PGA DFS Picks: Bailey's Brief Breakdown of the Memorial Tournament

I get it. These days we’re all pressed for time and busy trying to life hack our way to an optimal lifestyle.

So here’s my new series: Bailey’s Brief Breakdown.

Lots of information in DFS content is just there to justify the players we like – and maybe that’s why some of you are here – to confirm your biases. Or maybe not.

Anyway, the purpose of this article is to give you a stripped-down look at some of the players I like for a given slate — ideally in 500 words or less — or with as much brevity as humanly possible.

And maybe throw in some random bits of information that I’ve found useful or interesting that aren’t related to DFS at all.

This could pertain to health, fitness, lifestyle, golf, and any other unsolicited advice or recommendation you can think of.

I’ve had a strong start to the season with one ticket to the DraftKings FGWC (during THE PLAYERS Championship), but I’m still hoping to ship a few more.

So let’s get into it!

If you missed it, we added two new metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.

The cliff notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.

And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.

Note: I’m a GPP-only player for PGA. Data Golf’s True Strokes Gained metrics over the last six months unless otherwise specified.

Top Shelf PGA DFS Picks ($10,000+ DraftKings Picks)

Scottie Scheffler ($11,300)

Nothing really needs to be said here. Landon dives deeper into Scottie in his conviction plays.

Patrick Cantlay ($10,500)

Cantlay has historically dominated at this course and has the second-best Perfect% in our sims — he also ranks fourth in True Total Strokes Gained.

Leverage: Rory McIlroy — slate-high SimLeverage.

Other players: Xander Schauffele

Lay Up ($9,000-$9,900 DraftKings Picks)

Sungjae Im ($9,100)

Sungjae has uncharacteristically missed two cuts in a row. Given his overall talent, progression should be heading his way. He has the sixth-highest SimLeverage in our sims, and he ranks 13th in True Total Strokes Gained.

Leverage: Collin Morikawa — second-highest SimLeverage.

Other players: Tyrrell Hatton, Jason Day

Between Clubs ($8,000-$8,900 DraftKings Picks)

Corey Conners ($8,300)

With driving accuracy important this week, Conners is a solid play. He ranks 13th in True Strokes Gained: Approach and 12th in True Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee.

Leverage: Hideki Matsuyama — highest SimLeverage in this price range.

Other players: Si Woo Kim, Sahith Theegala

Chip Shot ($7,000-$7,900 DraftKings Picks)

Russell Henley ($7,900)

Henley seems rather cheep(ish) for someone who ranks 18th in True Total Strokes Gained and 20th in our Perfect% metric.

Chris Kirk ($7,400)

Kirk is about neutral in our SimLeverage metric, projecting for around 7-8% ownership this week. Kirk has comparable metrics to Henley (17th in True Total Strokes Gained), but he’s priced $500 cheaper.

Leverage: Cam Davis (fourth in SimLeverage), Ryan Fox (fifth in SimLeverage)

Other players: Matt Kuchar, Denny McCarthy

From the Deep Rough (Under $7,000 DraftKings Picks)

Most golfers under $7,000 don’t turn into chalk very often. I like to have a few in consideration each week because you’re maybe giving up 5-8% of made-cut equity (vs. the $7K range), but you’re able to squeeze in more win equity elsewhere.

Over a large enough sample, I tend to think there isn’t a big difference between someone who is $6,800 and someone in the low-to-mid $7,000 range, but you’re getting a massive ownership discount with the former most weeks.

How I rank them (in order of preference)

Andrew Putnam
Aaron Rai
Matthew NeSmith

Unsolicited Advice or Recommendation (No. 1)

I’m not a big swing tinkerer, but Eric Cogorno may be one of the best people on YouTube who can break down golf instruction in the simplest terms.

Note: I have no affiliation and receive zero kickback with anything recommended here.