Another week of PGA Daily Fantasy picks for DraftKings as we head to Muirfield Village for the Memorial Tournament – it’s Jack’s tournament. It was a wild week as the Byron Nelson was deluged with rain. I don’t think we’ll see the same issues this week, but who knows! I’m back again to provide daily fantasy golf picks for DraftKings’ PGA game.

It’s a great week to check out DraftKings as they have some top notch contests. Come on over and take a look.

Tour Stop

This week we tee it up at Muirfield Village Golf Club, a 7,392 yard, par 72 course for the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Muirfield first opened in 1974 and Jack Nicklaus named the club for Muirfield in Scotland where he won his first British Open title. This is one of the more difficult courses outside of the majors and as a result we’ll see a lot of premium players on the course.

Nicklaus has also designed Dove Mountain (WGC Match Play) and PGA National (Honda Classic) so players who play well at those courses are also options this week. You can also look at players who do well at the RBC Heritage (played at Harbour Town) as that is a Nicklaus/Pete Dye design as well. Nicklaus wanted to mirror some of the features of Augusta as well at Muirfield so we can look to Masters’ results too.

The weather for this week looks like will probably avoid rain and may even stay dry for the entire weekend. There is still a shot for some rain Friday afternoon so keep checking back to see if the rain becomes more of a reality.

Scorecard breakdown: Four (4) par threes, ten (10) par fours and four (4) par fives. We are back to a the standard layout and breakdown. And the four easiest holes (by scoring average since 1976) are the four par 5s.

Field

It’s a strong field with 15 of the top 25 in OWGR expected to play this week. Tiger Woods is back at a course where he’s won five times. And it is a small field again (only 120 players), but the cut rules don’t change so the top 70 plus ties will make it through this week. A stars and scrubs lineup can be quite successful this week.

The full field can be found here.

Thanks to GolfOdds.com for the odds this week. If you’d like to see a second set of odds, check out the Betting Zone’s odds here – just click on this week’s tournament on the left hand pane.

Past Tournament Results

2014 Winner: Hideki Matsuyama picked up the win in a playoff with Kevin Na. Matsuyama birdied 18 to force the playoff and then won on the first hole of extra time. Matsuyama won in his debut at the Memorial – only the second player to do so in the tournament’s history.

Also remember that the 2013 Presidents’ Cup was held here so some players have seen this course a bit more than others. You can check out the results here. Matsuyama was first in proximity to the hole and T11 in driving accuracy, 39th in driving distance, T22 in GIR, T20 in scrambling and 46th in SG: Putting.

In 2013, Matt Kuchar won by finishing first in GIR, second in SG: Putting, 38th in driving distance, T37 in driving accuracy, T21 in proximity to the hold and 18th in scrambling.

 

Statistical Review

Nicklaus tinkers with the course every year but doesn’t usually make wholesale changes. So the history here is useful and history tells us we need premium players who drive the ball far and accurately. We also want to focus on par 5 scorers as well as the par 3s and par 4s are tough.

Driving accuracy – The list of winners is littered with shorter drivers so distance isn’t quite as important, but accuracy is the key to stay out of the trouble that lurks.

Par 5 Scoring – These four par 5s are the four easiest holes on the course and the players will need to crush them this week to have a shot at winning.

GIR – Got to get that second shot in play.

Three putt avoidance – This is the first time we’re looking at this stat, but you need players who aren’t going to give up strokes on the greens because there aren’t a lot of ways to get those strokes back.

As always, you should examine Strokes Gained: Putting and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green every week.

DraftKings Expert Picks

Jordan Spieth | $12,500 – Spieth has finished T63 and T19 in his two trips to Jack’s tournament. It’s not too surprising that Spieth’s profile fits the course well (not sure there is a course where it doesn’t). He’s third in 3 putt avoidance, 39th in par 5 scoring, 62nd in GIR though he’s a mediocre 87th in driving accuracy. He had his worst finish of 2015 last week at the Byron Nelson (when he made the cut) so maybe he’s slowing down?

