{"id":48740,"date":"2026-08-11T03:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T03:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/48740\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T03:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T03:54:08","slug":"draftkings-cheat-sheet-2026-fedex-st-jude-championship-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/48740\/","title":{"rendered":"DraftKings Cheat Sheet: 2026 FedEx St. Jude Championship Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings<\/a> fantasy golf<\/a> players with course info, player history, and the most noteworthy trends of the week to help them with their roster selections.<\/p>\n

Set your DraftKings<\/a> fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $750K Sand Trap [$200K to 1st]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Field<\/p>\n

The 2026 FedExCup Playoffs begin this week at TPC Southwind, with the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings earning their way into the FedEx St. Jude Championship. There are no alternates added if a player withdraws, and that\u2019s already relevant this year, as Daniel Berger has pulled out, reducing the field to 69 players. From here, the playoff field gets trimmed to the top 50 for next week\u2019s BMW Championship, making this an especially important week for anyone beginning the tournament around or outside that top-50 bubble.<\/p>\n

As usual, the limited field is loaded with elite talent. Scottie Scheffler enters the postseason at No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, while Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Wyndham Clark, Chris Gotterup, Collin Morikawa, Si Woo Kim, Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood are among the other players beginning the week inside the top 10. Rory McIlroy is also back in Memphis after skipping this event last season, while defending champion Justin Rose returns after beating J.J. Spaun in a playoff here in 2025.<\/p>\n

TPC Southwind has been a fixture on the PGA TOUR schedule for decades, although the event has changed names and formats multiple times before becoming the opening leg of the FedExCup Playoffs. The current playoff format also means there is no 36-hole cut this week, so all 69 players who remain in the tournament will have the opportunity to play four rounds, barring a withdrawal or disqualification.<\/p>\n

That no-cut format is particularly important for DFS. Players further down the salary board carry less risk than they would in a standard tournament because one poor opening round won\u2019t necessarily end their week. With four guaranteed rounds available, DFS players can be more aggressive when targeting cheaper golfers with strong ball-striking, birdie-making upside or volatile profiles, especially if doing so creates the salary needed to roster one of the elite options at the top of the field.<\/p>\n

The Course<\/p>\n

TPC Southwind\u2014Memphis, Tennessee<\/p>\n

Par 70, 7,237; Greens: Bermuda<\/p>\n

TPC Southwind is a tricky, tree-lined PGA TOUR venue that features plenty of water and smaller-than-average Bermuda greens. The venue shares some similarities to other recent courses like TPC River Highlands (Travelers) and Harbour Town GC (RBC Heritage), but it is most comparable to the Florida courses we see early in the season at venues like PGA National and Copperhead.<\/p>\n

Southwind isn\u2019t an overly long course, but it has tight fairways, smaller greens and numerous doglegs that really stretch out some of the holes. Water also comes into play on seven of the holes and can pressure players into bailing out on approaches or tee shots to avoid a penalty. On average, fairways here are 5-7% harder to hit than an average PGA TOUR stop, with greens being equally tough to find. The course has produced winners at 17, 16 and 15 under par the last three seasons and played as the 14th toughest course on the PGA TOUR (out of 41) as far back as 2020, yielding a 69.56 scoring average.<\/p>\n

As a traditional par 70, TPC Southwind has just two par 5s, which play as the two easiest holes on the course. The 16th will be reachable in two by almost everyone and is probably the only hole on the course where players will lose ground if they don\u2019t walk away with at least a birdie. The course features four par 3s as well, two of which play as \u201cisland-style\u201d greens. As for the par 4s, there are six of them that measure in at 450 yards or longer, and only two that come in under 400 yards. While this might not faze players given today\u2019s technology, the doglegs on several of these holes mean longer approaches are often necessary to reach the smaller-than-normal greens. Despite the doglegs, several of these par 4s still play tough off the tee with water in play on either side, meaning accurate players will be rewarded this week.<\/p>\n

