This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
Memphis, Tennessee
TPC Southwind - Par 70 - 7,277 yards
Field - 78 entrants
Purse - $10.5M
The Preview
A lack of firepower in the field at last week's 3M Open allowed Michael Thompson to pick up his first win on the PGA Tour since 2013, but the condensed schedule now heats up for the home stretch as TPC Southwind hosts an exclusive 78-man, no-cut structure for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational ahead of 2020's first major at TPC Harding Park next week. The defending champion in Memphis, Brooks Koepka, led last year's field in par-4 scoring by three shots and hit 50 of 72 greens in regulation on the way to his victory, also ranking T9 or better in both driving accuracy and distance. Strokes gained off the tee and an ability to rack up par-breaker chances will be paramount from a daily fantasy output perspective with all four rounds guaranteed. Punt plays also become more common in lineups as gamers can feel more comfortable stacking several studs at the top in this setting.
Recent Champions
2019 - Brooks Koepka
FedEx St. Jude Classic:
2018 - Dustin Johnson
2017 - Daniel Berger
2016 - Daniel Berger
2015 - Fabian Gomez
2014 - Ben Crane
2013 - Harris English
2012 - Dustin Johnson
2011 - Harrison Frazar
2010 - Lee Westwood
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Off-the-Tee
Driving accuracy
Proximity
SG: Putting (bermuda)
Yahoo Value Picks - based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Justin Thomas - $45
As if the PGA Tour's 2019-20 leader in both FedEx Cup points and SG: Tee-to-Green needed any more help, Thomas will have caddie legend Jim "Bones" Mackay on the bag for the next two weeks while his regular looper, Jimmy Johnson, remains sidelined and tends to an illness situation. Thomas has averaged 6.6 strokes gained from tee to green per event in five total starts since the Charles Schwab Challenge, collecting three top-10s and runner-up honors at the Workday Charity Open during this span. On the season, he ranks third in birdie average, third in sand-save percentage, third in fairway proximity and ninth in scrambling.
Jon Rahm - $45
The newly-crowned World No. 1 heads to TPC Southwind fresh off a three-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament where he gained over 15 strokes from tee to green and racked up 18 total birdies despite relatively difficult conditions. Rahm has now gained an average of 5.9 SG: T2G per event since the restart at Colonial in June, and he hasn't lost strokes off the tee since the 2019 TOUR Championship. The Spaniard reached 10-under-par and placed solo-seventh here in Memphis last year.
Glue Guys
Xander Schauffele - $38
Schauffele ranks third among this week's field in SG: Off-the-Tee since the schedule resumed at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and he most recently gained nearly 13 strokes from tee to green en route to a top-15 performance at the Memorial Tournament where he simply struggled with the flat stick on lightning greens. Schauffele has built a reputation for excelling against top competition in majors and WGC events, while he also sits third in GIR percentage, seventh in SG: OTT and 10th in birdie average this season.
Viktor Hovland - $32
Hovland's ball striking has been ridiculously good since the Tour's restart, pacing his peers in SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach throughout his last 24 measured rounds. He's made the cut in all six of his starts since the Charles Schwab Challenge and he posted five consecutive top-25s from the CSC through the Workday Charity Open where he finished third. Prior to the Memorial Tournament, Hovland gained no less than 5.5 shots on approaches in a single event across three consecutive starts from the Travelers Championship to the aforementioned Workday.
Bargain Bin
Daniel Berger - $30
Even with a missed cut in his most recent tournament appearance at the Memorial, Berger is still value city with chalk potential here as he notched five straight top-10 results from the Waste Management Phoenix Open through the RBC Heritage, mixing in a playoff win at the Charles Schwab Challenge along the way. He's gained strokes off the tee in eight consecutive measured events, but Berger's also remained efficient with the putter while gaining strokes on the greens in each of his performances dating back to the WMPO. Additionally, it's no secret that Berger went back-to-back at the FedEx St. Jude Classic hosted by TPC Southwind in 2016 and 2017.
Billy Horschel - $25
Much like Berger, course history plays into the intrigue for rostering Horschel this week in Memphis, given the latter has amassed five top-10s at TPC Southwind since 2013. More importantly, Horschel has picked up recent momentum with back-to-back top-15s at the Memorial Tournament and Workday Charity Open under his belt. He impressed with the putter across eight rounds at Muirfield Village, but he quietly gained strokes off the tee in eight consecutive starts as well.
