WGC FedEx St. Jude DFS Showdown picks for Round 1

The PGA Tour goes down to Memphis for the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational this weekend at TPC Southwind. This is a no-cut event that has a field about half the size we’re used to seeing on a weekly basis. That field, however, is absolutely loaded with big names. Let’s take a look at some DFS Showdown picks on DraftKings for Round 1 on Thursday.

Justin Thomas ($10,000)

I think JT is a bit undervalued this weekend. He’s fourth-highest in price behind Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. It’s a very talented bunch, and JT may not be playing his best golf, but you could argue he’s got just as good a shot at winning. In order to do that in a no-cut event, he’ll need to get off to a good start to keep pace. TPC Southwind is a course Thomas has won at in the past, plus he came in 12th last year at this event.

Xander Schauffele ($9,300)

Xander somehow came in 13th at Memorial despite losing 5.0 strokes putting, which is kind of insane when you think about it. Schauffele was incredibly strong with his irons and ball striking, both which will be huge in Memphis. Generally, top players end up winning these events and Schauffele has done so in the past. If Xander keeps gaining strokes tee-to-green like this and putts around his average, he could score huge early on.

Tony Finau ($8,800)

You could make an argument — well, not really an argument but a case — that Finau should have won each of the past two events. He was great at Memorial before melting down over the weekend. He was great at 3M before melting down on the weekend. Finau just isn’t clutch and that usually won’t translate to many wins. Fortunately, we only need Finau to go low on Day 1. This is something I’m willing to bank on given how well his irons have been. Last weekend wasn’t a tough course, but Finau gained 9.7 strokes on approach. Finau also had a hot putter the week before at Memorial. If he puts it all together, the skies the limit.

Ian Poulter ($7,500)

Poulter is going to be the chalk of all chalk plays this week but for good reason. His price really doesn’t match the type of player he is, it’s more of a reflection of the field strength at a WGC invitational. Poulter may not be gaining much T2G and that’s cool, because his putter has been scorching hot at times. Usually that isn’t something you want to target long-term, in a cut event. But in a no-cut even on Day 1? Give me Poulter to get out to a strong start. Around the greens will be important and Poulter has been relatively solid since the restart.