By: Jake Friedman
Introduction
After an exciting event in Canada last week, the PGA Tour heads to Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. Muirfield Village Golf Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is a par 72 that measures 7,533 yards.
This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year outside of the majors. Muirfield Village is one of the toughest tests on the schedule outside of the majors. Single digit under par winners are found here frequently. Also, being a graduate from THE Ohio State University, Murifield Village is just a short 25 minute drive away.
As always, please refer to Nate's article for an in-depth breakdown of the tournament's field, course, and more!
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DFS Guide
10k Range
Scottie Scheffler ($12,500) - Simply put, he is the best player on the PGA Tour. His ownership will be through the roof, but he is almost a sure thing for a top 10 finish. He is having a historical tee to green season and his week to week results are determined by his putter. Scottie has gained with the flat stick in each of his last 7 starts which is unheard of for him. Maybe he's finally figured it out. He's played here 4 times and has finishes of 3, 3, T22, and missed cut. Winning 4 of his last 7 starts and the favorite to win this week, you can't go wrong playing Scheffler.
Rory McIlroy ($11,100) - My favorite play in this range to diversify off of Scheffler is McIlroy. Playing some amazing golf leading into this week and having some amazing results at Muirfield Village, I think he's a smash play. He has a very similar profile to Scheffler where he is elite from tee to green and his weeks are determined by the putter. He's also gained in 7 straight starts with the flat stick. In his last 4 starts he has 2 wins, a T12 and a T4. In 12 starts at Muirfield Village, he has 5 top 10 finishes. The form combined with trending towards a win here at Murifield makes him a play in my books.
9k Range
Collin Morikawa ($9,800) - The win is coming very soon for Morikawa and I think this could be the week. He won at Muirfield Village back in 2020 and had a second place finish back in 2021. The 2 recent appearences here are not very good, but with the recent form he's in, he I'm leaning towards the top results he's had here. He has 5 top 20 finishes in his last 6 starts including 2 top 5 finishes in his last 2 starts. Morikawa isn't long off the tee but he is accurate. He's also elite with his irons and above Tour average around the green and with the flat stick. The putter is pretty hit or miss for Morikawa which has held him back in his last 2 starts, but if he can get the flat stick to cooperate this week, I think he is in line for another top 5 finish.
Justin Thomas ($9,200) - In the hopes of a discounted ownership, I'm going with JT to round out this price range. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster this season for JT but he seems to be trending back in the right direction. What Thomas does well is plus distance off the tee, paired with an elite iron and around the green game. The driving accuracy and putter don't always cooperate but they aren't horrible. In his last 3 starts he has a T5, T21, and T8. His course history at Muirfield Village is pretty hit or miss, but it is highlighted by 3 top 10 finishes in 10 appearences. I'm willing to take my chances if there's a discounted ownership on Thomas.
8k Range
Max Homa ($8,700) - I have no idea where his ownership is going to come in this week given the last time we saw him everything was going the wrong direction, but I'm willing to take my chances on a very talented golfer at this price point. Homa is above Tour average in driving distance, approach, around the green, and putting. His accuracy off the tee is generally what determines his ceiling for the week. It wasn't too long ago that Homa made a run at The Masters finishing T3. In his last 2 appearences at Muirfield Village Homa has a T6 in 2021 and a T5 in 2022. If Homa came into this week with good form we would be seeing him in the high $9k range and in the 20-30/1 range for the outright market. I'm going to take my chances here and hope the course history prevails.
Russell Henley ($8,000) - One of my models favorite plays this week is Henley. He pops in my model consistently and with the player profile he has, it makes sense why. Even though he isn't long off the tee, he is deathly accurate and brings along a very strong iron, around the green, and putting game. During the 2024 season, he has 7 top 25 finishes in 12 starts and only has 1 missed cut. His course history isn't anything crazy but over the past 3 years he has a T7, missed cut, and T16. The consistent results, the well rounded player profile, and the course history pair nicely for a DFS play this week.
7k Range
Brian Harman ($7,300) - After the electric season Harman has last year, which included winning The Open, I don't think it's out of line to say this year has been a little disappointing. His best finish was a T2 at The Players, but after that he has no other finish inside the top 10 in 2024. You have to bear with me here as the course history at Muirfield is close to abysmal, but I think this is the week Harman finds his second finish inside the top 10 on the year. He has missed the cut in 6 of 9 appearances at Muirfield Village, with his best finish coming in 2022 with a T18. Now that that's out of the way, he has almost an idential player profile to Henley who I spoke about above. He isn't long off the tee, but he is very accurate and he has a strong iron game and elite short game to pair with it. What makes Harman appealing here is his ability to spike with both the irons and the putter. Generally, that combination wins you tournaments. The irons have shown up in his last 3 appearences so I'm banking on him keeping those hot while getting the putter rolling.
Rickie Fowler ($7,000) - Yes, you are reading this correctly and bear with me while I explain. Even though the results this year have been lackluster to say the least, his best finish being a T18 at the RBC Heritage, Fowler has only missed the cut 3 times in 14 appearences this year. He's just been playing average golf. His player profile is still well rounded on the year coming in above Tour average in driving distance, driving accuracy, approach, around the green, and putting. His course history over the past few years has been extremely good. Dating back to 2017, Fowler has 3 top 10 finishes, 2 top 15 finishes, and 1 top 25 finish. I'm turning to a low owned Rickie Fowler this week to add another great finish to his course history at Muirfield Village and have his best finish on the season so far (feel free to @ me on X when this comes back to bite me in the behind).
6k Range
Justin Rose ($6,900) - I don't mind turning to a player who's won at this course in the 6k range. Back in 2010, Rose won at Muirfield Village and he has some other fantastic results on this course. He has 9 top 15 finishes in 15 appearences, although his most recent was in 2020. Rose is a very well rounded golfer and comes in at Tour average or better in the 5 main statistical categories I look at. What pops for me is that he has been gaining off the tee in distance and accuracy as well as improving over the last 3 rounds with the irons. He also has the ability to spike with the putter which is an added bonus. With the current form of the irons and driver paired with the course history, if the putter gets rolling early watch out for Justin Rose this week.
Jackson Koivun ($6,000) - This is my hero play of the week. Given the field is only 70 players and the cut is going to be super small, I'm going to test my luck at the rock bottom of this range with Jackson Koivun. He is ranked the #4 amateur golfer in the world and plays his collegiate golf at Auburn. The reason he is in the field this week is because he won the 2024 Jack Nicklaus Award. In 9 collegiate events this season, his worst finish is 5th and he has 2 wins, one of which is the SEC Championship. I think there's a bright professional career ahead for the kid and at the rock bottom of this range, I'm just asking him to make the cut.
Outright Betting Guide
Max Homa +5500 0.3182U
Tom Kim +5500 0.3182U
Shane Lowry +7500 0.2334U
Justin Rose +13000 0.1347U
I will be adding another play or two before the tournament starts so be sure to check back to this article or follow me on X or join the Discord to see my final betting card!
Good luck in all your action this week and please remember to gamble responsibly!
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