Dustin Johnson | $12,000 – Johnson is an inaccurate bomber so he likely isn’t one to succeed at Jack’s course which requires a complete game from the player. However, he’s made six of seven cuts at Muirfield including a top 10. But, there are better spots to use DJ than this week in my opinion. He looked great last week at the Byron Nelson until stumbling on Sunday.

Justin Rose | $11,600 – Rose is the definition of up and down at this tournament. Since 2008, he’s finished T2, missed cut, WIN, missed cut, solo eighth, T8, missed cut. That’s four top five finishes and three missed cuts. He’s a GPP option this week as he’s either going to finish in the top 10 or crash out on Friday.

Hideki Matsuyama | $11,500 – I generally don’t target the prior year’s champion in any tournament, but Matsuyama may be too much to pass up this week. Statistical analysis loves him (11th in par 5 scoring, ninth in GIR, and 49th in driving accuracy). He obviously can win here (duh!) and comes in playing well without a finished outside the top 25 since missing the cut at the Farmers in early February.

Rickie Fowler | $11,200 – Fowler missed the cut here last year, the first time he’s missed in five trips. Fowler is always a tough call for me – he should play well here as he’s geared his games for the majors and this course plays as tough (and tougher) than major courses. He won at the PLAYERS and picked up a T12 at the Masters. He even slogged to a T30 at the Irish Open last week. So, you’re using him this week if you believe in his majors’ mojo.

Phil Mickelson | $11,100 – Mickelson has shown solid form lately as he sandwiched two top five finishes around a missed cut in his last three starts. He played pretty well at the Honda this year (T17) and he has made 11 of 14 cuts at Jack’s tournament with back to back top 15 finishes in 2010 and 2011.

Matt Kuchar | $11,000 – Of the players in this year’s field, Kuchar’s record is probably second only to Tiger Woods’. Kuchar has played nine times, made eight cuts (only miss back in 2003) and finished in the top 10 five times including a win in 2013. In fact his T15 is this second worst finish ever at the course with his T32 in his debut being the only finish lower.

Jim Furyk | $10,900 – Furyk’s record here rivals Matt Kuchar’s with 18 cuts made in 19 trips (missed in 2011) including six top 10 finishes. He won here way back in 2002 and his recent history (T13, T21 and T19) point more to a top 20 finish than a win. That said, he’s a steady golfer whose form is a bit off (missed cut and T56 in his last two tournaments) and may not be everyone’s top choice. I see him righting the ship this week at a course he’s succeeded at previously.

Jason Day | $10,800 – Day withdrew last week with dizziness. If he’s healthy though, he has to be considered. Day lives in the Muirfield Village community. He’s four of six in cuts made here, but has never been better than a T27. For this price, you’d probably like to see him healthy for a week before investing.

Chris Kirk | $10,300 – Kirk has made two cuts and missed two cuts in his four trips to the Memorial with his best finish a T4 last year. Kirk is a streaky player and it looks like he’s in one of his good streaks as he put up a T13 at the PLAYERS and a win at the Crowne Plaza. Kirk’s profile also fits pretty well with his standing at 49th in 3 putt avoidance and 22nd in par 5 scoring. However, he struggles off the tee (105th), but I’m not concerned because when Kirk is clicking throw the stats out the window.

Tiger Woods | $10,000 – If you know which Tiger is going to show up, then you are better than I. He’s owned this course in the past with five wins. He’s never missed the cut in 14 trips and has eight top 10 finishes. He didn’t tee it up here last year, but in 2013 he finished T65. He could win it all or finish last. He could be an option for GPPs, but I’m not touching him. He’s working toward the majors and I don’t want to be part of the development plan.

