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The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Summer Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
The Field
Hosted by the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village, the Memorial is now a signature field event that features an elite 73-player field. Given that it is one of three player-hosted tournaments on the PGA TOUR, the Memorial will also have a cut line with the 50 players and ties making the weekend—along with any player within 10 shots of the leader after Round 2.
The field this week will feature all of the current eligible players ranked inside the top 50 of the OWGR. That includes Scottie Scheffler and PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, who is making his first start since his big win. Last year’s Memorial champion Viktor Hovland will also be in the field and is fresh off his best finish of the season—a T3 showing the PGA Championship.
The course will be a big story this week as it played very hard last season, with the winner getting in at just 7-under par. Only one player managed to break 70 on Sunday last year (T3 finisher Scottie Scheffler).
The Course
Muirfield Village — Dublin, Ohio
Par 72, 7,569 yards, Greens: Bentgrass (some poa)
Muirfield Village is a true championship course. It was built in 1972 and named after Jack Nicklaus’ favorite Open Championship venue (Muirfield); it also shares some design similarities with Augusta National. Like Augusta, Muirfield Village is a par 72 and carries four par 5s. These holes still play as the easiest on the course, but have been lengthened somewhat over the years and are no longer the pushovers they once were. The par 3s at Muirfield remain some of the toughest on the PGA TOUR and challenge players with longer tee shots into awkwardly shaped and smaller greens.
Muirfield Village was played twice on the PGA TOUR (in back-to-back weeks) in 2020, but it has since undergone massive renovations, which include a complete reconstruction of the bentgrass greens. Length was added to the course, and it can now play close to 7,600 yards. In addition to the added length, lots of trees were added to make some of the tee shots more challenging.
With the changes, the last few seasons have seen an added emphasis on around-the-green play. Two of the past three winners have gained over 4.0 strokes around the greens for the week. Last year was a bit of an anomaly as eventual winner Viktor Hovland made up more strokes on the greens (+6.1 strokes putting) than he did around them, but still managed to be very solid off the tee, where he gained 3.6 strokes. In comparison, playoff loser Denny McCarthy lost strokes off the tee, but gained 3.2 strokes on approach, in addition to having one of the best putting weeks ever recorded on the PGA TOUR (+11.3 strokes putting for the week).
With seven par 4s measuring over 450 yards, there aren’t a ton of birdie chances available, making bogey avoidance another key stat to monitor. 2022 winner Billy Horschel led the field in this stat by a wide margin, while 2021 winner Patrick Cantlay was second in bogey avoidance in the year of his win.
Approach play is still the most vital stat to focus on this week—especially when looking for potential spike candidates down the salary ranges—but good around-the-green play and timely putting can make a huge difference due to the smaller greens and low GIR percentages. It’s a good week to emphasize recent form and look for some continuation from players who are striking it well and have some course history playing at Memorial or similar-styled venues.
2024 outlook: The weather in Dublin, Ohio can be somewhat dramatic this time of year with heat and thunderstorms often playing a part in how this tournament goes. We do have some rain and storms set for Wednesday, which should soften up the course. The good news is, it seems doubtful we’ll see any poor weather stop play between Thursday and Sunday. The wind may play a role over the first two days with afternoon gusts set to reach 15mph or greater. It’s a condensed field so tee times won’t be as spread as they normally are, but early starters should be able to gain an advantage. Otherwise, expect somewhat better scoring conditions early on thanks to the mid-week storms with greens likely firming up by the weekend.
Last 5 winners
Viktor Hovland (-7 over Denny McCarthy playoff)
Bill Horschel (-13 over Aaron Wise -9)
Patrick Cantlay (-13 over Collin Morikawa playoff)
Jon Rahm (-9 over Ryan Palmer -6)
Patrick Cantlay (-19 over Adam Scott -17)
Winning Trends
- 14 of the last 15 winners had a T5 finish or better on the PGA TOUR in the year of their victory before winning at the Memorial.
- Course History: Eight of the past nine winners of the Memorial had made the cut at Muirfield Village in their previous appearance at this event.
