GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper for The Memorial

Which golfers can we trust this week for the Memorial at Muirfield Village?

By now, you've probably dabbled in daily fantasy sports, but if not, don't worry. Now is a great time to start, especially with FanDuel now offering a revamped version of PGA golf.

Golf can be one of the most exciting DFS sports to follow, as tournaments span four days and allow ample time to prepare each week, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the basics of building a lineup on FanDuel, the scoring setup, and advanced stats to know about the PGA.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target for the Memorial.

Stats to Target

Based on the course makeup and field for Muirfield Village, these are some of the most vital stats to target this week. For a more detailed explanation why, check out our course primer for this week.

Key Stats for the Memorial at Muirfield Village
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Scrambling
Greens in Regulation Percentage
Sand Saves
Bogey Avoidance


So, who has the right combination of stats, recent form, course history, and salary this week?

Best of the Best

Jon Rahm (FanDuel Price: $10,800) - Rahm is a full $1,000 cheaper than Dustin Johnson. Rahm's win odds (12/1, per bet365) aren't on par with DJ's (6/1), but his stats compare to anyone. Rahm sits 11th in the field in driving distance, 10th in greens in regulation, 6th in scrambling, 4th in birdie or better rate, 9th in bogey avoidance, and 2nd in strokes gained: tee to green. You'll need some value picks to fit him in, though that makes him ripe for a tournament roster.

Hideki Matsuyama ($9,800) - Matsuyama missed the cut last year but tied for fifth in 2015 and won this event in 2014. He's 16th in distance off the tee, 8th in greens in regulation, 7th in scrambling, 3rd in birdie or better, 6th in bogey avoidance, and 5th in strokes gained: tee to green in the field. The putting is the issue, as he's 91st in strokes gained: putting on the season among qualified players in the field. However, at 16/1 and with potentially wet, slow greens, the former Memorial winner could be right at the top of the leaderboard again.

Rickie Fowler ($9,300) - Fowler has three straight missed cuts at Muirfield, and that's an issue, but his price is reasonable. Fowler is 19th in distance, 15th in accuracy, 21st in greens in regulation, 12th in scrambling, 5th in birdie or better, 11th in bogey avoidance, 7th in strokes gained: tee to green and 3rd in strokes gained: putting. The odds aren't in his favor at 28/1, and that could finally lower his ownership enough to feel confident with him in tournaments.

Matt Kuchar ($9,500) - Kuchar missed the cut at Muirfield just once in 11 attempts, back in 2003. In his 10 made cuts, he has 8 top 25s and 6 top 10s. With the new format, you need as many of your eight golfers to make the cut as possible. At $9,500, Kuchar is pricey, but he looks safer than a guy like Fowler at $9,300. Getting guys through the cut is going to be the key to good DFS outings. Kuchar at 28/1 to win should check that box.

Mid-Range Options

Byeong Hun An ($7,500) - An ranks 11th in the field in strokes gained: tee to green and 7th in strokes gained: off the tee, mitigating the fact that he's just 80th in driving accuracy. His only missed cut in 14 events was at the Zurich, which we can overlook, given the format. He missed just four cuts last season: the PGA Championship, THE PLAYERS, the Wells Fargo, and the Masters. The extended form is strong, and he is coming off consecutive top-eight finishes.

Brendan Steele ($7,300) - Steele is the top scrambler on the PGA Tour and owns the best bogey avoidance rate of all players in the field this week. He's also ninth in strokes gained: tee to green in the field. Like An, the Zurich is his only missed cut of the season. He's racked up seven top 25s and four top 10s on the year. Steele is playing well and making cuts by avoiding bogeys and saving pars when missing greens in regulation.

Marc Leishman ($7,300) - Leishman ranks 35th in the field in greens in regulation, 16th in scrambling, 19th in birdie or better, 18th in bogey avoidance, 16th in strokes gained: tee to green, and 17th in strokes gained: putting. Whew. He's 70/1 to win, which isn't great, but the discount is really nice here. Leishman has made seven of eight cuts at Muirfield in his career but owns just two top 25s. Still, the consistency is welcomed in the eight-man-lineup format.

Charl Schwartzel ($6,900) - This range is littered with somewhat viable options, so Schwartzel is pretty interesting from a tournament perspective. He's made eight of nine cuts at Muirfield and turned those into five top 25s and a pair of top 10s. Surrounding the missed cut in 2015, he was 11th in 2016 and T8 in 2013 and 2014. He withdrew last week because of a wrist injury but seems fine. The course form, injury, and price should make him a tournament option.

Low-Priced Picks

Patrick Cantlay ($6,600) - Cantlay is a sturdy 50/1 to win, odds you don't really find at this price. Cantlay has been on fire lately, finishing each of his six tournaments this year, including a T22 at THE PLAYERS, a T3 at the Heritage, and 2 at the Valspar. He should be popular, but he's still probably worth it at this salary.

Sung Kang ($6,400) - Kang is 15th in the field in scrambling and 30th in greens in regulation. His other stats are strong, too, and that includes a rough start to the season. He's made seven of his past eight cuts (the missed cut was the Zurich), and he's a fine value play this week.

Nick Taylor ($5,500) - Cantlay, Kang, Smylie Kaufman ($6,100) and Kyle Stanley ($6,100) are probably the premier value plays on the slate, but you can also look at Taylor at $5,500. Taylor sits 10th in scrambling and 28th in bogey avoidance, though he did miss the cut in 2015 here, his only visit to Muirfield. However, he was T61 last week, T9 at the Byron Nelson, and T8 at the Wells Fargo.

Brian Stuard ($4,800) - Stuard leads the field in driving accuracy and is fifth in good drive rate. He's also 14th in scrambling. Stuard costs you $7,100 on DraftKings, so there's some arbitrage to be found on FanDuel. The real issue is consistency: he's made 14 of 22 cuts and is never a safe bet to play the weekend. Perhaps he squeaks through with the thinner field. After all, he finished T69 and T61 here the past two years after two missed cuts at Muirfield.