Getty Scottie Scheffler waves to the crowd at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village is one of the biggest tournaments every year on the PGA Tour schedule outside of the major championships. Jack Nicklaus hosts the tournament to give it some extra flare from one of the greatest to ever play the game. We’ll look at the top Memorial Tournament DFS plays to give you the value pick in each salary range.
Muirfield Village is a course that prioritizes ball striking on a tricky layout with plenty of hazards lurking around every corner. It also features small, sloped green complexes that can make it tough to scramble if you miss them in regulation. Our model this week is looking at SG: Approach, SG: Around the Green, SG: Off the Tee, Greens in Regulations Gained, Bogey Avoidance, SG: Par 5, and SG: Par 4: 450-500 Yards.
Top Value: $10,000+: Scottie Scheffler – $12,500
Scheffler’s ranks in the key stats in my model this week read: 1st, 5th, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd. He’s in a world of his own. Now he’ll head to a course that rewards quality ball striking as much as any course they play on the PGA Tour. He’s finished 3rd here in each of the last two years and did it last year despite losing 8.5 strokes on the greens. He also hasn’t finished worse than 10th since January.
At this price, Scheffler basically needs to win to provide much value, but it’s hard to bet against him to do that. I’m going to keep riding him and hope the ownership isn’t too astronomically high. He ranks 1st in the model.
Memorial Tournament DFS Top Value: $9,000-$9,900: Collin Morikawa – $9,800
GettyCollin Morikawa looks at a putt at Colonial.
Morikawa has recent form of 3rd, 9th, 16th, 4th, and 4th. He also won at Muirfield in 2020 and added a 2nd at the Memorial in 2021. It’s clearly a track he likes, which makes sense when you consider how much it prioritizes great iron play along with not penalizing shorter hitters off the tee. His improved short game should also boost him quite a bit this week.
It’s obviously quite hard to pair Morikawa with Scheffler at the top, so if you want to start a little further down the board for a stronger overall lineup, this is a good place to start. He ranks 16th in my model.
Top Value: $8,000-$8,900: Russell Henley – $8,000
Russell Henley has finished 12th or better in four of his last seven starts. That included three signature events with a 4th at Bay Hill, 12th at Harbour Town and 10th at Quail Hollow. Henley was 16th here last year and 6th as a debutant in 2013. His elite iron play is a perfect fit for this course and should set him up for success if the putter shows up.
That putter has been exceptional in the last few months, which can really take Henley’s game to another level. If he can find plenty of fairways and make some putts, I don’t see why he won’t be in contention. $8,000 is a great price for such a consistent player. He ranks 13th in my model.
Memorial Tournament DFS Top Value: $7,000-$7,900: Keegan Bradley – $7,700
GettyKeegan Bradley hits a driver at Colonial.
Keegan Bradley is starting to find some real form and should be viewed as a real threat this week at Muirfield. After some struggles through March, he played well at the Masters and then finished 18th at the PGA Championship. Two weeks ago, he finished runner-up at Colonial and finally found some success with the putter.
The flat stick tends to be what makes the difference in Bradley getting in contention at big tournaments. He seems to really like these greens in the last few years, and he’s finished in the top 10 a couple times in the past. This feels like a great price to put a ton of Bradley in your lineups. He ranks 11th in the model.
Memorial Tournament DFS Top Value: $6,000-$6,900: Austin Eckroat – $6,700
This is another chance for Austin Eckroat to take a step forward in his career. He played well at the PGA Championship with an 18th place finish, and he added a 17th at Harbour Town a month before that in an elevated event. He’s an excellent ball striker who should have no issue getting around here, and he flashed the putter at Valhalla to intrigue me.
Eckroat was 30th here last year as a debutant, which is a very impressive feat at such a tricky course. He has some upside that I really love at $6,700. Eckroat should really be a core part of your lineups this week. He ranks 27th in the model.