6/5/18

Paulie’s Picks: 2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic

The Tour heads to TPC Southwind and Paulie likes the elite iron players.

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What a victory by Bryson on Sunday! He came through and closed it out even though he was struggling off the tee. His victory continues our hot streak. Let’s see if we can keep it going as the Tour heads to Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind. The field this week was fairly weak to begin with and is growing weaker by the hour. Withdrawals continue to pile in as players are opting to rest for next week’s grueling test at Shinnecock. Please make sure that any players you choose this week are still playing come Thursday morning.

TPC Southwind is a course that will favor elite iron players who also have good touch around the greens. The bermuda greens at TPC Southwind are small and firm, which creates a premium on iron play. Errant iron shots will force players to try and get up and down from the gnarly bermuda rough that’s very difficult to judge chip shots from. I’m also going to be looking for players who have the ability to keep the ball in play off of the tee. This course does not require a ton of length, but players will need to avoid the multiple water hazards and tricky bermuda rough if they want to succeed this week.

DraftKings

Phil Mickelson $10,600

If you are looking for a player who has an elite iron game and a deft touch around the greens, look no further than Phil. He has gained strokes on approach and around the green in seven of his last eight events. He has also been rolling the rock lately, gaining strokes in 14 straight events. In his last five starts at this event, his worst finish is 11th!

Joel Dahmen $7,100

Dahmen has gained strokes on approach and around the green in each of his last three events. He has finished in the top 20 in all of those events. He now heads to TPC Southwind, where he finished 18th in his debut last year.

One-and-Done

Daniel Berger

Berger is your typical horse for a course. He has won in both of his appearances at this event (2016 and 2017). In another weak field, I look for Berger to continue his success this week. If you haven’t used Berger yet this year, now is the time.

Brooks Koepka

If you’re not betting on Berger this week, you should consider Koepka. Brooks is finally back to 100% healthy and is preparing to defend his U.S. Open title next week. He comes into this week on the heels of a runner-up at Colonial and an 11th place finish at the Players. In his four appearances at this event, he has two top 3 finishes.

Longshot

Ben Crane (100-1 to win, 9-1 top 10)

Crane absolutely loves TPC Southwind. In his eight starts at this event, he has five top 20 finishes, including a win in 2014. His game is trending in the right direction, finishing 8th in his last start at Colonial. He has gained over 8 shots both on approach and around the green during his last four events this year.

Chad Campbell (200-1 to win, 18-1 top 10)

Each year it seem like Chad Campbell seems to find his game when he visits TPC Southwind. In the last six years, he has recorded three top 10s at this event. Even though he has missed four of his last five cuts, I think his game shows promise this week. In his last event at Colonial, he gained over seven shots on approach but was held back due to a balky putter. At such long odds this week in a weak field, I’m willing to roll the dice on Campbell.