Bill Haas | $9,200 – Haas’ comes into the Memorial with back to back top 10s here the last two years. Hes’s also 22nd in par 5 scoring, 55th in GIR and 89th in driving accuracy. Those stats are passable. He’s made four straight stroke play cuts though struggled to a T68 his last time out.

Kevin Na | $9,000 – He’s a bit cheaper than most “studs”, but he deserves to be there as he’s run off seven (!) top 20 finishes on tour and lost the playoff to Matsuyama here last year. He doesn’t have much of a track record outside of that finish last year, but there isn’t a more consistently hot golfer than Na right now.

Billy Horschel | $8,800 – Horschel’s played Muirfield twice and was T41 in his first trip and backed that up with a T15 last year. His profile has some attractive pieces with a 10th spot in GIR and 62nd in driving accuracy. He also put up a T13 in his last time out at the PLAYERS in a similarly stacked field.

Patrick Reed | $8,700 – Reed smokes par 5s (16th overall) and does well to avoid 3 putts (22nd), but he struggles with accuracy and making it to the green in a timely fashion. It’s his first time here, but he’s performed relatively well at Harbour Town and PGA National so he could have a shot. He’s a GPP option for me this week as his volatility is too much to risk in cash games.

Gary Woodland | $8,600 – Woodland’s statistical profile is a bit worse than Reed’s but Woodland has played here four times, seen the weekend three times and picked up a top 10 along the way. Again, much like Reed, I like Woodland for GPPs this week because he can go top 10 or he can go up in flames.

Charley Hoffman | $8,400 – Withdrew on Monday so I would suggest you not put him in your lineup. #analysis

Brendon Todd | $8,400 – Todd made his first trip here last week and made mincemeat out of the course picking up a T8. He also put up a solo fourth at the RBC Heritage this year. He comes in on a bit of a tough run since that solo fourth as he lost all three matches at the WGC Match Play and then put up T51, T43 and missed cut in his last three tour stops. He’s 14th in driving accuracy, 77th in par 5 scoring and 89th in GIR so he’s got a profile that could work here.

Nick Watney | $8300 – Let’s hop back on this train this week even though I was wrong about him last week. He’s got the 31st best chance to win this week, but ranks 19th in salary – the biggest in the top 35 odds favorites. He’s four of seven in cuts made at Muirfield, but has no top 10 finishes.

Kevin Kisner | $8,200 – Kisner’s salary falls just below the “average” golfer on DraftKings but he’s been far better than average recently. He made his only start at the Memorial last year and finished T46. His profile is great (rates seventh this week for all Tour players) as he sits sixth in 3 putt avoidance, 32nd in par 5 scoring, 84th in GIR, and 34th in driving accuracy. He’s had three top 5 finishes (including losing in two playoffs) in his last five tournament stops so there aren’t many hotter than Kisner.

Ryan Moore | $8,100 – Moore has made five straight cuts at the Memorial and picked up three top 20 finishes in those five trips. He has a solid profile sitting 21st in 3 putt avoidance, 62nd in par 5 scoring, and 18th in driving accuracy. He’s only 100th in GIR, but he has other skills to overcome that short coming. His form isn’t great as he was T47 last time out at the Wells Fargo, missed the cut at the PLAYERS and lost all three matches at the WGC Match Play.

Tommy Fleetwood | $8,100 – It is odd to see Fleetwood elevated to such a high perch on DraftKings. He’s never played the Memorial previously though he comes in playing well missing only two cuts this season while playing almost exclusively on the European Tour. He’s only 75th in driving accuracy on the European Tour and he sits a miserable 112th in scoring average so I can’t see him having success in his maiden trip around the course.

Ben Martin | $8,000 – Martin visited Muirfield for the first time last year and ended up T49. He’s also made four cuts out of four trips combined to the Honda Classic and RBC Heritage. He’s an accurate driver of the ball (35th) and gets to the green promptly (13th) while doing fairly well on par 5s (62nd). He’s made five of six stroke play event cuts with his only miss at the Masters so he’s a solid play on all fronts.

