GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: The Memorial

Rory McIlroy is just one of many studs in play this week. How does he stack up among the field?

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 now offering a revamped version of PGA golf.

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, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the basics of building a lineup on FanDuel, the scoring setup, and advanced stats to know about the PGA.

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

Key Stats for the Memorial at Muirfield Village GC
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Around the Green/Scrambling
Par 5 Scoring
Proximity from 175-200 Yards


For more information on why we're focused on these stats, check out our course primer.

Stats cited below come from FantasyGolfMetrics and include the past 50 rounds on the PGA Tour. Ranks are among the field with at least 10 rounds in that span.

Best of the Best

Rory McIlroy ($11,900 | 14) - McIlroy has three top-10 finishes at Muirfield Village (10th in 2010, 5th in 2011, and 4th in 2016). He also finished 15th in 2014. He enters ranking 5th in strokes gained: tee to green, 8th on par 5s, and 10th in birdie or better rate. He's still 26th in approach and 24th around the green, so while not elite, he's doing enough to buy into the course history. Also, he just finished 2nd at the BMW on the Euro Tour, something that could be overlooked for those just perusing the PGA Tour data.

Jordan Spieth ($11,800 | 18) - Spieth enters first in birdie or better rate and second in proximity over the past 50 rounds. He's 16th tee to green and 12th in approach, as well. Spieth has played here the past five years: 63rd, 19th, 3rd, 57th, 13th. He's cooled off lately with no top-20s in his past three events, but he's got the game to compete here. He's a nice discount from Justin Rose and some other top-tier golfers.

Henrik Stenson ($11,700 | 25) - Stenson will likely be overshadowed this week given the plethora of big names at the top. And frankly, ownership will be heavier on all golfers given the thinner field (120 golfers). But Stenson is 7th in approach, 7th on par 5s, 3rd in scrambling, and 22nd in birdie or better over the past 50 rounds on tour. He also hasn't played here in four years and never finished inside the top 40 in his four tries. He's a tournament pivot and has strong win odds despite the course history.

Patrick Reed ($11,400 | 35) - Reed's win odds are pretty long relative to some of the other top-flight names in this field, but he does it all statistically. He's inside the top 10 in strokes gained: approach and around the green, plus birdie or better rate. He's also top-20 in tee-to-green, par 5s, and scrambling. Reed's finishes at Muirfield Village read 26, 8, 57 the past three years, his only tries here.

Mid-Range Options

Emiliano Grillo ($10,400 | 40) - Grillo just remains a viable pick week in and week out. He hasn't missed a cut since August 2017 -- 19 straight made cuts -- and just finished 3rd at the Fort Worth Invitational. Grillo is strong all around and primarily ranks 15th in approach and 13th in scrambling, while ranking 31st in proximity to the hole in the field. Grillo finished 40th here last year but was 11th in 2016. He lost strokes around the green in both of those years, something that shouldn't happen with his current form.

Bryson DeChambeau ($10,300 | 60) - Bryson has just one attempt at Muirfield Village: a 38th two years ago. He's finished 37th and 42nd in his past two events after two straight top-fours. Neither of those statements are overly promising. However, DeChambeau ranks top-10 in strokes gained: tee to green, approach, birdie or better rate, and proximity over the past 50 rounds. The scrambling (61st) and around-the-green play (83rd) aren't quite there, but he checks the other boxes statistically.

Kevin Na ($9,500 | 60) - Na ranks 6th in strokes gained: around the green but just 47th in approach. He's still top-25 in birdie or better rate, scrambling, and proximity, however. Na has turned that upside into two straight top-six finishes the past two weeks. He didn't play Muirfield Village last season and finished 74th in 2016. But prior to that, he finished 13th and 2nd here, so he's an upside gamble.

Ryan Moore ($9,300 | 75) - Moore has played here every year since 2006 with just two missed cuts. Seven of the 12 resulted in top-25s, though the past two yielded a 48th and a missed cut. Moore ranks 4th in approach and is top 40 in strokes gained: around the green, birdie or better rate, scrambling, and proximity over the past 50 rounds.

Low-Priced Picks

Rory Sabbatini ($9,000 | 125) - Sabbatini has made all 14 cuts in 2018, and his past five finishes include a 23rd, 27th, 30th, 13th, and 20th. Sabbatini also has some nice form at Muirfield Village, though he hasn’t played here in three years. In 2010, he finished 12th; in 2012, he finished 2nd. He missed the cut in 2014 but bounced back for a 24th in 2015.

Jamie Lovemark ($8,900 | 125) - Lovemark enters 14th in strokes gained: tee to green, 18th in approach, and 1st around the green over the past 50 rounds. He's also 11th in par 5 scoring. That'll work. He has only two appearances here but recorded a 52nd and a 10th a year ago. During the 10th-place finish, he actually lost strokes putting, meaning that he could've flirted with a top-five had his putter ran even a tad hot.

Byeong-Hun An ($8,800 | 66) - An is just 50th in approach but is 7th around the green and 8th in scrambling, so he can compete here despite the modest approach game. That's just what has happened the past two years, as he's finished 11th and 25th at Muirfield Village. The win odds and price create some leverage for us on FanDuel, as well. An's a strong play in all formats this week.