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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