Brooks Koepka | $8000 – I can’t resist Mr. Koepka especially at this price. He’s making his debut here, so don’t expect a win, but he’s seventh in par 5 scoring, 33rd in GIR, and a reasonable 75th in 3 putt avoidance. His struggles with accuracy off the tee could be his undoing, remember he’s the 23rd ranked player in the world. Bet you didn’t know that.

Jason Dufner | $7,900 – Dufner missed the cut in his first two trips to Muirfield. But that was a long time ago and he was T19 last year. Moreover, he played extremely well at the Presidents’ Cup played here in 2013 picking up three out of a possible four points in his four matches. He comes in off his best finish of the season a T8 at the Byron Nelson last week. He’s also never missed a cut at the Honda Classic (in six trips to PGA National) and made six straight cuts at Harbour Town. Muirfield is the type of course Dufner plays well at irrespective of his current form.

Keegan Bradley | $7,800 – Bradley has a profile that should work at the Memorial. He’s 32nd in par 5 scoring, 53rd in GIR and 57th in driving accuracy while sitting 92nd in 3 putt avoidance. He’s played Jack’s tournament four times and has made the cut the last two years. Keegan has made six of the last seven cuts in stroke play events this year (with three straight T22 finishes). He’s got three top 15 finishes at the Honda in five shots at the Nicklaus-designed course.

Harris English | $7,800 – English is one of my favorites this week as he just seems fit for this tournament. He’s 39th in par 5 scoring, 29th in 3 putt avoidance as well as GIR. He’s only played here once and finished T62 in 2012. He did miss the cut at the Honda this year, but performed well in the last two years at the WGC. He’s been up and down as of late missing two of this last three cuts in stroke play events.

Robert Streb | $7,700 – Streb finished T28 here last year in his first trip to Muirfield. His statistical profile fits in all facets. He’s made three cuts in a row after stumbling through much of April.

Pat Perez | $7,500 – Perez is six for 11 in cuts made at the Memorial, but dig a little deeper and see he missed his first five cuts and has made his last six with three top 25 finishes. He’s in fantastic form having missed just one cut in 2015.

Troy Merritt | $7,400 – Merritt missed the cut in his only trip here in 2010. He’s a relatively accurate driver (68th in driving accuracy) of the ball and a good putter (21st in 3 putt avoidance). His third place finish at the RBC this year gets me a little bit excited for his chances this week.

Jason Bohn | $7,300 – Bohn sits third in my statistical analysis (and first overall in players actually playing in this tournament. He’s eighth in three putt avoidance, 39th in par 5 scoring, 11th in GIR and sixth in driving accuracy. He’s only made three of six cuts here (and missed last year) with just one top 20 to show for his efforts. He’s coming in off back to back top 10 finishes so his form couldn’t be better.

Francesco Molinari | $7,300 – Molinari comes back to the States this week as he gears up for the U.S. Open. His time back “home” was profitable as he put up a T2 at the Spanish Open and a solo fifth at the BMW PGA Championship. He struggled last week to a T51 at the Irish Open, but let’s throw that result out as the weather was less than favorable. Molinari’s statistical profile puts him at the top of my list as he’s ninth in 3 putt avoidance, 39th in par 5 scoring, 14th in GIR and first in driving accuracy. He won’t win (debutants just don’t win here), but his game fits.

Charl Schwartzel | $7,300 – Schwartzel has an enviable record at Jack’s tournament. He has back to back T8 finishes here and has been in the top 25 each of the last four years. The problem is Schwartzel’s current form is well, not great. He put up a T78 at the Byron Nelson, missed the Wells Fargo cut and went T51 at the PLAYERS. In fact his last finish in a stroke play even better than T38 was his T9 in Abu Dhabi in mid-January. You have to believe strongly in course history to roster Schwartzel.

