Jason Dufner rebounded after last week's debacle outlasting two final round rain delays to capture the Memorial Tournament (-13). Dufner set a 36-hole record, 14-under, but stumbled Saturday after shooting a five-over 77. He shot a final round 68 (-4) to win by three strokes over Rickie Fowler and Anirban Lahiri. Daniel Summerhays was the 54-hole leader, but wound up shooting a final round 78 (+6) to finish T-10.
I'll be looking to get back on top the PGA Expert leaderboard providing you with my DraftKings PGA DFS lineup picks for the FedEx St. Jude Classic. My goal as always is to help put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups. Additionally, if anyone has lineup questions before the start of the tournament Thursday morning, feel free to contact me via Twitter @Seth_Fink.
Reviewing Last Week's Pick
The good news was each of my picks made the cut. The bad news, only one of my picks finished in the top-10.
Hideki Matsuyama ($10,000): T45, 2-0ver. Matsuyama keeps hurting my feelings. I've picked him several times and anchored my lineup around him, only for him to play inconsistent golf for four rounds.
Patrick Reed ($9,200): T-57, 5-0ver. I really thought his game was fixed and he was getting in good form for the U.S. Open. I guess not.
Tony Finau ($7,900): T-40, 1-0ver. Back-t0-back weeks with an ugly first round, followed by shooting a second round 65. He made three consecutive birdies to end the second round just to make the cut. He finished the fourth round with a double-bogey, bogey, triple-bogey, and par. He needs to be more consistent and not so erratic.
Phil Mickelson ($7,700): T-22, 3-under. What you expect out of Lefty; he'll make the cut, and make a little noise.
Kyle Stanley ($7,400): T-6, 8-under. Bounced back nicely after an opening-round 76.
Byeong-Hun An ($6,900): T-25, 2-under. After an opening-round 68, shot three consecutive rounds in the 70s.
Marc Leishman ($6,900): T-15, 5-under.
Brendan Steele ($6,700): T-57, 5-over.
FedEx St. Jude Classic
The final warmup for the U.S. Open will take place at TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN. It's a Par 70 course, a perfect final tune-up for the U.S. Open where par is almost always 70. Water is featured on 10 holes, and eight of the holes have water right near the green, therefore Strokes Gained: Approach is a stat to look at. The par-3 11th is sort of like an island green and its website even alludes to it, "A smaller version of the famous 17th at TPC Sawgrass, but with its own uniqueness. This hole requires a short iron over water to an island green with a small pot bunker that guards the front edge of the green."
With only four Par 3's and two reachable Par 5's (530 and 554 yards), good Par 4 scoring is a must.
Only six of the world's top-25 players will be competing this week; Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari, Charl Schwartzel, and Phil Mickelson. Ryan Palmer is priced at ($9,000). I love Palmer after our little Twitter exchange, but his point totals the past three weeks have been; 26.5, 62, and 36.5. Yet he's priced at $9,000. That tells you all you need to know about this tournament. Daniel Berger is the defending champion and will be looking to defend his title.
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for DraftKings (PGA DFS)
High-Cost Players
Rickie Fowler ($12,000) is the highest-priced player. He is on a tear of late and fresh off a runner-up finish at The Memorial last week, but I'm going to avoid him, like I always do with the highest-priced players.
I really like Francesco Molinari ($10,500) this week. He placed T-6 at THE PLAYERS and was runner-up at BMW PGA Championship. He's second in Strokes Gained: Approach and fifth in Par 4 scoring. In his tournament debut last year, he finished 34th.
I also really like Phil Mickelson ($10,200). As you've probably heard, he is skipping the U.S. Open to attend his daughter's graduation. Perhaps he doesn't want to finish in second-place at the U.S. Open, which would make it a record seventh time. Anyways, good for Phil for choosing family over golf. He can do whatever he wants at this stage. Nonetheless, this will be his de facto U.S. Open. At this tournament since 2013, Phil has finished 2nd, 11th, 3rd, and 2nd. He's 77th in Par 4 scoring and 14th in approach.
Middle-Cost Players
Seung Yul-Noh ($8,100)
Noh was cut at the past two tournaments he's competed in; Byron Nelson and the DEAN & DELUCA. However, he finished T-5 at the Wells Fargo and T-22 at THE PLAYERS. He returns to a course he's had great success on in recent years. In four times competing at this event, Noh has finished 7th, cut, 3rd, and 7th.
Steve Stricker ($7,900)
UPDATE: WITHDREW
He was runner-up here a year ago and always seems to step up at these random tournaments. He was playing well last week, but shot a final round 78 to finish 1-0ver. He's 32nd in Par 4 scoring and 82nd in SG: approach.
Chad Campbell ($7,600)
Campbell has made the cut in seven consecutive tournaments, only being cut once in 2008. He has two top-10 finishes which came in 2012 and 2015. He's 62nd in Par 4 scoring and 38th in SG: approach.
Ian Poulter ($7,600)
The fiery Brit has been playing well of late. He's played this event three times; cut in 2010, 51st in 2013 and 6th in 2014. His stats are also perfect for this tournament, 46th in Par 4 scoring and 8th in SG: approach.
Low-Cost Players
D.A. Points ($6,500)
Points won the Puerto Rico Open way back in mid-March and has tacked on two top-25's since, Houston Open and Wells Fargo. He plays this tournament every so often, but finished 18th last year. He's 97th in Par 4 scoring and 19th in SG: approach.
Boo Weekley ($6,500)
Boo was cut at the DEAN & DELUCA, his last tournament played. He has made seven consecutive cuts at this event with two top-10 finishes, and only was cut twice. While he is 171st in Par 4 scoring, he is 21st in SG: approach.
Best of luck!