FedEx St. Jude Championship: Top PGA DFS Picks, Values, and Sleepers for Large-Field Tournaments on DraftKings

It’s playoff time on the PGA TOUR! The FedExCup Playoffs are expected to be overhauled with the major changes coming to the schedule in 2028, but this year, the format remains the same as for the last few years, with 70 players making the playoffs and 50 players advancing to next week’s BMW Championship after the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week.

Players will be looking to move into the top 50, which also secures their spot in all of 2027’s Signature Events. Last year, Justin Rose defeated J.J. Spaun in a playoff, and the event has required a playoff in three of the four years it has been played at TPC Southwind. While this is the fifth time that the par 70 in Memphis has hosted this event, it has a much longer history on the PGA TOUR. For more info on the field, the format, and the course for this week, check out this First Look from RotoGrinders.

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Especially in large-field tournaments, you’ll want to target players with lower ownership projections than their potential performance suggests. Finding high-leverage plays is critical for tournament success, so the picks here go against the grain, looking for under-owned options.

Usually, I rely heavily on the Strokes Gained Model in FantasyLabs, which is very predictive of results. I also tend to lean toward players who excel in Strokes Gained: Approach, which is more sustainable week to week than a hot putter.

Since these are tournament picks, we can accept more risk in exchange for getting a higher ceiling. High-risk, high-reward options with low ownership create the “boom-or-bust” style lineups that often lead to large-field success. To find guidance for all contest types, check out our full Daily Fantasy Golf coverage each week.

No matter what type of format you prefer, be sure to use the FantasyLabs PGA Models to help you make the best choices. These models use stats and simulations to highlight different players’ strengths and weaknesses. A few critical new stats for tournament play are Perfect% and SimLeverage, which are further explained here.

As you dig into the numbers, you can enjoy the many tools FantasyLabs offers, including the Lineup Optimizer, which effortlessly creates up to 300 lineups. Alternatively, you can use the Lineup Builder if you prefer a more hands-on approach.

Check out my top picks in each price range listed below.

Editor’s note: SimLeverage and Perfect% numbers may change after this piece is published. Be sure to check the PGA Models for any updates to the sims.

High-Priced PGA DFS Picks

Scottie Scheffler $13,500

Across the board, Scottie Scheffler has the highest projection in every category. He also has the shortest odds to win and finish in the top 10, according to Vegas. The 20-time PGA TOUR winner has more upside than any other player in the tournament and the best chance to win. Even though he also has the highest ownership projection, he brings more win equity, making him a solid place to pay up for leverage.

Despite all his success, he has only a single PGA TOUR win this season, which came way back in his first event of the year. He won the American Express and seemed poised for another year full of trophies, but he has yet to claim another victory despite many more close calls.

He has posted 10 top-five finishes this season, including five runner-up finishes. In his most recent event, he finished runner-up to youngster Jackson Koivun ($8,200) at the 3M Open. He bounced back nicely from his only missed cut of the year at the Scottish Open with a T4 at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, followed by that runner-up finish.

None of his 20 PGA TOUR wins have come at this week’s venue, but his tee-to-green excellence is a great fit anywhere, including TPC Southwind. He has four top-15 finishes at this week’s course over the last six years, including a fourth-place finish in 2024 and a T3 last year.

Scheffler leads the field in Total Strokes Gained and SG:T2G over the last six months, and he ranks third in SG:OTT and SG:APP. His game is in great form despite his lack of victories, and he’ll look to end his drought with a win this week in Memphis.

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Sam Burns $9,500

Scheffler’s good friend Sam Burns is another great pivot play to consider for tournaments this week, with an ownership projection under 15% and plenty of strong recent form. He is tied for the second-most Pro Trends in the field, and he has the second-highest leverage among players priced over $8,500.

The 30-year-old from Louisiana has taken a few weeks off since finishing runner-up at The Open Championship. That was the latest result in a streak of five straight top-20 finishes that also included a T2 at the U.S. Open. He has nine top-25 finishes in his last 12 events.

Over the last three months, he ranks in the top 10 in the field in SG:APP, SG:P, SG:T2G, and Total Strokes Gained.

In 2021, Burns finished runner-up at TPC Southwind when it hosted the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, and he added a T5 at this event in 2024. He dropped back to a T28 last year, but with better recent form, he has the potential to emerge as a top leverage option and deliver a high finish this year.