RADIO
Jens Christenson Round 3 PGA DFS showdown slate picks for the 2025 The Memorial Tournament. His top in-tournament DFS lineup picks and top plays for DraftKings and FanDuel.
Hello, Rotoballers! I hope everyone is doing well and is ready for another exciting year of PGA DFS. Showdown has returned for another season on DraftKings alongside the PGA Tour, and we’re here to help guide you, whether you’re looking to continue your journey from where you left off in 2024 or are new to this particular DFS format.
Ben Griffin started strong, taking an early lead after the first round with a 7-under 65. However, in the second round, he shot an even-par 72. Despite this, he remains at the top of the leaderboard, tied with Nick Taylor, who is also at 7-under as we head into the weekend. Following them is Akshay Bhatia at 5-under, while Scottie Scheffler sits in fourth at 4-under. Sam Burns had the best round of the day, shooting a 7-under, putting him in a tie for fifth with Jordan Spieth and Shane Lowry, both at 3-under. This weekend promises to be exciting, serving as the final tune-up for many players before the U.S. Open in two weeks.
Unlike standard golf DFS, which covers the entire tournament, Showdown focuses on each round as an individual event. It's crucial to find players who excel on approach shots, but it’s also important to make roster decisions that provide ownership leverage by selecting riskier players who may not have been performing their best recently but could have a strong bounce-back round. In other words, this is a sprint, not a marathon.
Weather, Course Conditions, and Tee Times
Tomorrow's forecast indicates that it will be windier throughout the day compared to today. In Round 1, the average score was +1.94, while Round 2 saw lower scores with an average of +1.06. Given tomorrow's forecast, we could see scores to closer to or even higher than what we saw in Round 1.
Round 3 Strategy
The key to success in showdowns is to look for ball strikers who can have a standout putting performance. Having two exceptional putting days in a row is quite challenging, so we should focus on golfers who have been consistent with their approach shots and created birdie opportunities but fell short in converting them.
It’s also beneficial to target players who need to improve their position on the leaderboard, as they often push harder on moving day. Additionally, golfers who have shown some positive form in the first two rounds are great candidates to consider.
Keep in mind that ownership levels tend to decrease as the morning's first tee time approaches, so identifying players who are likely to bounce back is crucial for achieving significant wins.
$10,000+
Favorite Play: Scottie Scheffler has maintained his impressive form following his PGA Championship victory, shooting a 2-under 70 in both Round 1 and Round 2. Scheffler has done everything we've come to expect from him, positioning himself well off the tee and creating birdie opportunities by executing aggressive approach shots and attacking the pin. Scheffler has dropped nine birdies through the first two rounds, and I don't see him slowing down tomorrow.
He’s here. @PGATOUR x #theMemorial pic.twitter.com/UCEyUxEuoh
— the Memorial (@MemorialGolf) May 27, 2025
$9,000+
Favorite Play: Si Woo Kim had a tough outing in Round 2 today and carded a 5-over 77. He has been anything but excellent with his approach play and his execution on approach has been well below what we've seen from this season. Kim lost 0.870 strokes on approach in Round 1 and lost 3.877 in Round 2. However, he's been excellent off the tee in both rounds, gaining 2.017 strokes off the tee in Round 1 and 1.144 in Round 2. Kim is putting himself in good positions off the tee, allowing him to be aggressive with his approach shots and I'm taking my chances on him executing his approach shots better than he has in the first two rounds.
Other Options: Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay
$8,000+
Favorite Play: Keegan Bradley was excellent in Round 1, gaining strokes across the board. In the first round, he finished with a 3-under 69 by gaining 3.619 strokes on approach and 4.45 strokes tee to green. He followed that up in Round 2 by carding a 4-over 74, losing strokes across the board. Bradley lost 0.748 strokes on approach and 0.398 strokes off the tee. I'm riding with Bradley in Round 3 because he's hit 69.44% of greens in regulation through the first two rounds and it's hard for me to see him having poor back-to-back rounds.
Other Options: Russell Henley, Ben Griffin, Tony Finau
$7,000+
Favorite Play: Bud Cauleyis having an excellent season and has looked solid through the first two rounds this week. He has been OUTSTANDING with his approach play in both rounds, gaining 3.565 strokes in Round 1 and 0.898 in Round 2. On top of his exceptional approach play, he has also been one of the best off the tee in through the first two rounds, gaining 1.032 strokes in Round 1 and 1.246 strokes in Round 2. I feel confident about Cauley's performance given how good he has been off the tee and on approach. Let’s just hope he can get things sorted out with the flat stick tomorrow.
Other Options: Max Homa, Stephen Jaeger, Mackenzie Hughes, Sungjae Im
What do ya say we do it all again tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ob5jdgBp4W
— the Memorial (@MemorialGolf) May 31, 2025
$6,000+
Favorite Play: Wyndham Clark was abysmal in the first round, posting a 6-over 78. However, he bounced back in Round 2 by carding a 1-under 70 to make the cut on the line. Clark lost strokes across the board in Round 1, BUUUUUUT in Round 2 he gained 1.720 strokes off the tee and 2.476 strokes putting. Clark wasn't good on approach or around the greens in either round, but he's been one of the best players around the greens on tour this season. Clark can drop birdies when he's on and through the first two rounds he's got eight of them. This is exactly what we want especially, in this salary range.
Other Options: Jacob Bridgeman, Cameron Young, Tom Hoge, Justin Rose
Guy I'm Playing That You Shouldn't
This will be an every-week addition to my article where I'll pick a golfer who I believe has shown he can go nuclear but has every chance he could dud and should generally be reserved for the largest field GPP tournaments.
Austin Eckroat hit 85.71% of fairways and 61.11% of greens in regulation in Round 2 but only managed to card a 1-over 73. He could've gone lower if he had the flat stick working however, he lost 0.870 strokes putting but in the first round he gained 1.963 strokes putting. Eckroat has dropped seven birdies through the first two rounds and should give himself plenty of opportunities tomorrow which is exactly the type of player we want to target in this section of the article.
This lineup is for demonstration purposes only.
Showdown Optimizer
The optimizer works nicely with the projected ownership from the model. If you are unsure how to use it, there is a video at the top of the "PGA Lineup Optimizer" page on how to get my projected ownership and/or projected points into your optimizer.
Good luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor.
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