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Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.
Hello RotoBaller PGA family! Golf's return continued to provide tons of excitement, as Bryson DeChambeau bombed his way past the field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
We have another great tournament on deck this week as the PGA Tour heads to Muirfield Village for the first of back to back tournaments at Jack Nicklaus' place! In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Workday Charity Open. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.
Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!
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Workday Charity Open - PGA DFS Overview
Muirfield Village
7,456 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bentgrass
We can always count on a Nicklaus-designed course to force the players into strategic thinking and Muirfield Village doesn't disappoint. 'The Golden Bear' built this course from the ground up in the 1970's and he continually updates it as needed. It's lengthy, but isn't a 'bomber's track'. Difficult, but not impossible to score on. In other words, Muirfield is a very high-quality golf course.
The emphasis this week will be on accuracy and ballstriking, with players being required to hit both tree-lined fairways and undulating greens. Water is in play on 11 holes, with bunkers also causing trouble for the players. The closing stretch is one of the toughest in golf, with 16, 17, and 18 presenting players with a challenging close to their rounds. I'll be heavily weighting Strokes Gained: Approach, SG: OTT (with an emphasis on accuracy), and bogey avoidance this week at Muirfield
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Muirfield Village | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 283 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 68% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 62% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 53% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.52 | 0.54 |
Muirfield's fairly generous fairways are rather easy to hit, but you'll notice that the GIR % on this layout is below the Tour average due to the comparatively small size of these greens and the (normally) thick rough. Players that are great scramblers and bunker players will have a leg up on the field, as will those that thrive on long Par-4s. Of course, the best way to score is to hit the greens on approach, which makes sharp iron players the targets this week.
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Par 4 Efficiency (450-500 yards)
- Greens In Regulation Gained
- Strokes Gained: Tee To Green
- Bogey Avoidance
- Sand Saves Gained
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)
We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.
High-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Patrick Cantlay ($11,700)
With a tip of the cap to Justin Thomas at $12k, we'll start the Workday Charity Open writeup with Patrick Cantlay at $11.7k. Cantlay's schedule is always a bit light for my taste, but the Californian did finally come out of hibernation two weeks ago at the Travelers, where he recorded a "knock the rust off" T11 on the back of a hot putter. I expect Cantlay to be a bit sharper this week, as he heads to a Muirfield Village layout on which he won last year's Memorial Tournament on the strength of a sizzling final-round 64 (Cantlay also finished one shot out of a playoff in the 2018 Memorial). Jack Nicklaus designed this course to test all facets of a players game, which is why we've seen Cantlay's wonderful all-around skills translate into success on this layout. The only thing that gives me pause with him this week is his relative inactivity since the PGA Tour restart, but Cantlay's sharp ball striking and rock-solid tee to green ability should once again serve him well at Muirfield Village.
Hideki Matsuyama ($11,300)
Hideki Matsuyama is another former Memorial champion (2014) and has a strong history of success at Muirfield Village. Like Patrick Cantlay, Matsuyama has eased back in to competition since the restart, with a missed cut and a T21 in two starts. Matsuyama made the cut on the number at the Rocket Mortgage last week, but flashed some form with a third-round 65. His five strokes gained on approach at Detroit Golf Club indicate that his irons are starting to fire again...a great sign as he heads to Muirfield Village. His putter has been his Achilles Heel throughout his career, and that has once again been the case recently, as 'Deki has lost strokes putting in seven of his eight 2020 starts, including both post-layoff outings. We need the putter to improve, but Matsuyama's ball striking should give him lots of opportunities this week, and we've seen "bad" putters win on this track several times in the past.
Viktor Hovland ($10,900)
Outside of Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland is the golfer that I've been most impressed with since the PGA Tour's restart. Hovland has been a ball-striking machine over the past month, posting SG: T2G numbers of 5.7/6.1/10.6/9.6 in his four outings since the restart. Unfortunately, those ball-striking performances have been somewhat wasted due to Hovland's inability to make putts. He's lost over three strokes putting in each of his last two starts. His still-developing short game is also a cause for concern at Muirfield Village, as the young star will need to get it up-and-down this week. His standing of 83rd in the field in Sand Saves Gained over his last 12 rounds takes him out of "Must Play" territory for me, but his almost supernatural ball-striking prowess over the past month puts him in GPP consideration as a high-upside option.
Justin Rose ($10,800)
Justin Rose's post-layoff play has definitely been a pleasant surprise. The veteran opted out of an equipment deal with Honma after his played had tailed off considerably over the past year and he has looked rejuvenated after switching back to his old TaylorMade equipment...gaining over six strokes T2G in two of his three post-layoff starts. Rose very nearly won at Colonial and looked sharp at Hilton Head, before a second-round of three-over par sent him packing at the Travelers. Not only is the Englishman's recent form intriguing, but he has a superlative track record at Muirfield Village, as he has a win and two runner-up finishes in 13 career starts in the Memorial.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Marc Leishman ($10,100)
The Big Aussie has been fairly inactive since the PGA's restart, logging two underwhelming outings at the Schwab and Travelers. It's easy to forget that Leishman was actually having a great year - scoring a win at the Farmers and a runner-up finish at Bay Hill - before play was halted due to COVID-19. He's been open about taking extra precautions during this scary time due to his wife's health history, but if he's ready to focus on golf, the veteran is a player we should consider this week at Muirfield Village. Leishman has ran off five straight top-15's at the Memorial since 2015, with a couple of top-fives mixed in. I'll want to keep an eye on ownership with him this week and will probably let those projections dictate how much exposure I'll personally have, as he's not a player I want to go overboard with if it looks like he'll be chalky.
