This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
Memphis, Tennessee
TPC Southwind - Par 70 - 7,233 yards
Field - 66 entrants
Purse - $10.5M
The Preview
After becoming a World Golf Championship event in 2019, the St. Jude Invitational is already due for another alteration next season when it becomes the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs. This week, however, an exclusive field of just 66 entrants will tee it up at TPC Southwind where tantalizing water hazards frustrate the game's best in muggy late-summer conditions. Both GIR and FIR rates fall well below the Tour averages here in Memphis, but the absence of a 36-hole cut allows everyone four guaranteed rounds to find par-breakers. This caveat may have also played a role in the relatively soft pricing on Yahoo this week.
Recent Champions
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
2020 - Justin Thomas
2019 - Brooks Koepka
St. Jude Classic
2018 - Dustin Johnson
2017 - Daniel Berger
2016 - Daniel Berger
2015 - Fabian Gomez
2014 - Ben Crane
2013 - Harris English
2012 - Dustin Johnson
2011 - Harrison Frazar
Key Stats to Victory
Prox: 150-175 and Prox: 175-200
SG: Off-the-Tee
Par-4: 450-500 efficiency
Scrambling
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Collin Morikawa - $43
Morikawa used a final-round 63 in Japan last week to surge into a playoff for the Olympic bronze medal on the heels of his second major championship victory at the Open. He'll now be making just his second career appearance at TPC Southwind this week, but the course suits his game perfectly given the lofty amount of approach shots hit from 150-200 yards into small greens that mask putting deficiencies. Morikawa paces the PGA Tour in SG: Approach, birdie average and SG: Tee-to-Green this season, while also ranking 13th in driving accuracy, ninth in proximity and second in par-4 scoring.
Brooks Koepka - $41
Yahoo continues to match Koepka's salary with that of Harris English for some reason, even though the former went T2-Win the past two years at TPC Southwind and he posted back-to-back top-3s here in 2015 and 2016 as well. Koepka placed no worse than T6 in his three most recent starts from the U.S. Open through the Open Championship, rising to sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking after dipping as low as 13th following a missed cut at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. He's gained an average of 6.8 strokes from tee to green per event across his last five measured tournaments. From a season-long perspective, he's 10th on Tour in both SG: Off-the-Tee and SG: Approach.
Glue Guys
Scottie Scheffler - $36
Dating back to a solo-third finish at the Memorial Tournament, Scheffler has placed T12 or better in four of five international starts, which include a pair of top-8s in major championships. The former Longhorn tied for 15th here in Memphis last year and he's gained strokes from tee to green in 12 consecutive measured events since February's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Scheffler leads the PGA Tour in total driving and he's top-10 in par-4 scoring and birdie average.
Matt Fitzpatrick - $33
It might not show up yet in his 292.2-yard driving average this season, but Fitzpatrick has added power while rising to 14th on Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee. He's seventh in this metric over his past 12 rounds, and hasn't lost strokes with the driver since the RSM Classic last November. The Englishman, who's finished T6-T4 at TPC Southwind since 2019, recently lost in a playoff at the Scottish Open before his T26 at the Open Championship.
Bargain Bin
Shane Lowry - $21
Lowry has strung together three straight top-25s since his trip home to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. He's fourth in SG: Around-the-Green over his last 12 rounds and he hasn't lost strokes with his irons since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March. Lowry tied for sixth at the WGC-FedEx SJI in 2020 and he's currently 21st on Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Sergio Garcia - $20
Garcia's ball striking has been elite en route to five consecutive top-25s from the Charles Schwab Challenge through the 3M Open, where he posted the second-worst putting performance of his entire career with 7.3 strokes lost on the greens. Nonetheless, he's third in SG: Tee-to-Green and sixth in SG: Approach over his last 12 rounds. Although the flat stick is a considerable concern, TPC Southwind's greens won't exacerbate the issue.
