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Tiger Woods returns to play at this week’s Memorial Tournament – which begins Thursday – at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. This will be the second straight event held at the Jack Nicklaus course, following Collin Morikawa‘s playoff win over Justin Thomas last week in the Workday Charity Open. Below, we rank the top-30 fantasy golf picks for the 2020 Memorial Tournament.
Tiger will be joined in the 133-man field by Rory McIlroy and nine of the top-10 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings. Woods enters the week ranked 25th and will tee it up for the first time since The Genesis Invitational in mid-February.
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2020 Memorial Tournament: Fantasy Golf Top 30
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
30. Paul Casey
Casey skipped the last two events following a T-32 at the Travelers Championship in his return to competitive golf. He has played 22 career rounds at Muirfield Village and has gained an average of 0.80 strokes per round, according to Data Golf.
29. Sungjae Im
Im still sits 14th in the Golfweek rankings despite finishing no better than T-53 in three events since a missed cut at the RBC Heritage. He uncharacteristically lost 0.56 strokes per round on approach last week, but should quickly rebound.
28. Ian Poulter
Poulter had a dominant putting performance last week while gaining 2.22 strokes per round with the flat stick. The greens will be firmer and faster this week, but the veteran Englishman will be able to adapt quickly.
27. Adam Hadwin
Hadwin’s coming off a 35th-place finish at the Workday marred by an ugly Saturday round of 76 in which he lost strokes all over the place, but most notably 3.31 strokes from tee-to-green. He still finished up 0.1 strokes in that column for the event.
26. Joaquin Niemann
Niemann has made four straight cuts since play resumed. He hasn’t been able to replicate the form of his T-5 finish at the RBC Heritage, but he’s at least a safe pick to make it to the weekend.
25. Matt Kuchar
Kuchar was part of a large group tied for 39th at 4-under par last week. He won this event in 2013 and has six other top 10s since 2008.
24. Rory Sabbatini
Sabbatini ranks among the best in the field with 2.02 strokes gained per round across 38 career rounds played here. He tied for 17th last week with a Sunday 73 knocking him out of the top 10.
23. Jon Rahm
Rahm struggled once again last week, as he finished T-27. He entered the midseason pause with four top 10s in his last five events, but hasn’t done better than last week’s performance since play resumed.
22. Matthew Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick tied for 27th last week after finishing 68th in the 2019 Memorial. Having Jim “Bones” MacKay seemed to help out quickly, as he averaged 1.16 Strokes Gained: Putting for the tournament.
21. Gary Woodland
Woodland’s T-5 last week was his best result and second top 10 since play resumed. He was one of two players to finish inside the top 10 last week who averaged better than 300 yards off the tee.
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20. Jason Day
Day had a resurgent showing last week with a T-7 finish while gaining 1.55 strokes per round from tee-to-green.
19. Rickie Fowler
Fowler has three straight top-15 showings in this event and finished T-22 in last week’s tune-up. He’ll be fully capable of handling the quicker greens this week.
18. Sergio Garcia
Garcia ranks fourth on Tour with 1.653 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on the 2019-20 PGA Tour season. He tied for fifth in an incredibly strong field at the RBC Heritage.
17. Tony Finau
Finau skipped the Workday Charity Open, but stayed busy last week and shared evidence of a 59 shot at his home club. He missed the cut here last year, but previously had finishes of eighth, 11th and 13th.
16. Patrick Reed
Reed returned to play with a T-7 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but hasn’t finished better than T-24 in four events since. He lost strokes off the tee and on the greens last week. He may be one to find more success on the quicker putting surfaces this week.
15. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele’s T-14 last week was his best result since narrowly missing out on victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He won’t be able to lose his 0.36 strokes around the greens this week in a stronger field.
14. Justin Rose
Rose had an all-around poor performance last week, capped by his -3.02 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He still ranks near the top of the field with 2.10 SG: Total at Muirfield Village for his career, and will benefit from a return to the usual conditions.
13. Abraham Ancer
Ancer ranks 11th on Tour this season in SG: Approach and SG: Tee-to-Green. He’s well-rested after sitting out the last two events and made the cut here in each of his first two appearances.
12. Daniel Berger
Berger tees it up for the first time since a T-3 at the RBC Heritage. The Charles Schwab Challenge champion should be trusted to get right back to form as he continues to climb the world rankings.
11. Tiger Woods
Tiger seeks his record-setting 83rd PGA Tour victory at an event he has won five times. We haven’t seen him in a tournament since The Genesis Invitational, but his irons looked to be in peak form in The Match: Champions for Charity. No one may benefit more from fans being denied entry to the course.
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10. Brooks Koepka
Koepka fell flat last week with a missed cut and was a late entry to this event in what’s likely his final tune-up for the PGA Championship. He lost 0.33 strokes per round on the greens at the Workday, but has performed much better on firm and quick surfaces over his career.
9. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama tied for 22nd last week despite losing 0.62 strokes putting per round, though he gained 2.25 strokes tee-to-green. He has three top-6 finishes in this event over the last six years, including his 2014 win.
8. Webb Simpson
Simpson hasn’t played the Memorial since finishing 67th in 2017. He has wins in two of his last five events and tied for eighth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
7. Dustin Johnson
Johnson silenced an increasing number of critics with his win at the Travelers Championship. His 1.50 SG: Putting may not be repeatable, but he can at least lean on his 1.83 SG: Tee-to-Green and 1.50 SG: Approach.
6. Patrick Cantlay
The 2019 Memorial champ finished T-7 last week on the back of a Sunday 65. He finished fourth here in 2018 and is a near lock for the top 10.
5. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy has never won this event, but has four top 10s since 2010. He leads the Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green on the 2019-20 season.
4. Justin Thomas
A couple of bad late breaks knocked Thomas out of the winner’s circle while shooting a final round 69 at last week’s Workday. He missed the cut last year, but finished fourth in 2017 and eighth in 2018.
3. Viktor Hovland
Hovland led the field with 1.56 SG: Off the Tee and 3.74 SG: Tee-to-Green last week. He hasn’t finished worse than 23rd in five events since play resumed.
2. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa will be an interesting case study this week as he seeks back-to-back wins on the same course. The competition level increases and the course is expected to play tougher, but it shouldn’t impact the Tour’s leader in SG: Approach too much.
1. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau is the co-favorite at BetMGM this week, along with Thomas. DeChambeau sat out last week to rest, but is already plenty familiar with a course where he won in 2018, as he looks to follow up his Rocket Mortgage Classic victory in a stronger field.
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