Winners Stats and Course Overview
2023 Winner: Viktor Hovland (7-under par)
2023 lead-in form (T16-T2-T43-T59-T7)
SG: OTT—+3.6
SG: APP—+2.6
SG: TTG—+7.1
SG: ATG—+0.9
SG: PUTT—+6.1
- Cantlay was tied for second in bogey avoidance in his win from 2021 and Horschel led the field in bogey avoidance in 2022. Hovland finished tied for second in birdies or better.
- The most popular grouping of approach shots here over time has been from 175-200 yards, but 150-175 yards is also very popular. Two of the par 3s also fall in this shorter range.
- Muirfield Village now has seven par 4s that range between 450-500 yards, making par-4 efficiencies from 450-500 yards worth looking at.
- The course features wide fairways, so driving accuracy numbers are surprisingly higher than the PGA TOUR average, with cut-makers at Muirfield hitting around 68% of fairways.
- Greens are smaller than normal, so they’re difficult to hold. The average cut-maker at this event has hit 61% of GIR vs. 65% at other PGA TOUR stops. As mentioned above, this has enhanced the need for sharp around-the-green play.
- Before last season, the last three winner/runner-up combos had gained at least 5.0 strokes on their approaches.
- Last season was more of a putting duel as Hovland and McCarthy both gained over 6.0 strokes on the greens. However, both men still gained over 2.5 strokes on approach for the week as well.
Finding Values (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Odds to win are one factor to think about when picking players (but not the only thing, so be careful putting too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook odds of winning this week.
Tom Kim +4500 and $7,800
Comparables:
Jordan Spieth +4000 and $8,600
Comparables:
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
HORSES FOR COURSES
1. Patrick Cantlay ($9,400; best finishes: win-2019 +2021, fourth-2018): Cantlay will be making his ninth career start at Muirfield Village this week. The 29-year-old is a two-time winner of this event and has now landed five top-10 finishes at this venue. He leads the field in SG: Total stats at Muirfield over the last five seasons by a wide margin.
2. Si Woo Kim ($7,700; best finishes: T9-2021, T4-2023): Kim ranks out third in strokes gained total stats at Muirfield Village over the last five seasons. He’s now finished top 20 at this event in each of the past four seasons and hasn’t missed the cut here over that span. Kim's putter is broken right now, but if by some miracle that club flips he could challenge at one of his favorite venues on TOUR.
3. Rickie Fowler ($7,000; best finishes: T2-2017, T8-2018): Even when he’s struggled, Muirfield Village has always been a bit of a safe haven for Fowler, who finished T9 at this event in 2023, gaining over 7.5 strokes ball striking for the week. Fowler gained 7.8 strokes ball striking in his last start at Colonial, so perhaps his game is coming around (just in time for another US Open run).
4. Jordan Spieth ($8,600; best finishes: T5-2023, T3-2015): Spieth hasn’t played very well this season, but he’s got a great record at Muirfield. The American has finished top 20 in each of his last five appearances and record top 10s at this event in 2015, 2019, and 2023.
5. Xander Schauffele ($10,900; best finishes: T18-2022, T11-2021): Schauffele ranks fourth in strokes gained total stats at this event over the last five years, all despite never posting a top 10. He’s finished top 20 at Muirfield in four of the past five seasons and has been a solid DFS roster play, despite never actually challenging for the win.
RECENT FORM
1. Rory McIlroy ($11,100; T4-T12-win): McIlroy had another solid week up in Canada. He finished T4 and gained 5.8 strokes on the greens. He’s primed for a big back half of the year.
2. Scottie Scheffler ($12,500; T2-T8-win): Scheffler has slowed down a bit by his standards with “Just” a T2 and a T8 in his last two starts. He finished one shot out of the playoffs at Muirfield last season and comes in as a +360 favorite to win.
3. Xander Schauffele ($10,900; win-T2): Schauffele will be making his first start since winning the PGA Championship at the start of the month. He’ll be a little rusty, but his ball-striking has been world-class all season.
4. Collin Morikawa ($9,800; T4-T4): Morikawa looks close. The two-time major winner has gained over 6.5 strokes OTT + APP in each of his last two starts. He won at Muirfield Village in 2020 (Workday Championship) and finished 2nd in 2021 at this event.
