Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 Memorial Tournament

2023 Memorial Tournament Fantasy Sleeper Report

There’s rarely an ‘easy’ win to be had on the PGA TOUR, but the studs of this fine sport often make it look so.

Others, however, go through the mill to get their hands on a trophy, and you could almost visibly see the color drain from the cheeks of Emiliano Grillo, the 71-hole leader at the Charles Schwab Challenge, when he shanked his drive into a hitherto unseen water hazard on the final hole.

That would ultimately force the Argentine into a playoff with Adam Schenk, and after tying on the first extra hole Grillo could only watch in horror as his approach at the second headed for a bunker.

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But guys with one win in more than 200 PGA TOUR starts need a bit of luck to return to the winner’s circle, and so when his ball hit the lip of the sand trap, ricocheted onto the green and nestled to within ten-feet of the hole, it was clear that good fortune was in the Grillo camp.

He duly made no mistake with his birdie putt to land his first PGA TOUR win in seven years. But boy, was it tough to watch Grillo going through the mill.

Hopefully he rests up and gets his breath back, because he’s punched his ticket into the field of this week’s Memorial Tournament. And the host venue, Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, takes no prisoners.

Perhaps the signature design of Jack Nicklaus, Muirfield Village is a long old stretch at 7,530 yards that also boasts thick rough and small greens, so keeping your ball on a string from tee-to-green is an absolute must.

There’s water, sand and canny elevation changes that also add to the complexity of a layout where winning scores between -9 and -13 have been the norm in recent years. The fact that the last five champions at Muirfield Village have been either major winners or FedEx Cup victors should come as no surprise.

With the Memorial Tournament now also given elevated status, it means that many of the world’s best players will increase the likelihood of a short odds winner prevailing. Scottie Scheffler continues to play outstanding golf wherever he goes, Rory McIlroy showed signs of improvement at the PGA Championship and the likes of Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay love it at Muirfield Village.

That quartet, alongside Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Jason Day, will take some stopping.

But we can always back a number of quality players at 50/1 and longer in these deep-field events, and sportsbooks that offer each way bets for those that finish in the places are ideal to plunder for events like the Memorial Tournament.

So who gets the nod in our sleeper shortlist for the 2023 Memorial Tournament?

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

Si-Woo Kim – 70/1 – It’s no surprise that Si-Woo Kim’s recent formline at Muirfield Village reads 13-9-18 because this is a track that is set up perfectly for him.

The Korean is accurate off the tee and boasts quality throughout the yardages on approach, so it’s a case of hoping that his short game fires in any given week.

Can he improve on his last few efforts in Ohio? He certainly tracked as though he might when finishing a close second at the AT&T Byron Nelson, where he gained strokes on the field putting on slick Bentgrass greens – similar to those at Muirfield Village.

Si Woo certainly has the raw materials to thrive this week.

Russell Henley – 70/1 – When the sportsbooks released their early lines for the Memorial Tournament, Russell Henley was available for odds ranging from 40/1 to 80/1 at different firms.

They’ve settled to around 70/1 now, which is perfectly fair about a player that has gained strokes on the field with his ball-striking in four of his last five strokeplay outings – a spell that includes The Masters (where he finished T4) and the PLAYERS Championship.

Henley’s added accuracy is welcome at Muirfield Village, where he has two top-10 finishes to his name, but it’s his uptick in approach play excellence that is most interesting – that is the skillset that has landed him four PGA TOUR titles and a career-best world ranking of 27th.   

Keegan Bradley – 80/1 – When you have a major-standard field playing at a classical golf course, Keegan Bradley is one of those players that is often overlooked.

He’s got a pair of top-10s to his name at Muirfield Village and has finished inside the top-25 of all four majors – including victory at the 2011 PGA Championship.

Bradley is a ball-striking machine that continues to drive the ball in an elite way, and in finishing T23 at The Masters and T29 at the PGA Championship in recent weeks he has offered a tantalizing glimpse of what might be on the horizon.

Gary Woodland – 90/1 – It would surely be fair to argue that if Gary Woodland was better on the greens, he would have stacks of PGA TOUR titles to his name – and more than just the one major.

That’s testament to his outstanding ball-striking abilities, and Muirfield Village is definitely a layout where that hands Woodland an edge – he already boasts a pair of top-fives here.

He continues to be befuddled by the flat stick, but any venue where approach play from 200+ yards is key should hand Woodland an advantage over many in the field – Muirfield Village fits that bill to some tune.

Billy Horschel – 110/1 – It’s baby steps right now for Billy Horschel, whose only notable finishes in 2023 have come in the WGC Match Play and Zurich Classic – i.e. not in traditional strokeplay action.

But an opening round of 67 at the Charles Schwab Challenge offers encouragement, as does a return to a venue where Horschel’s most recent formline reads 1-67-13-7-9 – that’s the envy of many at Muirfield Village.

A seven-time PGA TOUR winner at the relatively sprightly age of 36, there’s no doubt that Horschel can take care of business when in the mix for silverware – he will surely be relishing a return to Ohio as the defending Memorial Tournament champion.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Memorial Tournament here.

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