Joaquin Niemann ($10,000)
A weirdly-bad final round at the Travelers a couple of weeks ago left a bad taste in a lot of DFS mouths, but I'm ready to go back to the Joaquin Niemann well this week. The young Chilean lost a hard-to-fathom 6.3 strokes putting at the Travelers, despite gaining strokes T2G, OTT, and on Approach for the third-straight start since the PGA Tour resumed play. His putting has nowhere to go but up, and we can also take solace in the fact that he's played well in two previous Muirfield Village appearances, logging a T27 and a T6 in his last two trips to Dublin, Ohio. We must always be willing to embrace a certain level of volatility when rostering Niemann, but his elite ball-striking ability gives him true tournament-winning upside.
Adam Hadwin ($9,900)
It feels like Adam Hadwin finds his way into other people's lineups more often than he does mine. I like Hadwin just fine as a player, but there's just not usually something that compels me to roster him. However, this week he is popping for me in a couple of key statistical categories, as he's first in this Workday field in GIRs Gained over the last 12 rounds, as well as grading out seventh in both Good Drives Gained and SG: Par 4s (450-500 yards). The Canadian's Memorial track record is pedestrian at best, but he heads to Muirfield Village off a top-five finish last week and he's gained strokes both T2G and on Approach in all three of his starts since play resumed.
Byeong Hun An ($9,700)
Ben An is the opposite of the aforementioned Adam Hadwin, as his Memorial track record is a thing of beauty, but his recent form makes you want to run away. An's recent struggles can be attributed to - as is often the case with him - a horrible putter. He lost a ridiculously-bad 6.3 strokes putting at the RBC Heritage, but did manage to turn things around a bit at the Travelers en route to a made cut. He hasn't finished outside the top-25 in four trips to Muirfield Village since 2016 and we're hoping that he finds a shot of confidence on this week's layout. His game log should help to keep his ownership low and he's a risk/reward GPP option that could pay dividends on this course.
Joel Dahmen ($9,300)
I don't know how great of a fit Joel Dahmen is for Muirfield Village - and his underwhelming T68 in a lone Memorial start doesn't help illuminate anything - but the form he's displayed over the past month puts him in GPP consideration for me this week. Dahmen has gained strokes T2G, OTT, and on Approach in his last six starts - stretching back to February - and his results since the PGA Tour resumed play have been rock-solid. I wish we had a little more of a Muirfield Village track record to work with here, but Dahmen sticks out for just how consistent he's been in every facet of the game over the past month.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Ryan Armour ($9,000)
It feels like things are trending in the right direction for Ryan Armour, as the Ohio native heads home this week. The 44-year-old is coming off back-to-back strong finishes at the Travelers (T6) and Rocket Mortgage (T4). The veteran is set to tee it up on a Muirfield Village layout with which he is very familiar and has logged two consecutive top-25s since 2018. Armour won't jump off the page statistically, but has a knack for just getting the ball in the hole. He's a nice salary-saving option on this slate.
Russell Henley ($8,800)
As we head down the salary scale, we are getting into "GPP only" territory. Russell Henley is a player that I don't mind taking some large-field tournament shots with, as he's flashed some extremely hot iron play in a couple of his recent starts, including gaining a ridiculous 8.2 strokes on Approach at the RBC Heritage (he settled for a T32 due to being sabotaged by an ICE COLD putter). Henley scored a T6 in the 2013 Memorial and has made two of four cuts at Muirfield Village since then. He's an interesting Boom/Bust GPP option in this price range.
Scott Stallings ($8,700)
If you had rostered my East Tennessee homie Scott Stallings every time he's teed it up since the PGA Tour resumed play, you'd be a pretty happy camper, as he's made the cut in all three of his starts and scored a T6 at the Travelers. We can once again grab him at a reasonable DFS price this week, and in addition to the solid recent form, Stallings has a pretty decent Muirfield Village resume, as he's recorded a top-five and two top-25s over six career Memorial starts. It's one of his favorite courses on the Tour schedule and he's a legit dark horse for a top-10 this week.
Henrik Norlander ($8,000)
I absolutely loved Wesley Bryan at $8k last week, and while there's not a player that I feel that confident about this week, Henrik Norlander is a player that - like Bryan a week ago - is coming off a scorching iron performance in his last start. Norlander gained a MASSIVE 8.1 strokes on Approach at Detroit Golf Club - a mark that led the Rocket Mortgage field - not to mention finishing second last week in SG: T2G at 8.6. The drawback is his questionable short game, as he can struggle both on and around the green. However, ball striking like he displayed last week can mask a lot of issues. He has tons of upside at just $8k.
