If you look past all of the really poor off the tee numbers, you’ll find some good form on approach for Norlander. As I have mentioned before, in these low price tiers, I’m looking for something to latch onto and the iron play is that aspect with Norlander. He’s a player that can run hot with his irons and be a contender to make the weekend.
Kyle Stanley ($6,100 DK/$8,800 FD)
This play is a sleeper only in price, as no one is actually sleeping on Stanley based on his course history, three consecutive made cuts and a T8 at Colonial. He’s as much of a free square as they come, arguably mis-priced by more than $1,000. Now, that being said, there is no sure thing in golf when half the field doesn’t play the full event, so use this spot wisely but don’t over do it for a player that will likely get to 15% owned at nearly minimum price.
