Our PGA DFS series continues with our St. Jude Championship PGA DFS top plays, which includes a look at Xander Schauffele, among others.
This week, the top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings converge in Memphis for the first of a three-event stretch that will ultimately crown the 2024 Tour Champion. Each event will be a no-cut format, with a portion of the field advancing to the next week. The top 50 finishers this week will move on to the BMW Championship in Castle Rock, Colorado, next week.
2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship PGA DFS Top Plays
FedEx St. Jude Championship DFS Course & Tournament Preview
TPC Southwind has been a consistent stop on the TOUR for some time now. With years of history to draw from, we have a really solid understanding of how the course will play. As a par 70 measuring around 7,200 yards, the course is standard in length. However, the thin fairways, 11 water hazards, and thick Bermuda rough present a challenging test from tee to green.
This setup emphasizes accuracy off the tee, where the typical distance advantage is relatively mitigated. The penalty for missing the fairway can be immense, as the ball can settle into the thick rough, making it difficult to advance the ball. On the flip side, hitting the fairways provides a significant advantage due to the Zoysia grass, which consistently provides near-perfect lies for attacking the smaller greens. With this in mind, I’m placing a premium on driving accuracy and overall ball striking.
As always, I’ve used the Stokastic PGA DFS Sims tool to identify four players that I’ll be building my lineup portfolio around this week.
Our hole-by-hole simulation technology allows me to take every golfer in the field’s range of outcomes into consideration, along with what I project the competition’s lineups to look like. By simulating the lineups against each other tens of thousands of times, the best plays on the slate reveal themselves. The players that appear most in the highest ROI lineups are the ones I want to build my portfolio around.
Our PGA DFS Sims tool is the core of my weekly DFS process and is something I highly recommend for those looking to take the next step in DFS. Without further ado, below are the players I’ll be building around as my core plays for The FedEx St. Jude Championship.
2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship DFS Top Plays
Xander Schauffele – $11,400
Xander has been a mainstay in the top slot of my core plays all season and has done nothing but churn out top-10 finishes at an absurd rate. In 17 starts this season, he has 12 finishes inside the top 10, including seven top 5’s and two major victories. Over his past 24 rounds, he ranks top 10 in strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained approach, birdie or better percentage, and bogey avoidance. He is one of the best and most consistent players in the world. I feel very comfortable locking Xander into a large percentage of my lineups this week.
Corey Conners – $9,100
Conners is another player known for his consistency from tee to green, and his game is particularly well-suited for TPC Southwind. Over his last eight starts, he has gained 41.9 strokes on the field tee to green, which has resulted in eight straight finishes inside the top 27. This season he has hit over 65% of fairways and 71% of greens in regulation. As noted in the course breakdown, consistent ball striking will be crucial for navigating the bevy of hazards that await poorly struck shots. He finished T6 in this event last year, and I believe he’s well-positioned to achieve another top-10 finish this week.
Davis Thompson – $7,400
This year has been the breakout season for Thompson that many felt was inevitable. The talent has always been evident when watching him play, but this year he has found the consistency needed to become a legitimate contender week in and week out. Over his last six starts, he has four finishes inside the top 12, including his first career win in early July. With a driving accuracy of 63% and a greens in regulation percentage over 70%, he’s a nice fit to meet the demands of the course. He’s a great value option with upside in the middle of the $7k range on DraftKings this week.
GPP Flier
Austin Eckroat – $6,200
Following an impressive sixth-place finish at the Wyndham Championship last week, Eckroat enters the FedEx Cup Playoffs with strong momentum. With a 68% driving accuracy percentage for the season, he is one of the most reliable players off the tee in the entire field – a key metric for success on this course. Over the past 24 rounds, he ranks inside the top 20 in strokes gained on approach, which is a combination that piques my interest quite a bit.
The downside with Eckroat is his struggles on and around the greens. However, he has gained over four strokes putting in back-to-back starts heading into this week, which gives me some optimism. At the near minimum price on DraftKings, and with a single-digit ownership projection, I’m willing to take a shot since his profile aligns well with what I’m looking for.
These are a few of the key players who will make up my player pool for my 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship DFS lineups. I’ll favor them significantly when I build lineups using the PGA DFS Sims tool. In addition, don’t forget to take advantage of the odds boosts sportsbooks are offering.
