The Memorial Tournament is the next stop on the PGA TOUR. Some of the best players in the world are headed to Dublin, Ohio, to play Jack Nicklaus’ tournament at Muirfield Village.
This is a look at the best first-round leader bets to make for the event on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Memorial Tournament: First Round Leader Picks
The Memorial Tournament is one of the most important non-majors of the year. It is one of the final signature events of the year, but everyone wants to impress the great Jack Nicklaus, who hosts the event. Scottie Scheffler is the back-to-back defending champion of the Memorial Tournament. Scheffler will be looking for the three-peat, but all of the best players in the world will be there to challenge him. Rory McIlroy, Ludwig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Cameron Young are just a few of the players who could take down Scheffler. The
Muirfield Village is a par-72 course that ranges 7,569 yards. There are only 72 players in the field, and the top 50 and ties will make the cut. There is challenging rough here, and players who can avoid the rough and scramble around the greens will do well. Avoiding bogeys on the Par-4s and taking advantage of the Par-5s is the key to scoring well here.
Justin Thomas FRL (+3400)
Justin Thomas missed the first couple of months of this season with an injury. He came back onto the scene in style, finishing in the top 10 at THE PLAYERS. After a bit of a slow few weeks, Thomas has found his groove as of late. In his last four tournaments, he finished T23 at the Cadillac Championship, 13th at the Truist, T4 at the PGA Championship and T13 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Thomas was one of the best ball-strikers at the Charles Schwab last week, but he couldn’t get his putter going. If Thomas strikes the ball that well again, he should play great at the Memorial. This is a tournament that requires keeping the ball in play and hitting greens. Thomas should do that, and if he can get his putter hot, he could go low on Thursday. Justin Thomas has two top-10 finishes at the Memorial in the past. He has a great chance to lead after the first round this week.
Alex Fitzpatrick FRL (+8000)
It has been a special year so far for Alex Fitzpatrick. He has lived in the shadow of his older brother throughout his golf career, but this is finally his chance to prove himself. Alex and Matthew won the Zurich Classic earlier this year, earning Alex status on the PGA TOUR. Some people criticized his ability to get status, given the fact that it was not a solo event. However, it gave Fitzpatrick the chance to prove he deserved to be playing on the tour. He has done exactly that. Since gaining status, Fitzpatrick finished T9 at the Cadillac Championship and finished fourth at the Truist. He struggled at the PGA, which was just his second career major. However, his performance at the other two events was fantastic. Fitzpatrick is a great ball striker and could putt his way into the first-round lead here at the Memorial.
