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Hello RotoBaller PGA crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller!
In this article we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the 2021 Memorial at Muirfield Village. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
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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The Memorial - PGA DFS Overview
Muirfield Village Golf Club
7,573 Yards - Par 72 - Greens: Bentgrass - Designers: Jack Nicklaus & Desmond Muirhead
We can always count on a Nicklaus-designed course to force the players into strategic thinking and Muirfield Village doesn't disappoint. Muirfield Village actually has *GASP* penal rough both lining the fairways and around greens that will punish a player's mistakes. 'The Golden Bear' built this course from the ground up in the 1970s and he continually updates it as needed. It's lengthy enough to require mid-to-long irons on some approach shots, but isn't a 'bomber's track'. Difficult, but not impossible to score on, we'll see golfers post both 66s and 76s this week. In other words, Muirfield is a very high-quality golf course. A very high-quality golf course that Jack Nicklaus almost endlessly tinkers with. That tinkering led to off-season changes that will be noticeable this year, including the addition of trees and bunkers, as well as the re-finishing of green complexes.
The emphasis this week will be on accuracy and ball striking, 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.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Muirfield Village | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 280 | 282 |
| Driving Accuracy | 69% | 62% |
| GIR Percentage | 61% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 52% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.54 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
- Par 5 Scoring
- Proximity: 150+ Yards
- Par 4 Scoring: 450-500 Yards (Six holes fall in this category at Muirfield Village!)
- Sand Saves
- Bogey Avoidance
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 Plays
Jordan Spieth ($12,100)
Jordan Spieth enters this week with sort of a weird aura surrounding him...he played extremely well en route to a runner-up finish at Colonial last week, but undoubtedly looked out of sorts on Sunday while closing with a final-round 73...his worst round of the tournament. So while we would normally be pumped to roster Spieth after such a strong overall performance, his disappointing close to the Schwab leaves us a bit disoriented as to how to handle him - and his massive $12.1k price tag - this week. If we try to simplify things...Spieth heads to Muirfield Village with both great current form (third in field SG: T2G last 24 rounds) and elite course history (three top-13 finishes in his last four Memorial starts)...the Texan shapes up as a strong overall DFS play this week.
Justin Thomas ($11,700)
A rare opportunity here, as we can catch Justin Thomas with a somewhat reduced price tag in comparison to his usual $12k+ FD price point. Despite a couple of un-JT-like performances in his last two starts, this feels like a nice spot to "buy the dip" with Thomas. He heads to Ohio on the heels of a surprising missed cut at the PGA Championship and an underwhelming T40 at Colonial last week. However, his track record at Muirfield Village indicates that this might be a solid situation for him to get back on track. Thomas has made the cut in three of his last four Memorial starts with a top-five and a top-10 among those, as well as a runner-up finish in last year's Workday Charity Open that was held at Muirfield.
Viktor Hovland ($11,400)
Man, I've got so much love for this $11.7k-$10.8k price range this week. I don't know that you can really go wrong with any of these players, but Viktor Hovland stands out as a truly elite option. Hovland has been in beast mode for the majority of 2021, posting top-five finishes in five of his last nine starts. He has the ability to handle Muirfield Village's length and ball striking demands, while also sporting an improved short game that's helped him to gain strokes Around The Green in each of his last four starts. The rising star also notched a third-place finish in last year's Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village.
Patrick Cantlay ($11,100)
Known for his exceptional consistency prior to 2020, the last 12-ish months have been anything but consistent for Patrick Cantlay. The Californian's past year has been dotted with ups and downs that include a win at the ZOZO Championship late last year, multiple close calls at the outset of 2021, and - most recently - a stretch of four consecutive missed cuts between March and May before a ball-striking explosion led to a top-25 result at the PGA Championship.
Despite Cantlay's recent volatility, he heads to this week's Memorial with a really nice combination of great course history coupled with the form he flashed at Kiawah Island. His track record a Muirfield Village is impeccable and includes four made cuts over four career starts, a win in 2019, as well as a top-five result in 2018...and we can also toss in a T7 in last year's one-off Workday Charity Open for good measure.
Hideki Matsuyama ($10,900)
'Deki's Masters' momentum might have been derailed a bit by his return to Japan after winning at Augusta - and the mandated COVID quarantine that it required - but he's actually been very good in his two post-Masters starts. Matsuyama gained 3.2 strokes on Approach in a knock-the-rust-off outing at the Byron Nelson and followed up with a sneaky-good top-25 at the PGA Championship, a start in which he gained a blistering 10.3 strokes T2G and 6.4 on Approach, but in true Hideki fashion, lost 3.3 strokes with the putter. He brings that under-the-radar form to a Muirfield layout on which he won back in 2014 and has posted two top-six finishes in subsequent years.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Tony Finau ($10,800)
Tony Finau has thrived on this Nicklaus-designed classic, making the cut in four of his last five trips to Muirfield Village with three top-15 finishes, including an eighth-place result in last year’s Memorial.
