The Memorial Tournament - Fantasy Picks - Presented by DraftKings

This week the Tour makes it’s annual trip to “Jack’s Place” at Muirfield Village. Personally, I love how one of the most influential individuals in golf decided to create a tournament, which seeks to honour those who themselves have had a positive impact on the game. This act of humility in itself honours our game. This year marks the 40th playing of the event, and it will be none other than Sir Nick Faldo whom Jack has chosen to honour.

Tiger Woods will be teeing it up this week, returning to an event which has certainly been memorable for him, as he has won the event five times. His most recent victory was in 2012 when he defeated Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini by two strokes. It will be interesting to see if he can repeat what he accomplished this year at Augusta - competing on a course that has been kind to him in the past, despite the fact that his game is nowhere near where it once was.

Despite past success, Woods has not made my list of players to watch for this week. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be watching, but I need to see if he can work some positive consistency back into his game before I start putting him into my fantasy lineups. Below is the list of my top-10 players to watch this week, as well as some sleepers that are worth a look at.

Jordan Spieth - Do I really have to explain this pick? Disappointing performance last week in his hometown, but have to expect that he will play well when he seems to assault the leaderboard in almost every tournament he plays.
Dustin Johnson - Continues his great play this season. In the eleven tournaments he’s played, has only missed two cuts. When making the cut, he has only finished outside of the top-10 three times.
Jason Day - Pulled out of last week’s event due to dizzy spells. I expect him to be very well rested. Playing close to “home” as his wife is from the area.
Hideki Matsuyama - Another golfer having a great season. This week’s defending champion, the last time he finished outside the top-25 in an event was when he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open back in early February.
Kevin Na - Lost to Matsuyama in playoff at this event last year. Has finished within the top-10 in five of the last eight events he has played this season.
Charley Hoffman - There’s a reason why he sits 4th in FedEx Cup points race this season. Continues to pop up on leaderboards and play some of the best golf of his career.
Brooks Koepka - Ranks 7th on Tour in scoring average, and 8th in all-around ranking. First trip to the Memorial. Already a winner this season (Waste Management Phoenix Open). Cooled off a little after win in February, but since The Masters, has been posting some solid scores.
Steve Stricker - Not a player who plays a lot of events, which is especially true this season as he continues to work his way back after having surgery to repair a bulging disk in his back. I think this will be a week where he starts to get his game in shape after displaying positive signs at Colonial and then taking a week off to practice and rest. Winner of this event back in 2011.
Cameron Tringale - T37 & T16 in last two years at this event. Quietly having a breakthrough year. Has finished inside the top-5 twice in his last six events (T5 at Shell Houston Open & 2nd at Zurich Classic).
Matt Kuchar - Won this event in 2013, and T15 last year. He has not played his best golf this season, but at the same time, has only missed one cut.

Sleeper Picks

Nick Taylor - Already won this early in 2014-2015 season at Sanderson Farms. Finished T27 at Colonial two weeks ago. With this week’s event being held fairly close to the Canadian border, it may provide some added inspiration for the young Canadian.
Danny Lee - T34, T10, T13 in last three events played on Tour. Lots of hype over this young man when he turned pro back in 2009, and lately has begun to display that there was good reason for it.
George McNeill - Withdrew from last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson. Has been playing great golf this past month. Worst finish during this stretch was a T28 at Wells Fargo.
Martin Flores - Made cut in last four events played. Has been able to string together three solid rounds, but trend has been to consistently post one round that is over par. If he can break this trend and keep that one round close to even par, will continue to be a great sleeper pick.
Patrick Rogers - Needs 10 FedEx cup points to earn temporary status on Tour. Last year’s Nicklaus Award winner (top NCAA collegiate golfer), missed the cut by 2 last week at AT&T Byron Nelson. I expect him to play inspired golf this week. T2 at Wells Fargo three weeks ago.

I love this part….my DraftKings lineups! This week, to sweaten the pot even more than usual, DraftKings has boosted the prize pool, with a quarter million dollars up for grabs, that's right $250,000! $100,00 will go to first place. If you're new to DraftKings, sign up now and with your first depost you'll get a free entry into this weeks contest!

This week we've also included a couple new lineups, thanks to our friends at TLink Golf and Vision Golf. Have a look and ultimately decide for yourself how you'd like to structure your team. When you're ready, draft your team here.

Let’s take a look at my picks:

'Starting' LineUp:

Dustin Johnson - $12,000

Jason Day - $10,800

Cameron Tringale -$7,300

Steve Stricker - $7,100

Danny Lee - $6,600

George Coetzee - $5,200

Dustin Johnson is playing some of the best golf of his career, so I feel he’s worth the money. Jason Day always competes, and so while I don’t like spending more than $9,000 for my number two, I’m justifying it by the fact that I am surprised I can get him for less than $11,000. When Steve Stricker is on, he is steady and will earn points, Danny Lee has been playing great golf as of late, and George Coetzee has been playing some good golf on the European Tour this season.

'Alternate' LineUp:

Jordan Spieth - $12,500

Brooks Koepka - $8,000

Harris English - $7,800

John Peterson - $7,400

Daniel Berger - $7,000

George McNeill - $6,700

My strategy with this team was to get Spieth whom I have every reason to believe will play well and get me points, then get a couple guys who should play well in Koepka and English. The remaining three - Peterson, Berger and McNeill - I am choosing as educated guesses. They’ve had decent years, but in fact names that could lead to my team flopping. I’m taking some chances with this team, because sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you study your picks, it is the guys you least expect who come out and earn you points. That’s what I’m banking on with this team.

'Young Guns' LineUp:

Jordan Spieth - $12,500

Brooks Koepka - $8,000

Morgan Hoffmann - $7,700

Russell Henley - $7,400

Ryo Ishikawa - $7,100

Daniel Berger - $7,000

Our Young Guns lineup submitted by TLink Golf pays tribute to the young stars in the field. Although some might be considered 'up and comers' others like Jordan Spieth have quickly established themselves as a force to be recond with. These guys play with passion and will be gunning for top spot this week.

'Aussie Rules' LineUp:

Jason Day - $10,800

Marc Leishman - $7,700

John Senden - $7,300

Matt Jones - $6,900

Greg Chalmers - $6,700

Danny Lee - $6,600

Many great golfers hail from Australia, which is the theme of this lineup, submitted by Vision Golf, an Australian golf ball manufacturer. After withdrawing from the Byron Nelson due to 'dizzyness', Jason Day seems to be feeling back to normal, and we'll be watching for him to lead the charge this week. In 10 events this season, he's had 5 top 10 finishes and has only missed the cut once.

Draft Your Team Now

About the Author This article was written by Jonathan Carr (@jonathanwcarr) as part of our weekly #FantasyGolf series. Each week we preview the upcoming PGA Tour event and highlight some of the players we'll be keeping an eye on. As a scratch golfer himself, Jonathan has a keen eye for what it takes to be successful on and off the golf course. His passion for golf is surpassed only by his passion for his faith and his family. Read some of Jonathan's other articles here. About DraftKings DraftKings is a leading provider of online fantasy sports. Our core product is a 1-day Fantasy Sports Contest, where users compete against each other to win cash prizes. The game works similarly to how season-long contests on ESPN or Yahoo operate, with the key difference being that instead of season-long commitments, our users only need to commit to playing for a single day at a time. Free and entry-fee-based games are available. Featuring daily fantasy sports contests and same-day settlement, DraftKings makes playing fantasy sports simpler and faster for both seasoned and casual players.