PGA DFS Picks: Showdown Spotlight Round 3 of The Memorial

This column is a quick-hitter article to give you the stats you need to make informed PGA DFS picks for your DraftKings + FanDuel daily fantasy lineups and give you a couple of recommendations for The Memorial. On a typical showdown contest, DraftKings will offer upwards of $50,000 to first for rounds 2 and 3 showdown, and sometimes up to $100,000 for the final round contests. They also provide weekend-long contests that have been offering $25,000 to first for most weekends. Lastly, FanDuel has also tried to get into the weekend-long and final round contests, offering $10,000 and $5,000 to first.

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Previous Round Commentary

The morning wave got out to a flurry, taking advantage of good weather and fresh greens rather than the burnt-out ones we saw later on in the day. Two of the top three came from one pairing, Tony Finau (-9) and Jon Rahm (-8). Carrying on their good form from Wednesday’s skin match, Rahm and Finau look to meet again on Sunday, this time as competitors. Only one stands in between them: Ryan Palmer (-9). Luke List led the afternoon wave, as his shot differential between last week and this week crept up into the teens, albeit not even close to Palmer’s 23 shot difference between this week and last.

For me, and maybe for a lot of you, it was the craziest cut sweat we’ve had in so long. For the first time, guys were actually moving down instead of up as scores in the afternoon were just enough to push the cut to 3-over. That cut in a ton of golfers, including Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Brendon Todd.

The Expected Weather for Tomorrow’s Round

It’s supposed to be an enjoyable day tomorrow on the course, possibly creeping into the 90s late in the afternoon. That could bake out the greens and make it a bit tougher for those in the lead.

Previous Round Stat Review

Luke List makes it 2-for-2 in total transformations from last to this week, as he went bogey-free in round 2. He and Justin Thomas were the only ones to do so.

BOB Leaders Through Round 2

Tony Finau (14)
Viktor Hovland (12)
Jon Rahm, Gary Woodland, Danny Willett, Jason Day, Billy Horschel (11)
Seven tied at 10, including Matthew Wolff and Ryan Palmer.

For the full list of stats, click here!

Strokes Gained Ball Striking vs. Putting

Xander Schauffele made enough to get to the weekend but still lost almost a stroke on the greens yesterday. Bubba Watson, however, turned his putting week around, gaining a stroke in round 2 and putting that good ball striking to use, making the cut. Tyler Duncan, Jon Rahm and Sebastian Munoz round out the top five in this category heading into the weekend. Interestingly enough, Jordan Spieth sits just outside the top 10 of this category. It would be nice to see him get into contention over the weekend.

PGA DFS Slate Preview:

Slate Lock Time

7:30 a.m.

Contest Preview

DraftKings:

Round 3: $50,000 to first contest with $225,000 guaranteed. There are plenty of other offerings, including the $100 long drive single-entry contests. Also, they are offering a $444 buy-in with $50,000 going to first for tomorrow’s round 3 slate.
Weekend-Long: $25,000 to first for the $15 buy-in and $10,000 to first for the $333 buy-in.

FanDuel:

Weekend-Long: $10,000 to first for a $7.77 buy-in.

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Top 10 Breakdown & Pick

Finau and Rahm highlight this bunch. Chez Reavie also did me well, shooting a 5-under 67, and he sits in a tie with List and Gary Woodland for fourth. The top 10 rounds out with two studs, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland, and two past studs, Spieth and Jason Day. It should make for a compelling weekend of golf.

Day will certainly be a popular pick tomorrow given that this is the second tourney in a row on his home course, he’s had a good start and he’s still cheap. I’ll try to diversify and go to Spieth and others here.

Jordan Spieth ($8,200)

We need one weekend.

Stud or Value Pick Outside of Top 10

Collin Morikawa ($9,200)

It’s still so young in this phenom’s career, but we are learning that his game seems to struggle with the wind a bit. He was able to bounce back nicely today in easier conditions throughout his bag. Still, the putter was lukewarm as he adjusts to the speed of the greens, but he is only 6 back of the top 10 and 11 back of Rahm and Palmer. If the leaderboard flips itself because of the harder greens in the afternoon, a 65 would get him right back in the tournament. I like how he’s going out in the mid-morning and playing with Watson. They should get a nomination for featured group coverage.

Sneaky Pick Outside of Top 10

Erik van Rooyen ($6,600)

Just when I decided to give up, van Rooyen decided it’s time to play well. He has his irons back, gaining in each of the first two rounds and popping off in round 2 with 3,77 strokes gained on the day. That’s not sustainable, but I know he can get very hot with his irons, so at this price with a mid-morning tee time around 11:00, it’s a good spot.

Lineup Fill-Ins

Xander Schauffele ($8,400)

Louis Oosthuizen ($7,400)

Bubba Watson ($6,700)

Bo Hoag ($6,000) – This is his home course, and of course, I played him last week at around 5%, and he blew up. That did not happen not this week. Hoag had a strong 67 today with solid irons.

Related PGA Content

Author

Jason Rouslin

Jason established his roots in the littlest state that could...Rhode Island. But after 29 years of bitter cold, and only being able to play golf 4 months a year, upended those roots and moved to Florida. Now four years later, Jason is a husband to Sarah and father of two boys, James & Myles. A dog and more specifically Lab lover (Bella), he dedicates his time to serve as the lead of PGA content at Awesemo.com. In the time he is not diving into the PGA stats and covering this week's current tournament, you can find him researching and trading stocks, on the golf course, at Disney World, on a hike, or somewhere in between. Want to chat? Have a question about Golf/Stocks or anything else? Hop on twitter and give him a message @dfsgolfer23. You can also contact Jason by emailing [email protected].