Stewart Cink | $7,300 – Cink is an incredible 17 of 18 in cuts made at the Memorial with six top 10 finishes. He’s in off a T20 at the Wells Fargo and has solid if unspectacular records at the Honda and the RBC Heritage. He’s third in GIR and an surprising (to me) 87th in par 5 scoring.

David Hearn | $7,200 – Hearn is the Steady Eddie of the course. He’s played three times. Made the cut three times and finished no worse than T28 and no better than T21. He struggles on par 5s (150th overall), but that hasn’t hurt him in his three prior treks around Muirfield. The rest of his game fits and his record is hard to ignore.

K.J. Choi | $7,200 – Choi is the Korean David Hearn (or something like that). He’s made 14 of 15 cuts at the Memorial and has three top 10 finishes. In his last four years here, he’s finished T22, T19, T21 and T28. Another top 25 should be in his future. He won back in 2007.

Justin Thomas | $7,200 – Thomas debuted on this course last year and put up a respectable T37. He scalds par 5s (second overall on Tour this year) and his 60th spot in GIR as well as 70th in driving accuracy set him up well to succeed this week. Vegas agrees making him the 21st option based on odds, while DraftKings shows the rookie disrespect putting him 52nd in salary.

Rory Sabbatini | $7,200 – Sabbatini does well on par 5s (39th) and sits 33rd in GIR so he can play here. He missed the cut last year at the Memorial but has made seven of nine overall and had a top 10 and was a consistent top 20 finisher for years. After stumbling for a bit in March and April, he seems to be back on track with three cuts made in his last four and two top 10s. He’s also had big success at the Honda and the RBC.

Steve Stricker | $7,100 – Stricker is 25th in odds to win the tournament his week, but buried 30 spots lower in 55th in DraftKings’ salary. He’s made 13 of 14 cuts at Jack’s tournament. Interestingly, the veteran has only two top 10s and they’ve both occurred in his last three trips (over four years). He was T6 last year and won it all back in 2011. He hasn’t played enough rounds to qualify for the statistical rankings, but if you look back at his last full year on tour (2013), he rated #2 in par 5 scoring, third in driving accuracy, and second in GIR. He’s a man made for this course.

Daniel Berger | $7,000 – Berger makes his first trek to the Memorial to visit with Jack Nicklaus and all of his friends. He’s alternated made and missed cuts in his last five tour stops though inconsistency is to be expected from the young man. He put up a second place finish at the Honda (losing in a playoff). He’s 16th in par 5 scoring and 23rd in GIR. He struggles with accuracy off the tee (112th), but the hope is his solid scrambling makes up for it. Vegas sure thinks he will putting him at 27th in aggregate odds while DraftKings dumps him all the way down to 66th – a difference of 39 spots.

Shawn Stefani | $6,800 – Stefani makes his debut at the Memorial, but if stats are a guide, he should have a successful first trip. He’s 29th in three put avoidance, 16th in par 5 scoring, 28th in GIR and a middling 99th in driving accuracy. He has back to back top 20 finishes on tour and hasn’t been outside of the top 26 in his last seven tournaments except for the PLAYERS where he missed the cut. Vegas likes him to perform well with a spot at 39, while DraftKings sinks him to 76th in salary.

Brendon de Jonge | $6,800 – de Jonge’s statistical profile fits well this week as he’s 17th in 3 putt avoidance, 38th in GIR, and 22nd in driving accuracy. He is only 87th in par 5 scoring, but that hasn’t stopped him from making four of five cuts at the Memorial. He finished T28 last year and comes in with four top 25 finishes in his last six tour stops.

Colt Knost | $6,600 – Knost has back to back top 10 finishes on Tour. Read that again. Yep, top 10 finishes in back to back tourneys. He’s missed the cut both times he’s played here, but hasn’t played here since 2010. Knost is ninth in 3 putt avoidance, a respectable (for such a short hitter) 99th in par 5 scoring, 49th in GIR, and seventh in driving accuracy. His current form makes him an option this week with a game to fit.

