This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
The Memorial Tournament
Dublin, Ohio
Muirfield Village Golf Club - Par 72 - 7,392 yards
Field - 120 Entrants
Purse - $9.1M
The Preview
Designed by a Columbus native and one of the greatest golfers to ever roam this planet, Muirfield Village is slated to once again draw an exclusive assembly of 120 entrants in an invitational setting that boasts quite a noble prize pool. Regardless of the fortunes that await, it probably didn't take much for Jack Nicklaus to earn the commitments of seven members in the Official World Golf Rankings' top 10, highlighted by Tiger Woods' return to a location of former dominance. Severe weather has ravaged parts of Ohio and the course will be soggy due to precipitation throughout the tournament, so expect originally thick rough to play even tougher while the small and normally lightning-quick putting surfaces remain soft. Due to potentially harsh conditions and likely weather delays, the Memorial Tournament will provide both a mental and physical test as a handful of the game's best make their final appearance before heading off to California for the U.S. Open.
Recent Champions
2018 - Bryson DeChambeau
2017 - Jason Dufner
2016 - William McGirt
2015 - David Lingmerth
2014 - Hideki Matsuyama
2013 - Matt Kuchar
2012 - Tiger Woods
2011 - Steve Stricker
2010 - Justin Rose
2009 - Tiger Woods
Key Stats to Victory
Birdie or better percentage - 21 entrants collected 20 or more par-breakers here in 2018 and each of the past six champions have finished no worse than 12-under-par overall
SG: Approach - Winners here have gained an average of 1.81 strokes on approach shots per round, while all four of the par-5s should be reachable as proximity from over 175 yards remains crucial
Par-4: 450-500 scoring - If you round up the 447-yard sixth by a couple paces, seven of Muirfield Village's 18 holes fit within this metric that ultimately emphasizes long irons and scrambling
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Matt Kuchar - $45
Gaining an average of 4.4 strokes on approach shots over his last five tournaments, Kuchar has strolled to results of T8-2-T12-T7 in four starts following a runner-up finish to Kevin Kisner at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. Kuchar has also placed top-10 in more than half of his 13 career appearances at the Memorial, adding multiple top-15s here in the process as well. Perched atop the FedExCup standings heading into the summer months, Kuchar leads the PGA Tour in GIR percentage and ranks ninth in birdie or better percentage.
Tony Finau - $43
Switching to a claw-like putting grip at Colonial CC last week, Finau gained over five strokes with the flat stick throughout his first two rounds alone en route to a solo runner-up finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He ultimately ranked ninth among his peers in SG: Putting, which is quite a positive sign given his seasonal ranking of just 181st in putting from inside 10 feet. Additionally, Finau has gained nearly 12 strokes from tee to green over his last two starts and he should be able to terrorize the par-5s at Muirfield once again, having placed top-15 three of the past four years here.
Patrick Cantlay - $41
Pacing this week's field in SG: Total over his last 12 rounds, Cantlay has finished T3-T3-T9 in individual events dating back to the Masters. He gained nearly seven strokes on approach shots during his most recent showing at the PGA Championship, where he also gained strokes putting for the fourth time in five events. Cantlay leads the Tour in scrambling and ranks ninth in proximity from 175-200 yards.
Glue Guys
Gary Woodland - $39
Coming off a top-10 performance at the PGA Championship where he gained eight strokes approach and over 14 strokes tee to green, Woodland is currently inside the top-10 on Tour in GIR percentage, driving accuracy and birdie average. Nobody has been better in terms of proximity from over 200 yards. He got it to 13-under at Muirfield Village in 2016, collecting his second career top-10 at the Memorial.
Henrik Stenson - $33
Just looking at his results over the past year, Stenson hasn't been all that great, with zero top-15s in a stroke-play setting on American soil since the 2018 U.S. Open. Now would be a good time for the Swede to heat up again, as he should be able to rely on his 3-wood off the tee at Muirfield. He leads the entire PGA Tour in SG: Approach while rising to 16th in proximity from over 200 yards.
Bargain Bin
Kyle Stanley - $26
A missed cut during his previous start at the PGA Championship resulted in a nice little discount for Stanley this week, who should be a popular value pick given his track record at the Memorial. He finished T2-T6 the past two years and added a solo-third back in 2013, so he's posted a top-10 in three of six career appearances at the invitational. Prior to his MC at Bethpage Black, Stanley tied for eighth at the Wells Fargo Championship and gained 4.5 strokes on his approach shots in the process.
Peter Uihlein - $23
Rebounding from a trio of missed cuts from the Valero Texas Open through the Wells Fargo Championship, Uihlein followed a T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson with another top-15 performance at last week's Charles Schwab Challenge despite hitting only 21 fairways in regulation. He'll be on the sleeper radar for several additional reasons as well, having placed 5-T25 at the Memorial the past two seasons. Uihlein also ranks 34th in proximity from 175-200 yards and is fifth in SG: Putting over his last 12 rounds.
Rory Sabbatini - $22
Severely under-priced compared to several other sites with DFS offerings, Sabbatini could be highly owned. However, he is on a roll, with no finish worse than a T18 over his last four starts, including consecutive top-6s at the Charles Schwab Challenge and AT&T Byron Nelson. He carded a 68 or better in all but one of his rounds at Colonial CC last week, finishing third among his peers in SG: Tee-to-Green and eighth in SG: Off-the-Tee. The 43-year-old has made the cut in nine of 11 attempts at Muirfield Village and tied for second back in 2012, just two shots shy of five-time champion Tiger Woods.
Strategy Tips on Yahoo this week
Jordan Spieth should begin to see inflated ownership while his price remains below the $40 mark, but I'm still all aboard the fade train despite the Texan notching back-to-back top-10s at the PGA Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge. There is a mostly false notion among those who simply leaderboard watch that Spieth is BACK, and is returning to elite status, but in reality the putter has just been unsustainably scorching hot. He was setting records when it comes to distance of holed putts at Colonial CC last week, but he has still lost strokes on his approach shots in four straight events and is losing an average of 1.2 strokes off the tee over his last five tournaments. When the flat stick cooled off this past Sunday, he carded just one final-round birdie on the way to a two-over 72.
