The Memorial: Initial DFS Picks

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Hopefully you have already reviewed The Range and are ready to start attacking lineups.  Below are my initial picks in this loaded Memorial field.  As subscribers know, these picks are further developed during the week in Discord, the Livestream and with further articles from our golf team which will isolate even more golfers to consider in cash and GPP.  Please monitor the ownership projections that we deliver in Discord and that are put out by Steven early Wednesday evening.  Let’s get after it.

Collin Morikawa (10000) – There are so many arguments that can be made for golfers in this elite price range and if I had to pick an honorable mention, it would be Bryson (certain to have a few shares of Bryson as well) but Morikawa appears to be the safer and more automatic option of the group.  I just can’t really believe how unflappable this guy is and what he showed me on Sunday was that his next golf shot is just another shot.  He is on auto-pilot and that’s what I prefer to fly with this weekend. 

Patrick Cantlay (9800) – Wasn’t great to start at Workday but started to really catch fire on the weekend.  Given that he has only played two tournaments since the restart I think we can legitimately attribute the slow start last week to some rust, and now we may have a guy that is ready to fire for all four rounds.  The T2G numbers are outstanding and he won here last year and was 4^th the year before (7^th last week at Workday after that slow start).

Jon Rahm (9300) – I’d like to think Rahm found something last Sunday as he finally woke up and fired 8 birdies and an eagle (with two bogeys).  His paltry 27^th place finish will keep ownership down but we will have to monitor that as we head toward Thursday.  Rahm hasn’t met his potential yet this year, but at 9300 we are definitely getting some value for a guy that is consistently thought of as a Top 5 golfer in the world. 

Daniel Berger (8700) – There is a lot emerging talent in golf and Berger is clearly near the head of that class.  He has been absent the last few weeks but he came out firing post-pandemic with a 1^st and 3^rd place finish.  Add his 4^th place at the Honda Classic before the pandemic and he has finished Top 4 in his last three tournaments.  His APP and OTT numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page and he does tend to lean on a hot putter but I love where he is at right now and I put him squarely in the unflappable category along with Morikawa.

Gary Woodland (8600) – Fair to say the relationship between the DFS community and Gary Woodland is squarely in the love/hate department as of late.  With that said, he absolutely dominated the weekend on this track just a few days ago and it all appears to be explained by his change in drivers.  Prior to last week Woodland was losing a laughable amount of strokes OTT and it appears that he has corrected that.  This may be a case of recency bias on my part, but I can’t ignore the success with the club change so I’ll go ahead and put Woodland in the love column.

Abraham Ancer (8500) – If there were such thing as a golf-crush, I’ve got it in Double-A.  His history at The Memorial ain’t great with only a 65^th and 57^th over the last two years, but his ball striking is prime.  He’s finished Top 15 in his last three events.  He’s coming off of a two week layoff and I’m perfectly ok with that as I’m guessing his focal point this month was to be ready for The Memorial.  Gains in every strokes gained category, and particularly on approach.  Be weary of some chalk here, but still a solid cash and GPP play (he’s an outright play for me as well at 45 to 1).

Sergio Garcia (7800) – We know the ball striking can be elite with Sergio and we know he has plenty of upside, which includes a 5^th place finish at the RBC.  Most of Sergio’s issues reveal themselves with the putter and I’m always willing to take a risk on a guy who has good GIR but needs to get hot with the putter (much like Corey Conners who I will also have a few shares of).

Harris English (7300) – This feels like an easy call at this price which is why I’m weary of it, but I respect the SG metrics too much here to be off of Harris English.  He gains OTT and on APP and can get hot with the putter.  He’s only played two tournaments since the restart and that included a chalky missed cut and a nice 17^th place finish bounce back at the RBC.  Another good value play here.

Keegan Bradley (7200) – Believe it or not, Keegan led the field last week in APP.  Not exactly savvy with the putter and finished a disappointing 39^th last week. If he can even moderately replicate what he did on APP and have couple hot days with the putter, you’ve got yourself a gem in Keegan.   His track record at Memorial is up and down but it includes three Top 25 finishes in the last 5 years and two Top 10 finishes in 2015 and 2016.

Lucas Glover (7100) – A great ball striker who can also drive the ball.  Glover checks most of the boxes, including the fact that he’s finished within the Top 25 in his last 4 tournaments.  In a field like this, the upside is going to be limited with Glover but he can be a cut maker and a birdie maker on the weekend.

Bernd Wiesberger (6600) – When you get down to this price range you need to look for outliers and perhaps some narrative building.  Bernd is a solid player with some solid wins under his belt, albeit on the Euro Tour.  With that said, winning matters in fields like this because I think his expectation will be that he can hang with the big boys.  He’s solid OTT and on APP and will need to have a hot putter to make the cut and do some weekend damage.  Solid punt play here.

Troy Merritt (6600) – On him last week and it paid off as he finished 22^nd.   He also finished 8^th at the Rocket Mortgage and finished 17^th here last year.  Feels like we have a golfer who has found his stroke and is worthy of a couple shares in this punt-play range.

Again, stay tuned for much more from the Win Daily Golf Teamand tune into the Livestream tonight as I will talk golf (and much more) withMichael Rasile.  And please subscribe tothe Win Daily Podcast.  See you inDiscord!