Bo Van Pelt | $6,400 – Van Pelt has quite the record at the Memorial. He is nine for 11 in cuts made and even has two top 10 finishes. His worst finish in the last five year was a T21 in 2013. However, he’s in a run of poor form since his T9 at Harbour Town for the RBC. He’s made three of five cuts with his best finish a T30 at the PLAYERS.

Scott Stallings | $6,300 – Stallings has made the weekend in each of his four trips to the Memorial including three top 25 finishes. And that is just about all he has going for him as he’s missed five of his last seven cuts on Tour. But, there are horses for courses and he’s one.

Wiliam McGirt | $6,300 – McGirt has a T37 and missed cut in his two times out to Muirfield. However, his statistical profile looks tasty with his 28th spot in 3 putt avoidance, 32nd in par 5 scoring, 52nd in GIR, and 28th in driving accuracy. So, he looks like he should be able to find his way around the course successfully. He’s made cuts in back to back weeks and also posted a T31 at Harbour Town and T22 at Honda this year so he’s got a shot at a top 25 here if it all falls into place.

Camilo Villegas | $6,100 – Villegas has made seven of eight cuts at the Memorial, but his best finish is T28. When you look at this statistical profile, there is nothing to hang your hat on. However, if you dig into his history at the Honda and the RBC you see a glimmer of hope. He’s won at the Honda (and missed a few cuts as well). He’s got three top 10s at the RBC and plays well there generally. Villegas is a GPP option for the strong of heart as he’ll likely make the cut and could pop a top 10 if everything falls right.

Hudson Swafford | $5,800 – Swafford is one here for the one guy who wants Swafford (and you know who you are). Swafford sure looks the part with his 51st standing in 3 putt avoidance, 39th in par 5 scoring, 25th in GIR, and 64th in driving accuracy. He’s making his first trip here so don’t expect big things, but he could make some noise this week.

DraftKings Scoring

Roster size: 6 Golfers

POINT SCORING

Golfers on each team will accumulate points as follows:

• Per Hole Scoring
  • Double Eagle (DBL EAG): +20 PTs
  • Eagle (EAG): +8 PTs
  • Birdie (BIR): +3 PTs
  • Par (PAR): +0.5 PTs
  • Bogey (BOG): -0.5 PTs
  • Double Bogey (DBL BOG): -1 PT
  • Worse than Double Bogey (WORSE DBL BOG): -1 PT
• Tournament Finish Scoring
  • 1st: 30 PTs
  • 2nd: 20 PTs
  • 3rd: 18 PTs
  • 4th: 16 PTs
  • 5th: 14 PTs
  • 6th: 12 PTs
  • 7th: 10 PTs
  • 8th: 9 PTs
  • 9th: 8 PTs
  • 10th: 7 PTs
  • 11th–15th: 6 PTs
  • 16th–20th: 5 PTs
  • 21st–25th: 4 PTs
  • 26th–30th: 3 PTs
  • 31st–40th: 2 PTs
  • 41st-50th: 1 PTs
• Streaks and Bonuses
  • Streak of 3 Birdies of Better (MAX 1 Per Round) (3+ BIR STRK): +3 PTs
  • Bogey Free Round (BOG FREE RD): +3 PTs
  • All 4 Rounds Under 70 Strokes (ALL 4 RDS UND 70): +5 PTs
  • Hole in One (HOLE IN ONE): +10 PTs

Scoring Notes: Ties for a finishing position will not reduce or average down points. For example, if 2 golfers tie for 3rd place, each will receive the 18 fantasy points for the 3rd place finish result. Playoff Holes will not count towards final scoring, with the exception of the “finishing position” scoring. For example, the golfer who wins the tournament will receive the sole award of 1st place points, but will not accrue points for their scoring result in the individual playoff holes.

Player Lock Notes: All golfers lock at the time the first golfer tees off on day 1 of an event.

Full rules are located here for DraftKings golf.