The 2023 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday will be the latest Designated event on the PGA Tour. The purse sits at $20 million, with $3.6 million reserved for the outright winner, plus 550 FedExCup points, which will prove invaluable with only a dozen events remaining before the top 70 ranked golfers qualify for the FedExCup playoffs.
The event will take place at the same course it’s always located at, which is Muirfield Village Golf Club. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, the legendary golfer and course architect, it was opened back in 1976 but just received its Designated event status, drawing the best golfers on the PGA Tour. It will be a field of 120 players ready to compete for the record winnings, led by World No. 1 and World No. 2 ranked golfers Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. Scheffler has yet to win at Muirfield, but Rahm accomplished that feat at -9-under-par in 2020. Scheffler came close during his last visit in 2021, going -11-under-par and finishing two strokes behind Patrick Cantlay and Collin Morikawa, with Cantlay ultimately winning the event.
Patrick Cantlay has won the Memorial Tournament twice since 2019 and will look to three-peat this week. The 31-year-old Californian has been dominant on the golf course this season, but it hasn’t translated into any outright wins yet. He’s right behind Scheffler and Rahm for outright betting favorites at 10/1 odds, so we should expect another dominant performance from Cantlay, whose last outing at the PGA Championship resulted in a T9 finish.
Designated event slates mean we can get a lot of value on good players being overshadowed by the superstars, making it the perfect time to build a few DFS lineups to cash some contests at one of the most iconic events on the PGA Tour. I’ve found six of my favorite golfers to insert into DraftKings and FanDuel lineups ahead of Thursday’s first round at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Before we get into our Memorial Tournament DFS Picks and Targets, make sure to take a moment to check out these awesome sports betting offers for this week. You can use one of the HUGE first bet offers to wager with more confidence on your 2023 Memorial Tournament selections this week.
DraftKings $50,000 Maximum Salary
Patrick Cantlay ($10,500)
Whether ranking first in total driving, 16th in strokes gained putting, or seventh in strokes gained tee-to-green, Patrick Cantlay has been a dominant player on the PGA Tour this season. He has yet to claim an outright win, but the 31-year-old Californian has 20 percent of his career wins at Muirfield Village as Cantlay looks to add his third outright win here since 2019. He’s $800 cheaper than Scheffler and has a game built for Muirfield's demands, making Cantlay my favorite blue-chip prospect to roster at the Memorial Tournament this week.
Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,000)
Matt Fitzpatrick is only a couple of years removed from logging a solo third-place finish at The Memorial Tournament, going five-under-par to finish behind only Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer in 2020. The Englishman has two outright wins in his career. Still, he notched his first at the U.S. Open last season and beat Jordan Spieth at RBC Heritage a couple of months ago, brandishing strong irons to position himself for an event-winning tap-in birdie. He’s cooled off with T35 and MC finishes in his last two events, which is why we’re landing a discount on Fitzpatrick for this event. Plus, he’s missed the cut at Muirfield for two consecutive years following his third-place finish in 2020, so Fitzpatrick is due for a breakout on a difficult course that rewards precision. Lock him into lineups at a solid value of $9,000 on DraftKings.
Wyndham Clark ($8,200)
I’ve hardly recommended Wyndham Clark this season, but he already secured an outright win at the Wells Fargo Championship a month ago for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. Clark averages 75.4 FPPG on DraftKings and has five solo T10s entering The Memorial Tournament, where he placed T37 in 2022, MC in 2021, and MC in 2020. He’s equipped with some good irons, ranking 16th in total strokes gained, including 24th tee-to-green and 21st approaching the green. Clark also hits 68 percent of greens in regulation, which is top 30 on the PGA Tour, and is a quality scrambler. The most enticing stat is his 4.07 birdie average, which translates into a lot of points in DraftKings DFS contests. Clark is a quality salary-saver option positioned for his tenth T25 finish this season.
FanDuel $60,000 Maximum Salary
Xander Schauffele ($11,400)
Xander Schauffele typically hovers near the top of the leaderboard this season. The 29-year-old Californian has previous finishes of T18, T11, and T13 at The Memorial Tournament, as it fits his game nicely. Schauffele ranks fifth in total strokes gained, including eighth tee-to-green, sixth approaching the green, and 11th putting. His driver tends to be shaky, but he finds greens in regulation at a 69.6 percent clip, which is 10th-best on the PGA Tour. Even when he doesn’t hit greens in regulation, Schauffele is ranked 25th in scrambling. He also converts 33.3 percent of birdie or better attempts, which ranks 30th. Overall, Schauffele is the perfect blue chip prospect to insert into FanDuel lineups for this event since he consistently finishes in the top 20 at this course and across the 2023 PGA Tour season. Lock him into your FanDuel lineups with confidence.
Rickie Fowler ($10,000)
It’s been a bounce-back year for Rickie Fowler so far this season. The 34-year-old has five T10 finishes this season and is seeking his first outright win in four years. Fowler has had a mixed bag of finishes during recent appearances, going T64, T11, MC, and T14 in his past four outings at Muirfield Village. Fowler is averaging 76.7 FPPG on FanDuel and has only missed two cuts, including recently at the PGA Championship. However, he just bounced back with a T6 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge last weekend, plus Fowler ranks 11th in total strokes gained, including 14th tee-to-green and ninth approaching the green. Fowler is ranked inside the top 40 for greens in regulation and scrambling as well, plus he averages a lucrative 4.2 birdies per round, which is 15th-best on the PGA Tour. At $10,000 on FanDuel, we’re getting decent value on Fowler’s salary. We should expect another T20 finish based on his current form and historical finishes at a challenging par 72 course like Muirfield Village.
Adam Scott ($9,700)
Adam Scott has been playing great golf lately, going T5, T8, and T29 across his last three events entering The Memorial Tournament. The 42-year-old Aussie is ranked 19th in strokes gained off-the-tee, 10th in driving distance, and is among the best when it comes to landing approach shots near the proximity of the hole location. Scott needs to work on his greens in regulation and scrambling ability, but if he can fine-tune these parts of his game just a bit, expect another T10 finish from the Aussie at an event he’s fared well at in the past. Previous finishes at Muirfield Village go T67, T16, and runner-up. At $9,700, let’s invest confidently in Scott’s ability to crack his third T10 finish last month.
