For the first of three tournaments for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, we head to TPC Southwind (par 70, 7,243 yards, Bermuda greens) in Memphis, Tennessee for the inaugural FedEx St. Jude Championship. Every year since 1958, TPC Southwind has hosted a PGA TOUR event. Most recently, this par 70 hosted the FedEx St. Jude Invitational the past three seasons—which was a no-cut tournament that featured around 70 players each year. Prior to this invitational, the FedEx St. Jude Classic—which was a standard-sized PGA TOUR event that featured a cut—was held at TPC Southwind every year from 1989-2018. At last year’s FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Abraham Ancer (-15) defeated Sam Burns and Hideki Matsuyama in a playoff.
TPC Southwind is one of the most challenging non-major courses on the annual PGA TOUR schedule. The fairways are narrow, the greens are very small and this venue has danger lurking around every corner, with 75 bunkers on the grounds and water coming into play on 11 of 18 holes. First and foremost, this makes players who avoid bogeys at a compelling rate great targets at TPC Southwind, with three of the past four winners at this course finishing the event runner-up or leading their fields in least bogeys. Also, given the tiny putting surfaces at this track, top-notch work with your irons and around the greens is a must at TPC Southwind. For two years running, the golfer to take home the novelty check in Memphis has ranked inside the top-six in both SG APP and SG ARG during their victories. As usual with a par 70, being efficient on the par fours is also essential if you want to contend TPC Southwind, with each of the last four winners at this course finishing the week inside the top-three in SG on the par fours. For a specific range to focus on, six of the 12 par fours at TPC Southwind fall between 450-500 yards.
Only the top 125 players in the FedEx Cup rankings have qualified for this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship. Still, even for this limited field, there will be a top-65 and ties cut following the first 36 holes. In other words, a higher percentage of the field will be advancing to the weekend compared to a standard PGA TOUR event. This stacked field has an overabundance of appealing cheap players to offer and below, I break down four of my favorite targets for the FedEx St. Jude Championship that cost less than $7.5K on DraftKings.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st]
J.T. Poston ($7,300) – At this laughably low price tag - which is a significant $900 drop since last week - Poston needs to be one of your core plays for this playoff opener. The 29-year-old is in outstanding form right now, finishing T2, 1st, MC, T11 and T21 in his last five starts, with that lone missed cut coming in his debut at the Open Championship. Thanks to this impressive five-event run, Poston has vaulted himself up 100 spots in the world golf rankings to a career-best No. 58. The two-time PGA TOUR winner has collectively gained strokes on APP, ARG and with his putter in three of his past four starts, and has finished T18 and T30 in his last two visits to TPC Southwind.
Cameron Davis ($7,200) – Davis has been playing stellar golf, making eight cuts in a row, with his last four results all being finishes of T16 or better. This recent success for Davis can mostly be attributed to some great ball striking and his ability to avoid the large numbers on his scorecard. During this eight made cut streak, Davis has gained strokes with his irons at seven events and when analyzing this field’s last 24 rounds, he ranks fourth in bogeys avoided. While Davis struggled in his course debut at TPC Southwind last season, finishing 60th at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, it’s hard to argue against him being a strong course fit for this track in this type of form. The 27-year-old should redeem himself with at least a top-30 this weekend and is a great investment at this modest salary. While it came for a weaker field at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Davis was far more expensive for his last start, priced up to $9,700 on DraftKings.
Chez Reavie ($7,100) – Reavie is a true course horse at TPC Southwind. The 40-year-old has carded six straight top-30s in Memphis and has been close to winning at this venue on multiple occasions, with three of these finishes coming inside the top six. On top of the illustrious resume at TPC Southwind, Reavie comes into this week as the maker of seven of his last nine cuts. During this stretch, the veteran recorded four top-30 finishes, most notably with a victory at the Barracuda Championship. Reavie’s ball striking has been excellent, gaining strokes from T2G and on APP at six consecutive tournaments and he should easily outperform this low price tag with a quality finish this weekend.
Scott Stallings ($7,100) – Stallings has been tremendous with his last four starts reading T8, T4, T10 and T13. Impressively, the 37-year-old gained strokes from T2G and on APP at all four of these tournaments and shot under par in 14 of these 16 rounds. Additionally, Stallings ranks fifth in SG on par fours when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, which certainly bodes well for his return to TPC Southwind. In eight appearances at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, Stallings has made six cuts and produced four top-30 finishes, including a runner-up finish in 2013. Without a doubt, the veteran is one of the best values on the board at this cheap salary and with many bigger names surrounding Stallings in this price range, he shouldn’t come with much ownership in GPPs.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $1.2M Pitch + Putt [$300K to 1st]
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