With so much water in play, TPC Southwind always sees some of the highest \u201cballs hit in water\u201d rates on the PGA TOUR. The water and narrow fairways put a premium on ball-striking where precision takes clear precedent over power and the need to bury close birdies becomes paramount. Every year we see the same blend of winners\u2019 stats, with strokes gained approach stats becoming paramount, but strokes gained putting being equally vital. For research, Strokes Gained: Approach, GIR%, and Fairways Gained stats are where you should start when narrowing down your player pool this week for ball-striking, with recent form on the greens also an area to look at.<\/p>\n

2026 Weather Outlook: Extreme heat will once again be a major factor at TPC Southwind, with temperatures expected to approach 100 degrees. Rain chances are currently around 55% for both Thursday and Friday, bringing the possibility of thunderstorms, softer playing conditions and weather delays into the equation. For DFS purposes, the early forecast makes the Thursday\/Friday wave split worth monitoring closely. If the rain and thunderstorms remain concentrated later in the day, Thursday morning starters could get the cleanest conditions before the heat and storm chances build. However, any meaningful overnight or early-round rain could soften TPC Southwind and potentially give later starters more receptive greens, so this isn\u2019t an advantage worth locking into quite yet. With only 69 players and no cut, weather-related stacking is also less important than it would be at a full-field event, but it could still provide an edge in large-field GPPs if one side of the draw develops clearly better conditions.<\/p>\n

Last 5 winners<\/p>\n

2025\u2014Justin Rose -16 (over J.J. Spaun in playoff)<\/p>\n

2024\u2014Hideki Matsuyama -17 (over Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland)<\/p>\n

2023\u2014Lucas Glover -15 (over Patrick Cantlay in playoff)<\/p>\n

2022\u2014Will Zalatoris -15 (over Sepp Straka in playoff)<\/p>\n

2021\u2014Abraham Ancer -16 (over Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns in playoff)<\/p>\n

**This event has been played at TPC Southwind for the last five years<\/p>\n

Winning Trends<\/p>\n

10 out of the last 15 winners of this event finished T-22 or better in their previous start before winning.<\/p>\n

10 of the last 12 winners of this event (the first FedExCup playoff event) have finished T-16 or better at one of the year\u2019s final two majors.<\/p>\n

Winning Stats and Course Overview<\/p>\n

Justin Rose (2025\u201416-under-par)<\/p>\n

Lead-in form (T16-T6-MC-MC-T44)<\/p>\n

SG: OTT\u2014+1.7<\/p>\n

SG: APP\u2014+5.6<\/p>\n

SG: TTG\u2014+8.8<\/p>\n

SG: ATG\u2014+1.5<\/p>\n

SG: PUTT\u2014+3.7\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2021, Abraham Ancer won the WGC event played at Southwind and was top 10 in strokes gained approach.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Will Zalatoris was even better in that category, gaining 7.7 strokes on approach and over 9.0 strokes tee to green.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the course played a little tougher, and Justin Thomas beat the field by multiple strokes, despite losing strokes to the field on the greens. He gained over 13 strokes Tee to Green for the week and was third in SG: Approach and second in SG: Around the Green.<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 win was a stark contrast to 2019 when Brooks Koepka won at Southwind and gained 9.3 strokes putting for the week. Brooks ranked just 11th in SG: Approach, but he also won the event by three strokes.<\/p>\n

This was somewhat similar to what Hideki Matsuyama did in 2024, as he lost 3.3 strokes ATG but gained over 8.0 strokes putting and over 5.0 strokes on approach in his win.<\/p>\n

The biggest takeaway from Rose\u2019s win was the approach play paired with a hot putter. He led the tournament with 26 birdies and made four straight birdies from Nos. 14\u201317 Sunday before beating Spaun in a three-hole playoff.<\/p>\n

Players landing inside the top 20 and upwards have generally outpaced the field in greens hit as well as fairways gained throughout the week. While there will always be outliers like Koepka\u2019s volatile putting week from 2019 or Matsuyama last year losing multiple strokes ATG, strong tee-to-green play is essential at TPC Southwind.<\/p>\n

Finding Values on DraftKings Sportsbook<\/p>\n

Odds to win are one factor to consider when picking players (but not the only one, so be careful not to put too much weight on them). This section is going to detail a few of the players who have the best fantasy value compared to their DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a> odds of winning this week.<\/p>\n

