The Memorial Tournament DFS Preview

We left the Charles Schwab Challenge a little disappointed, but there were a few bright spots in our strategy. Looks like we will be heading up north to Dublin, Ohio for The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. The big names will be here and it appears that there are around 120 golfers in the field. Jack Nicklaus designed this course, so it will be one that contains tight fairways and difficult second shots. Last week’s winner Jason Kokrak will be absent from the field, but Jordan Spieth is listed in the field. Spieth nearly won the Charles Schwab and will look to redeem himself.

Muirfield Village Golf Club is around 7,500 yards this week, which is a tad longer than last season. They apparently did a lot of renovation by replacing most of the greens and the added length could be a factor. One thing to note about this course is that you do not necessarily want the long bombers…I know that DeChambeau is in the field, but I am strongly recommending fading him. With fast greens, you want a great Approach golfer…maybe even look at Going for the Green Percentage. Whenever I made my lineup, I found myself clicking a lot of the popular names in golf. This is such a traditional course, that you want a great all-around golfer, but the key is truly the second-shot success.

Tier 1: Justin Thomas ($10,200)

Photo Credit: Golf Digest

I don’t pick JT normally, but when I do…it’s at a great price. He is the 5th highest priced golfer in the field. Thomas is 2nd in Approaching the Green and 4th in Going for the Green percentage. He hasn't had a top-10 since winning The Players in March, but this could be a course that gets him cooking again. The price point is pretty wild, considering he is barely more than Hovland and Cantlay. CBS Sports has him at 16/1 to win.

Tier 2: Stewart Cink: ($7,500)

Stewart Cink was so fun to watch winning the RBC Heritage and he has excellent form since to be honest. He has only played in 2 tournaments since, but both results are in the top-40. Cink is also 18th in Approaching the Green. At this price point, he is ranked as a top-35 golfer in the field and I think he’s a bit better than 33rd or so in the field. Do not be shocked to see the vet contending at 100/1.

Tier 3: Russell Knox: ($6,100)

With my form lately, I felt like I needed to go with a veteran in the cheap options and stumbled across this Great Scotsman…Russell Knox. He had 3 consecutive top-40s before missing the cut last week. Knox is pretty close to Cink in Approach at 21st. I had to go cheap in this spot…Russell Henley was priced at $7,200 and I tend to pick Henley as much as I pick Morikawa because of Henley’s scrambling ability, but Knox gives me the ability to choose two $10k golfers.