FedEx St. Jude Championship DraftKings picks with top plays and fades for TPC Southwind and building the best PGA DFS lineup for the week.
It's only the best of this year ready to tee it up at the 2023 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, TN this week.
The first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is here, meaning that the new rules have only allowed the Top 70 players in the final regular season FedEx Cup standings to make it into the PGA Tour postseason.
For PGA DFS purposes on DraftKings, however, that makes for an interesting slate. Normally, you're picking through scraps if you want to dip into the 6K range, but that's not the case this week as there are a bevy of options who have been playing well all year, which is why they're in the field. That allows a ton of flexibility to building a lineup and gives credence to a high-end stars and scrubs build.
So let's get into that with our FedEx St. Jude Championship DraftKings picks for this week, going through the top plays and fades in each pricing range before we build our PGA DFS lineup for the week at TPC Southwind.
FedEx St. Jude Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Plays
$10,000: Viktor Hovland ($10,200) – Yes, Hovland's history at TPC Southwind isn't much to write home about. But the fact of the matter is that the Norwegian has leveled up in big tournaments and, sneakily, has improved his finish every year at this event. The ball striking required to succeed at the FedEx St. Jude is why I love Hovland, especially getting a huge discount from Scheffler, Rory and Rahm. Also Consider: Rory McIlroy ($11,500), Jon Rahm ($11,100)
$9,000: Tyrrell Hatton ($9,700) – Admittedly, the 9K range leaves a lot to be desired in terms of history at this place as there have been only two Top 10 finishes among the six players in this range. With that said, Hatton has elevated his game this season to a level that suits this course ideally with his short game combined with ball striking. He's a value at this price if we're being honest. Also Consider: Patrick Cantlay ($9,800), Rickie Fowler ($9,500), Collin Morikawa ($9,000)
$8,000: Brian Harman ($8,300) – It was really between Harman and Hideki as my top plays in the 8K range this week but I'm going with the Champion Golfer of the Year. We haven't seen him play since that win at Royal Liverpool, but we know how good his ball striking and accuracy are on top of his lethal putter. He finished T3 here last year and I think we see another big week at TPC Southwind for the lefty this week. Also Consider: Max Homa ($8,800), Matt Fitzpatrick ($8,600), Wyndham Clark ($8,500), Hideki Matsuyama ($8,400)
$7,000: Lucas Glover ($7,400) – Frankly, could not care less that Lucas Glover won last week. This is the only time in the PGA Tour calendar when I'm ready to dismiss that as guys are playing for the playoff lives. Glover got in with the win at Wyndham, but his numbers are phenomenal, gaining 2.0 strokes ball striking and with the putter over his last 20 rounds. Give me all of that at a place where Glover quietly also finished T3 last year. Also Consider: Russell Henley ($7,800), Sepp Straka ($7,700), Byeong Hun An ($7,500), J.T. Poston ($7,300), Emiliano Grillo ($7,100), Aaron Rai ($7,000)
$6,000: Andrew Putnam ($6,400) – Andrew Putnam has made three starts in the past five years at the FedEx St. Jude. He has two Top 5s and three made cuts in those starts. Now you throw in that he's gaining with the putter and more than a half stroke on approach in his last 20 rounds, and this is a live option in the lower-half of the 6K range that I'm more than comfortable having in my lineups. Also Consider: Eric Cole ($6,900), Alex Smalley ($6,800), Mark Hubbard ($6,600), Lee Hodges ($6,500)
FedEx St. Jude Championship DraftKings picks for PGA DFS lineups: Top Fades
$10,000: Xander Schauffele ($10,000) – On the surface, getting a player who has as balanced of a game as Xander Schauffele at this course at the bottom of the 10K range might seem like a gift. It isn't. Schauffele's recent numbers have been fine but not special with ball striking and his history at TPC Southwind is simply lacking with a T6 and no other finishes in the Top 25 over the last four starts here. I won't have anything on him this week.
$9,000: Jordan Spieth ($9,300) – Even with a pair of T12s in the last four years at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, I can't buy into Spieth this week. Losing strokes with the short game over the last 20 rounds is not the way to succeed around this place and even the ball striking has been inconsistent. The no-cut event scares me with how hot Spieth is able to get, but I'm sticking with the numbers because I'm a slave to them.
$8,000: Sungae Im ($8,000) – If Sungjae Im were playing the Sungjae Im we know and love, I'd be tripping over myself to get him at a flat $8,000 on DraftKings. The problem is that he's not. He's gaining strokes across the board but only marginally, specifically with the ball striking and putting, which is crucial for a good week at the FedEx St. Jude. I can't trust that profile this week with all of the talent and trending players in this field and price range.
$7,000: Tom Kim ($7,800) – This is all injury-related for Tom Kim. He suffered an ankle injury at The Open and hasn't played since. I think there's a good chance he ends up taking it easy relatively this week to just not aggravate that injury. His play has been great of late, but the ankle is keeping me off him for PGA DFS games.
FedEx St. Jude Championship: Best DraftKings golf PGA DFS lineup
- Viktor Hovland ($10,200)
- Tyrrell Hatton ($9,700)
- Collin Morikawa ($9,000)
- Lucas Glover ($7,400)
- J.T. Poston ($7,300)
- Andrew Putnam ($6,400)
Putnam's profile coming into the first playoff event really opens up a lot of doors if you put him in your DraftKings PGA DFS lineup. That allows us to get three guys at $9K or higher in here. We've talked about Hovland and Hatton, but Morikawa is striking his irons beautifully right now and putt well at this event a year ago when he finished T5. Give me that upside at that price.
The only other remaining player we haven't talked about in this lineup is J.T. Poston. He's finished T7 or better in four of his last five events and has been T41 or better in all five. When you then look at how he's flushing his approaches combined with his always-reliable putter, I love his upside this week at the St. Jude.