His results in major championships over the last three years highlights his ability to handle long, tough golf courses. Finau grades out third in this field in SG: T2G on golf courses with a length of over 7,400 yards and has all the tools needed to handle this Muirfield layout that stretches over 7,500 yards on the scorecard. He heads to Ohio in what feels like mediocre form, but a quick glance at his results of the past couple of months reminds us that he’s very quietly posted top-10s in both of the year’s first two major championships and grades out a rock-solid sixth in this week’s field in SG: T2G over the last 24 rounds.
Corey Conners ($10,500)
I never need much of an excuse to roster Corey Conners and that's once again the case this week, as I'll be heavily invested in the Canadian and simply hoping for a decent putting performance. His ball-striking is a facet that we can count on. Get this...he's gained strokes T2G in a hard-to-fathom 17 consecutive starts dating back to last October! Muirfield Village is often labeled as a "second shot golf course" and few players in the world are better with the irons than Conners, who ranks sixth in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds.
Joaquin Niemann ($10,000)
It's kind of hard to believe that the once wildly erratic Joaquin Niemann has evolved into one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour, but here we are. Niemann heads to Muirfield Village with the longest active cuts made streak (17 in a row) on the PGA Tour. He's sneaky-long, has gained strokes T2G in his last five starts, and Bent grass is historically his best putting surface.
Charley Hoffman ($9,800)
If iron play is a skill we're targeting this week (it is), then we have to discuss Charley Hoffman, a player that's been on fire with the irons as of late. Hoffman ranked second in this elite field in both SG: T2G & Approach over the last 24 rounds. That sharp ball-striking has resulted in the veteran making the cut in each of his last 10 starts, including top-three finishes in two of his last five tournaments.
Gary Woodland ($9,700)
Coming in with a sub-$10k price tag, Gary Woodland stands out as a moderately-priced player with true top-five upside. Woodland has made the cut in his last five trips to Muirfield Village (six if we want to count a T5 in last year's Workday event) with two top-25s and a top-five in the Memorial since 2016. While his form has been overall (and typically) erratic this year, Woody has settled into a nice groove as of late, posting top-five at the Wells Fargo and solid results in both the PGA Championship & Charles Schwab Challenge. He's gained strokes T2G and on Approach in each of those last three starts. A legitimately elite talent, he has a nice blend of both distance and ball-striking prowess that is rewarded on this Nicklaus design.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Rickie Fowler ($9,500)
Rickie is a legit "course horse" this week, having logged two career runner-up finishes at Muirfield Village. In addition to the strong Memorial track record, we can hope that the long-struggling Fowler is finally turning the corner with his game after an impressive - and surprising - T8 at the PGA Championship a couple of weeks ago. He gained 4.5 strokes on Approach at Kiawah Island, which marked his best performance with the irons in over three years!
Kevin Streelman ($9,500)
The vanilla veteran has managed to go on a very impressive run as of late, posting made cuts in five of his last six, with an eye-catching T8 at the PGA Championship two weeks ago. Streelman heads to the Memorial off another solid outing - a T20 at Colonial - and has now gained strokes T2G, OTT, & on Approach in each of his last five starts. The vet brings that sharp form to a Muirfield layout on which he's run off six consecutive made cuts, as well as a pair of top-10s since 2016.
Emiliano Grillo ($9,400)
Yet another ball-striker extraordinaire that has my attention this week, Grillo heads to Ohio ranked third in this elite Memorial field in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds and has gained an average of 5.4 strokes with the irons over his last five tournaments. Grillo has also made the cut in four of his last five Memorial starts with a pair of finishes T11 or better since 2016.
Kyle Stanley ($8,800)
Gonna close out this week's article with a player that is highly volatile, but also extremely interesting. At just $8.8k, Kyle Stanley brings a lot of positives to Muirfield Village. He gained a MASSIVE 8.2 strokes on Approach last week en route to a T8 result at the Charles Schwab Challenge and has now made the cut in his last three starts of 2021. In addition to the hot form, Stanley also has a T2 (2018) and a T6 ('17) on his Memorial resume.
Win Big With RotoBaller
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