Alex Smalley +7200 and $7,000<\/p>\n

Comparables:<\/p>\n

Alex Noren +7200 and $7,100<\/p>\n

Shane Lowry +7400 and $7,300<\/p>\n

Jake Knapp +8000 and $7,000<\/p>\n

Patrick Cantlay +2800 and $8,800<\/p>\n

Comparables:<\/p>\n

Hideki Matsuyama +3000 and $9,000<\/p>\n

Chris Gotterup +3400 and $8,900<\/p>\n

All odds are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change.<\/p>\n

HORSES FOR COURSES<\/p>\n

1. Hideki Matsuyama (best finishes: win- 2024; 2nd-2021; T16-2023): Matsuyama has played this venue seven of the last eight seasons and gained over 1.4 strokes on approach in his last three appearances. In 2021, when he finished second, he gained over 8.0 strokes on approach alone, and in 2024 he gained over 8.0 strokes putting.<\/p>\n

2. Justin Thomas (best finishes: win-2020; T13-2022): Thomas has been solid at this venue throughout his career. He won at Southwind when it hosted a WGC event in 2020 and finished a solid T-13 at this venue in 2022, gaining over 3.0 strokes off the tee.<\/p>\n

3. Matt Fitzpatrick (best finishes: T5- 2022, T6-2020, T4-2019): Fitzpatrick was in the hunt for the win after three rounds in 2020 but faltered on Sunday. He gained an incredible +10 strokes putting in 2020 and has finished top 10 at Southwind in three of the last five years.<\/p>\n

4. Patrick Cantlay (best finishes: 2nd \u2013 2023; T9 \u2013 2025): Strong course history highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2023, with another top-10 showing last year reinforcing his fit at this venue. Overall, he\u2019s been in the top-12 at this event last three seasons.<\/p>\n

Recent Form<\/p>\n

Hideki Matsuyama ($9,000): Matsuyama may be the hottest player in the field right now, coming into Memphis off three straight top-10 finishes, including a T3, T5 and T7 over his last three starts. He hasn\u2019t finished worse than T14 in five straight events, giving him an excellent combination of consistency and upside as the playoffs begin.<\/p>\n

Tommy Fleetwood ($10,200): Fleetwood continues to pile up strong finishes without many bad weeks mixed in. He was T4 at The Open in his most recent start and has now finished T14 or better in six straight starts, with four of those resulting in top-11 finishes. Few players in this field have been as consistently sharp over the last couple of months.<\/p>\n

Sam Burns ($9,500): Burns has quietly put together one of the best recent stretches in the field, highlighted by a T2 and T3 among his recent starts. He\u2019s also added finishes of T4 and T12 during this run, giving him four top-12 results over his last five starts and plenty of momentum heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Tom Kim ($7,900): Kim has found another gear over the past couple of months, picking up a win and following it with more strong results. He comes into Memphis off a T5 at the Wyndham and also owns a third-place finish during this recent stretch, giving him three top-five finishes over his last six starts.<\/p>\n

Chris Gotterup ($8,900): Gotterup\u2019s recent results have been a little more volatile, but the ceiling has been excellent. He picked up a win during this stretch and followed it with T11 and T18 finishes, giving him three top-20s over his last five completed starts. His combination of winning upside and strong recent ball-striking makes him an interesting option heading into Memphis.<\/p>\n

DRAFTKINGS DFS STRATEGY<\/p>\n

Big Field Punt Plays:<\/p>\n

Nico Echavarria ($6,300): Echavarria is exactly the kind of volatile option I\u2019m willing to take a shot on at this salary in a no-cut event. He already has a win and three top-10 finishes this season, with his win coming at another windy and water-heavy venue in PGA National. While the consistency hasn\u2019t always been there, the ceiling is much higher than we typically get in the low-$6K range. He also finished T38 at Southwind last year, closing with a 66.<\/p>\n

Harry Hall ($6,400): Hall\u2019s biggest weapon remains the putter, which gives him some interesting upside at a course where making putts has routinely been important for contenders. He\u2019s coming off a strong finish at the Wyndham (64-66 on the weekend) and finished T22 at Southwind last year after opening with a 64.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Core Plays:<\/p>\n

