For the first of three events of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the PGA TOUR is hosting the FedEx St. Jude Championship this week. For the fourth straight year, this playoff opening event will be played at TPC Southwind (par 70, 7,288 yards, Bermuda greens) in Memphis, Tennessee. This venue has hosted a PGA TOUR event every year since 1958 and Hideki Matsuyama (-17) is the defending champion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings have qualified for this week’s tournament, but with Rory McIlroy electing to skip the FedEx St. Jude Championship, this field consists of 69 players and there will be no cut this week. After the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship, the top 50 players in the standings will advance to the BMW Championship. Then, the top 30 following that event will advance to the TOUR Championship.
The PGA DFS Breakdown offers data-driven analysis for each week’s slate, using the FantasyLabs Tools and metrics to highlight notable golfers.
I’ll be highlighting the best cash game/single-entry plays on the DraftKings main slate, but these players are often great options in any contest.
My analysis will frequently reference Strokes Gained, a set of proprietary metrics generated by the PGA TOUR using millions of data points to calculate how many shots, on average, it takes a player to get the ball in the hole from every distance and situation.
Strokes Gained is now available in the FantasyLabs PGA Models.
There are a variety of Strokes Gained-related metrics, but the six main categories you need to know include:
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (SG: Off-the-Tee)
- Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: Approach)
- Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green (SG: Around-the-Green)
- Strokes Gained: Putting (SG: Putting)
- Strokes Gained: Ball-Striking (SG: Ball-Striking), which is SG: Off-the-Tee + SG: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG: Tee-to-Green), which is SG: Ball-Striking + SG: Around-the-Green
Don’t forget to check out two key metrics in our models — Perfect% and SimLeverage. You can find an explainer on those metrics here.
The Cliffs Notes version is that you can use SimLeverage to quickly find leverage plays in tournaments, while Perfect% is great for finding the best price-considered plays for cash games.
And don’t forget to utilize our various PGA DFS tools like our Lineup Optimizer, Lineup Builder, PGA Correlation Dashboard, and our Trends tool.
The following players listed are based on DraftKings scoring and pricing.
PGA DFS Cash Game Thoughts
Note: FantasyLabs has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole! Sign up for the biggest database of golf stats available on the internet and get 25% off a yearly sub with our link!
Unless otherwise noted, all Strokes Gained metrics referenced in this article come via the Rabbit Hole.
Tool Highlights
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DraftKings $10,000+ Range
Scottie Scheffler ($13,000)
Building around Scheffler in cash games is a must this week. Despite winning the Open Championship by four shots in his last start, Scheffler’s salary has decreased from $14,200 for that major to $13,000 for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which is the cheapest he has been on DraftKings since the Masters in April. Scheffler is in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons of all time, with four wins and 13 top-10 finishes in 16 starts. The world No. 1 is gaining a ridiculous 2.64 strokes per round this season, which is far and away the best average on the PGA TOUR this season. Ranking second is McIlroy at 1.79. Scheffler finished a career-best T4th at TPC Southwind a year ago and him beginning the FedEx Cup Playoffs with a win this week is very possible.
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DraftKings $9,000 Range
Matt Fitzpatrick ($9,700)
Fitzpatrick remained hot at last week’s Wyndham Championship with a T8 finish. The Englishman has now finished T8th or better at four straight events and he has gained strokes in every major category at all these events. Fitzpatrick has impressively shot under par in 17 of his last 18 rounds and he ranks third in Total Strokes Gained when we compare this field’s last 24 rounds. Fitzpatrick winning again soon feels inevitable and TPC Southwind is a perfect place for him to claim his third PGA TOUR win. At this par 70, Fitzpatrick has finished inside the top six in three of his six starts.
Updated on 12/5/25
DraftKings $8,000 Range
Hideki Matsuyama ($8,800)
Matsuyama has flourished at TPC Southwind, finishing T20th, runner-up, T16th and first in his last four starts at the venue, in that order. Matsuyama ranks third among this field in Strokes Gained per round at TPC Southwind and the former Masters champion’s game is trending up right now. Matsuyama is fresh off a T19 finish at the Wyndham Championship last week, which is his third top-20 finish in a row. Matsuyama ranks top-16 in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green this season, positioning him perfectly for his return to TPC Southwind this week. With the greens at this par 70, the third-smallest on the PGA TOUR this season, being in strong form with your irons and as a short game player is essential at this venue, as three of the last five winners at TPC Southwind have finished the event in the top 15 in both SG: Approach and SG: Around-the-Green.