5. Tom Kim ($7,800; T4-T24-T26): Kim had a big Sunday in Canada, posting a 64 which was only a few short misses away from being a 60. He’s been very consistent off the tee of late and that’s allowed the rest of his game to flourish after a long slump.
DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY
Cash Games: Morikawa looks reliable
I nearly made Morikawa ($9,800) my main pick this week and I am sure he’ll be on a lot of people’s shortlist. His iron game has finally started to produce better results after a mid-season slump and he comes in having averaged +4.0 strokes ATG over his last two starts. A former winner and runner-up at Muirfield, it’s hard to see Morikawa not adding some extra hardware to his collection soon. Corey Conners ($8,500) is available at a decent price and is hitting it as well as anyone. Tom Kim ($7,800) is another name playing well who looks quite underpriced. I’d not hesitate to use either man in 50/50 or heads-up lineups this week, along with Sepp Straka ($7,500)—who has produced three top-10 finishes over his last four starts and yet is available for very cheap at just 7.5k.
Tournaments: Spieth is worth considering at Muirfield.
As we outlined above, Jordan Spieth ($8,600) has one of the best records of any player in this field at Muirfield. While his iron game has been topsy-turvy all season, his off-the-game has been remarkably consistent throughout it all. If he can flip his putter or bring the kind of upside we’re used to seeing on his approaches, it’s possible he outperforms this weekend. Alex Noren ($8,100) is another potential bounce-back candidate after he ruined lineups last week in Canada. His around-the-green game is on par with anyones and we’ve had veterans like Horschel and Dufner get late career wins at this venue before. Other potential names to look at this week for large field GPPs include Thomas Detry ($6,700) and Davis Riley ($6,400).
MY PICK: Justin Thomas ($9,200)
All things considered, I think this is a good time to dip our feet back into the Justin Thomas waters. The two-time PGA Championship winner has struggled to get back on top of his game at times this season, but is showing some pretty serious signs that his A-game might be close. He finished T8 at the PGA Championship, a performance earmarked by some great play around the greens and him gaining over 4.0 strokes off the tee. Over his last three events, he’s now gained over a stroke off the tee in each start—plus, his very underrated around-the-green game is flourishing again as he’s now gained an average of 2.83 strokes ATG over his last three PGA TOUR starts as well.
If Thomas’s putter was working at Valhalla, he may have even been the one chasing down Schauffele at the end on Sunday, but a cold putter is nothing new for Thomas—his long game has always been the main barometer of how he’s going as a player. Either way, the fact he was left out of the main end-game festivities there means we are getting him at a far more decent price for DFS this week, on a course where he’s flashed upside before, having finished T4 and T8 back in 2017 and 2018. At $9,200, he’s affordable enough to be considered a core target for DFS, and at +2800 I wouldn't hesitate to bet his Outright odds on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
This event has seen some long-shot winners but typically has gone to a player coming in off a good major championship finish who is looking for some kind of statement win. Thomas fits both of those parameters and makes for a good target for this week’s signature event.
MY SLEEPER: Rickie Fowler ($7,000)
Given what Fowler showed us in his last start, I think going back to him this week does make some sense, especially at this cheap price tag. The American gained 7.8 strokes ball striking at Colonial and has been solid off the tee in two straight starts now—also gaining 1.7 strokes OTT at Valhalla. That’s good news considering his early season slump was almost entirely due to a driver that was bleeding strokes on an event-by-event basis. Fowler has been working hard with Butch Harmon since the beginning of 2023 trying to get his swing back to where it was in his prime, and he may be ready to make another breakthrough in his long game that could lead to some better results in the back half of the season.
Muirfield has also been a great course for Fowler, period. He’s finished runner-up here on two occasions and posted a top 10 at this venue last season gaining over 2.0 strokes OTT, on APP and ATG in the process. Fowler had a brutal week around Colonial’s greens but is generally a great scrambler and still ranks 28th in short-term ATG stats coming into this week—despite the poor numbers (-5.6 strokes) from that start in Texas.
I’m not sure if I’d bet him outright, but as a top 20 play at +275 on the DraftKings Sportsbook he’s a solid target in that market given how often he’s outperformed at this week’s venue. For DFS, the solid course history gives him the nod for me in the 7k range over a few other names who may have outperformed him in the first half of the season.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $800K Summer Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]
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