Hideki Matsuyama ($9,000): Matsuyama stands out as one of my favorite plays on the entire slate given the combination of salary, current form, and course history. He comes into the playoffs riding three straight top-10 finishes and five consecutive results of T14 or better. Add in his victory at TPC Southwind in 2024, and Matsuyama has both the elite approach-play ceiling and proven course fit to contend again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tom Kim ($7,900): Kim\u2019s recent resurgence makes him extremely appealing below $8K. He has a win and multiple other high finishes during his recent run, including a T5 at the Wyndham last week, and his accuracy-first profile should translate nicely from Sedgefield. He\u2019ll undoubtedly be popular, but the price still hasn\u2019t completely caught up to his improved form.<\/p>\n

Alex Smalley ($7,000): \u2013 see below<\/p>\n

Contrarian Click:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Min Woo Lee ($7,700): Lee is the kind of high-variance player I\u2019m interested in using when ownership is likely to stay suppressed. His combination of distance and birdie-making gives him considerably more ceiling than most players priced in this range, and he\u2019s done shockingly well on similar venues, including PGA National (T2 \u2013 2024) and TPC Sawgrass (T6 \u2013 2023). At worst, the no-cut event means he\u2019ll have four rounds to pile up birdies.<\/p>\n

MY PICK:\u00a0Sam Burns ($9,500)<\/p>\n

Burns has quietly put together one of the better big-event seasons on the PGA TOUR, and I like his chances of carrying that form into Memphis. The 30-year-old finished T7 at the Masters and added another top-five finish at The Open, showing that his ceiling has been there against the strongest fields on the schedule. He\u2019s also been playing consistently well over the last couple of months, making him one of the more appealing options in this range for the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs.<\/p>\n

Burns\u2019s primary advantage this week could be his putting, which is crucial at TPC Southwind, particularly if the greens become firm in the intense Memphis heat. While Burns generally has the length and iron accuracy to generate birdie chances, a hot putter can enable him to contend and even win against top-tier fields. This mix of scoring potential and putting skill makes him particularly appealing in a no-cut DFS format where all four rounds are assured.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also plenty of evidence that Burns is comfortable at TPC Southwind. He finished runner-up here in 2021, losing to Abraham Ancer in a playoff after reaching 16-under for the week. His skill set remains a strong match for a course that rewards precise approaches and confident putting. At $9,500, Burns offers a nice pivot away from the five-figure options in DFS while still bringing legitimate winning upside. I also like him in the outright market on DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a> at +2000 or bigger, where his combination of current form, elite putting and previous success at Southwind gives him enough upside to target as my pick to win this week.<\/p>\n

MY SLEEPER: Alex Smalley ($7,000)<\/p>\n

Much like last week\u2019s test at Sedgefield, I think the venue more than lines up as a big net positive for Smalley. The American\u2019s ball-striking has been consistent all season and took a big turn up last week in North Carolina, where he struck the ball well in all four rounds (+6.4 for approach for the event) but could not overcome a cold putter that saw him rank just 48th in strokes gained putting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s course should only place more emphasis on ball-striking with the tree-lined TPC Southwind bearing some similarities to Sedgefield, where the added water and crisper greens will only give more of an advantage to the flushers like Smalley. While some may write off his chances here due to the massive influx of talent, the 29-year-old showed that he was more than capable of mixing it up against elite competition earlier in the season at the PGA, where he finished T2. While his only result at Southwind was a dismal T65 back in 2023, the 2026 version of Smalley is a completely different player and capable of taking this field somewhat by surprise given his recent trend. For DFS, his 7k salary makes him one of my favorite values to target overall, and for betting, +410 for top-10 and ties looks big enough to target on DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cheat Sheet provides DraftKings fantasy golf players with course info, player history, and the most noteworthy trends…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18109,18108,44,144,1315],"class_list":["post-48740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-players-championship","tag-dfs","tag-draftkings-fantasy-advice","tag-golf","tag-pga-tour","tag-the-players-championship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}