Aaron Rai ($8,300)
Defending his title at the Wyndham Championship last week, Rai finished T5th and he put on a ball-striking clinic at Sedgefield CC, leading the field in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Approach. In fact, the 10.4 strokes on approach Rai gained during this start set a new career high for the Englishman. Rai will now look to build off this showing at TPC Southwind, where he finished T16th a year ago. This season, Rai has generated eight top-25 finishes in 19 starts and he ranks second in driving accuracy, making him an excellent match for TPC Southwind, where being in the fairway is crucial. Of the last five winners at this track, three have finished the week top 12 in driving accuracy.
Chris Gotterup ($8,000)
While Gotterup has never competed at TPC Southwind before, we should have no hesitations about rostering the ascending 26-year-old at this price tag. After winning the Genesis Scottish Open by two shots last month, Gotterup finished T3rd at the Open Championship and T10th at the 3M Open in his next two starts. When we compare this field’s last 24 rounds, Gotterup ranks second in Total Strokes Gained, trailing only Scheffler. Notably, Gotterup has shot under par in 17 of his last 20 rounds, including a career-low 9-under 61 at the Genesis Scottish Open.
DraftKings $7,000 Range
Daniel Berger ($7,800)
Berger owns an unmatched resume at TPC Southwind. The 32-year-old won in each of his first two starts at the par 70 and then, after an outlier missed cut in 2018, Berger finished runner-up and T5th in his next two starts at TPC Southwind. The former Florida State Seminole is gaining an elite 2.64 strokes per round at this course, which is the best in this field and it’s not even close. Ranking second is Michael Kim at 1.76. Berger has made 15 of 19 cuts with nine top-25 finishes this season and he ranks 11th on the PGA TOUR in SG: Approach. Berger is a threat to contend this week and this is the lowest he has ever been priced on DraftKings for an event at TPC Southwind by a significant $1,400.
Wyndham Clark ($7,600)
After making a fool of himself at the U.S. Open at Oakmont CC by damaging a locker at the famous venue, Clark has been letting his game do the talking. The 31-year-old is currently playing his best golf of the season, finishing T11th at the Genesis Scottish Open, T4th at the Open Championship and T12th at the 3M Open in his last three starts. That T4 is Clark’s best Open Championship finish to date and he nearly led the field in SG: Approach during his T12 at the 3M Open. The veteran has shot under par in 10 of these past 12 rounds, and Clark must excel at TPC Southwind this week if he wants to qualify for next week’s BMW Championship, as he currently ranks 49th in the FedEx Cup standings. Clark finished T7 at TPC Southwind last season and he has the potential for a similar performance this week.
Denny McCarthy ($7,400)
McCarthy finished T9th at TPC Southwind a year ago, marking his third top-20 finish in four starts at the par 70. McCarthy has been very consistent this season, producing 10 top-25 finishes in 20 starts, including a T11 at last week’s Wyndham Championship. During this finish, McCarthy caught fire in the final round and posted a 7-under 63. Looking to build off this outstanding performance, McCarthy has top-10 upside at TPC Southwind and is an easy choice at this cheap price tag.
Shane Lowry ($7,400)
Lowry is having a stellar season, advancing to the weekend in 13 of his 16 solo starts and carding a top-25 finish at 10 of these events. The Irishman has been one of the best ball strikers on the PGA TOUR, ranking fifth in SG: Tee-to-Green and Lowry has finished inside the top 30 in three of his five starts at TPC Southwind, most notably with a T6 in 2020. This is easily the lowest Lowry has been priced on DraftKings this season and he is an obvious play for cash games at this affordable salary.
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DraftKings $6,000 and Below Range
Justin Rose ($6,900)
Rose is coming off an impressive two-start stretch overseas. After finishing T6th at the Genesis Scottish Open, the veteran finished T16th at the Open Championship. Despite the volatile conditions at both tournaments, Rose didn’t shoot over par in any of these eight rounds. The 45-year-old now heads to TPC Southwind, where he has finished T22 or better in three of his five starts at the track. Rose has a tendency to play his best golf in the strongest fields and he has a ton of merit at this affordable price.
Sungjae Im ($6,800)
Im has finished inside the top 12 in two of his last three appearances at TPC Southwind – including a third-round 7-under 63 in 2021 – and while the 27-year-old has had an up-and-down season, Im found some life in his game last week at the Wyndham Championship. Im finished T27th at Sedgefield CC and he carded two 6-under 64s. Plus, the two-time PGA TOUR winner gained strokes on approach, which was very encouraging, as Im’s irons have been his main problem this season, with him ranking 174th in SG: Approach. Hopefully this is a sign of more things to come for Im in that department and if he can continue to strike the ball well at TPC Southwind, Im will easily outproduce this sub-$7,000 salary.
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Pictured: Scottie Scheffler
Photo credit: Imagn
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