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Fantasy Golf Podcast: Is Dustin Johnson the play in Memphis?
OK, raise your hand if you had William McGirt winning the Memorial. You know, the 35-year-old journeyman who had won once in his entire professional career with that one win coming on something called the Tar Heel Tour and netting him all of $16,000? Yeah, I'm sensing there aren't too many people out there with their hands raised. McGirt was the latest reminder that the PGA Tour isn't all about the Big 3 these days -- even though it seems that way sometimes. And it won't be about them this week either, with neither Jason Day, Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy teeing it up at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Who are our picks instead? Take a listen as Joel Beall and I break down the field:
And if you're more old-school and would rather just read my normal weekly picks, here's who I'm taking on my PGA Tour Fantasy Golf team at TPC Southwind:
Brooks Koepka: We hadn't seen Brooks' name high on a leader board in months, but that changed with a close call at the Byron Nelson. The runner-up there has him feeling good and coming back to a place where he feels comfortable. Koepka has finished T-19 and T-3 in his two attempts.
Gary Woodland: Overall, it's been a shaky season for Woodland, but he seems to be shaking that off with top 25s in four of his past five starts, including a T-4 at the Memorial. TPC Southwind (Par 70, 72,000 yards) isn't known as a bombers course, but those are two bombers. One long-hitter I'm staying away from? Dustin Johnson. A former winner of this event, Johnson is thinking about another par 70 he's going to take on at next week's U.S. Open. I picked him at this event last year and he burned me with a WD before nearly winning at Chambers Bay. Better to stay away this time around.
Ryan Palmer: Took care of business in his home state of Texas (T-4 at Valero, T-3 at Colonial) to get back on track. Has those same finishes in this event over the past four years.
Colt Knost: We're plugging BIG GRAVY back into our lineups after a recent stretch (T-3 at the Players, T-4 at the Byron Nelson) that was easily the best of the 2007 U.S. Amateur champ's professional career. After getting a week off, Knost returns to a track where he's posted top-15 finishes in two of the past three years.
__ Bench:__ Harris English and Charles Howell III.
And for those of you playing other fantasy golf formats:
Yahoo! lineup: Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka, Ryan Palmer, Daniel Berger (starters); Dustin Johnson, Colt Knost, Harris English, Kyle Reifers (bench).
Knockout/One-and-done pick: Brooks Koepka.
Previously used: Bryson DeChambeau (Valero), Luke Donald (Valspar), Jason Dufner (RBC), Matt Every (Bay Hill), Tony Finau (Frys.com), Sergio Garcia (Riviera), Bill Haas (Farmers), J.B. Holmes (Wells Fargo), Dustin Johnson (Doral), Kevin Kisner (RSM - winner!), Russell Knox (Honda), Matt Kuchar (Colonial), Anirban Lahiri (CIMB), Graeme McDowell (Hyundai), Kevin Na (Phoenix), Ryan Palmer (CareerBuilders), Scott Piercy (Byron Nelson), Patrick Reed (HSBC), Patrick Rodgers (Shriners), Brandt Snedeker (Pebble), Brendan Steele (OHL), Henrik Stenson (Players), Justin Thomas (Sony), Bubba Watson (Masters).
And one more time, if you feel like listening to Joel and I jabber, here you go: