PGA DFS Core Plays: FedEx St. Jude Championship
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various salary ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
The regular season has officially come to an end and we now turn our attention to the FedExCup Playoffs. Many dislike the format of the playoffs, but I like the fact that anyone that makes the playoffs can win the whole thing. It’s similar to other sports in that regard. Even the last golfer in (Ben Griffin) can take home the $18 million first place prize if he plays well enough over the course of the next three weeks. There are only 70 golfers set to tee it up this week and only the top 50 in the FedExCup standings will move on to play Olympia Fields next week at the BMW Championship.
This will always be an event near and dear to my heart because this is where Will Zalatoris picked up his first PGA Tour win. He outlasted Sepp Straka in a playoff that had one of the most bizarre endings you will ever see. After tying a couple of holes, they went to the island par three. Zalatoris hit his ball and it rolled back in between the rough and the rocks. It was looking like Straka just needed to hit the green to get the win, but he hit the ball in the water and Zalatoris stuck his third from the drop zone to bogey the hole and grab his first win. Let’s hope we can recapture some of that magic this week.
TPC Southwind is a Par 70 that measures 7,243 yards. It is a course that rewards patience, as danger lurks everywhere. The fairways are only 29 yards wide on average, the greens are only 4,300 square feet on average, and water is in play on 11 of the 18 holes. The bermudagrass rough can cause problems, especially when it comes to trying to stop the ball on these small greens. Approach play is always important, and that’s the case again this week. If you like to look at proximity numbers, over 60% of approach shots will come between 125 and 200 yards. Essentially, this course requires a ton of mid-irons.
With the greens being so small, they are generally tough to hit in regulation compared to tour average. This brings around the green into play and is a big reason why we usually don’t see the winning score in the 20-under-par range. We’ve seen the likes of Daniel Berger, Justin Thomas, and Abraham Ancer win here. They are all great iron players with a tidy short game around the green. I don’t mind playing into the bermudagrass angle, especially when it comes to putting splits. There are a handful of golfers who never seem to putt well on bermuda and a handful that specialize on this type of grass.
Field Breakdown Video & Model Download Link for the FedEx St. Jude Championship
As far as course fit goes, I’m keeping it simple this week. I’m looking for total driving, strokes gained approach, proximity from 125 to 200 yards (which can be found in the model download above), strokes gained around the green, bogey avoidance, greens in regulation, and strokes gained putting on bermudagrass. Well, I suppose that doesn’t sound too simple.
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Core Plays for FedEx St. Jude Championship
Field Size:
- 70 golfers
Cut Rule:
- No cut this week
Weather Forecasts
Golf Course
- TPC Southwind
- Located in Memphis, Tennessee
- Par 70 — 7,243 yards
- Difficulty: 30th (2022), 32nd (2021), 14th (2020), 24th (2019), 11th (2018)
- Fairway width in landing areas: 29.8 yards
- Green size: 4,300 square feet
- Grass type: fairways are zoysiagrass, rough and greens are bermudagrass
- Water is in play on 11 holes
Event Notes
- Only 70 golfers in the field this week, top 50 in FedExCup standings will move on
- Course favors patience — narrow fairways, small greens, plenty of hazards
- Over 60% of approach shots will come from 125 to 200 yards
- Greens are difficult to hit on average, so around the green is important
What to Look For
- Strokes gained approach
- Total driving
- Bogey avoidance
- Greens in regulation
- Strokes gained putting (emphasis on bermuda)
- Proximity from 125-200 yards
Core Plays
Tommy Fleetwood
DK: $9,100 — FD: $10,800
Total Driving — 38
SG: APP — 25
Greens in Regulation — 39
Bogey Avoidance — 10
SG: Putting (Bermuda) — 7
Stat Rank — 10
Noto Rating — 79.5
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