Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: The Memorial Tournament

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's daily fantasy golf offering.

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. It's a great balance between time to research and time spent tracking your team.

But whether you're brand new to the PGA or daily fantasy sports in general, we have you covered -- and we have daily fantasy golf projections and lineup building tools, too.

Let's take a look at some golfers to target this week.

Key Stats

Muirfield Village is a course that puts added emphasis on irons and wedges, which explains a combined 55.9% of scoring dispersion -- compared to 49.1% at the average Tour course, per datagolf.

Despite the yardage (7,500-plus), distance isn't a prerequisite at Muirfield Village, statistically, and fairways and placement take precedence.

There were renovations here in 2020, and Muirfield Village boasts some of the smallest average greens on the PGA Tour.

Daily Fantasy Golfer Picks for the Memorial Tournament

All stats cited below come from FantasyNational. Strokes gained data includes stats from the past calendar year and is adjusted based on my field strength and recency adjustments. Putting surface splits also come from FantasyNational and include the past 100 rounds when possible, unless noted. All ranks and percentile ranks are among the field.

Best of the Best

Collin Morikawa (FanDuel Salary: $11,600 | Golf odds Win Odds: +1600) - Morikawa won the Workday here in 2020 and in total gained 14.3 strokes from approach in eight rounds at Muirfield Village last year. That makes sense because he should benefit from the way that Muirfield Village sets up: he doesn't have to be long off the tee, he can hit fairways, and then he can use the elite irons (99th percentile) to pepper the small greens when other golfers have a harder time doing just that.

Corey Conners ($10,500 | +3300) - Conners made both cuts at Muirfield Village last year while gaining an average of 5.0 strokes tee to green in those two starts, but the short game can and does hold him back still. He has gained strokes off the tee in 10 of 11 measured events in 2021 and with approach in all of them. We have stars at the top of the board, but some under-salaried studs make a more balanced build appealing.

Others to Consider:
Jon Rahm ($12,300 | +900) - The heavy favorite has elite Muirfield Village history but poor-for-him recent form. Nothing bad to say.
Xander Schauffele ($11,200 | +2000) - Possibly the best play relative to salary. Does it all. Is the only golfer in the 80th percentile or better in all four adjusted strokes gained stats.
Louis Oosthuizen ($10,200 | +4100) - Rates well at a less-than-driver bentgrass course. Has the short game to fare well at Muirfield Village but hasn't quite done it in the past.

Mid-Range Picks

Russell Henley ($9,100 | +6500) - Henley has finished 33rd or better in 3 of 5 starts at the Memorial (6th, cut, cut, 33rd, 29th) and was 7th here at the Workday last summer while gaining 11.0 strokes tee to green. His approach play has been a little spotty for him (2.7, 8.8, -0.4, -0.6, and 3.2), but even the downswings aren't that bad, and the high-end volatility is still there.

Kevin Streelman ($9,500 | +6500) - Streelman's off-the-tee play has been keeping him relevant at all courses, as he has gained in 11 straight measured events, but he benefits at an accuracy-centric course. Streelman's wedge game is what generally keeps him down -- and the putting, too -- but he has 5 top-20s in 10 starts, including a 7th last year at the Workday.

Others to Consider:
Keegan Bradley ($9,700 | +4500) - Tee-to-green game is hot right now (91st percentile the past year); least terrible when putting on bentgrass.
Matt Wallace ($9,300 | + 8000) - Was 39th and 4th at the two events here last year due to elite short game, which fits the profile.
Cameron Tringale ($9,100 | +10000) - Hot and cold career at Muirfield Village but 75th percentile or better in approach, around-the-green, and putting.

Low-Salaried Picks

Brendon Todd ($9,000 | +10000) - Todd has the right game for Muirfield Village in that he is not long off the tee (1st percentile) and is accurate (100th percentile). He also has a great all-around short game and should gain strokes everywhere but off the tee. That works, so long as Muirfield Village plays like usual. The fit has led to good success here, as well: Todd has three top-25s at this course.

Chris Kirk ($8,700 | +10000) - Kirk went from super hot to a little cold with the flip of a switch and has gone cut, cut, 69th over his past three starts -- not very nice. Despite the lack of results, the stats should be right for Kirk: he's 77th percentile in fairways gained, 78th in strokes gained: around the green, and 72nd overall tee to green.

Others to Consider:
Si Woo Kim ($9,000 | +10000) - Made both cuts at Muirfield Village last year; great fit but did withdraw last week.
Talor Gooch ($8,600 | +15000) - Above-average across the board and a 69th-percentile bentgrass putter.
Doug Ghim ($8,600 | +12000) - Has 89th-percentile irons and is accurate with driver (84th percentile); 14th last week from good irons.