The Memorial at Muirfield Village
Last week was a wash. Kevin Na finished inside the Top 20 at +200, but Kisner and Buckley were MCs so we ended up a dead even 0.0 units for the week.
This week the Tour heads to Jack’s place - The Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. It is an invitational tourney with a 120 player field.
Here is the course thumbnail:
Muirfield Village is a Par 72, measuring 7533 yards
Wider fairways, treacherous 4-inch bluegrass rough
Favors power fade, high ball flight apex into firm greens (7th smallest on Tour)
Fast bent greens with severe slopes
Here are the players we’re backing this week:
Kurt Kitayama Top 40 +300 (DraftKings)
The most important stat this week is Strokes Gained approach and the derivative stat of approach from 175 to 200 yards and 200+ yards. Kitayama is 25th in SG Approach, 5th in approach from 175-200 yards, and 3rd in 200+ yards approach. His pricing is a direct result of his putting stats which are below average (SG putting is 133rd). His long iron game carries enough weight to offset the putting so back Kitayama at a really nice price.
Gary Woodland Top 20 +390 (FanDuel)
This price on Woodland is really off market so it may not last long. He is +230 at Draftkings and +275 at William Hill to illustrate the large spread in pricing. Woodland is 37th in SG Approach, 69th Approach from 175-200 yards, and 9th in Approach from 200+ yards. His stats signal a solid week here despite a mixed course history (MC in 2021, T22 in 2020, and T52 in 2019.
Aaron Wise Top 20 +250 (WilliamHill)
Wise, like Woodland and Kitayama, checks all the boxes on the SG Approach and the derivative approach metrics. He is 26th in SG Approach, 36th in Approach from 175-200, and 34th in Approach from 200+. He enters in really good form with 7 of 8 made cuts and 4 finishes inside the Top 23. His recent course is mixed - T9 in 2021, DNP in 2020, MC in 2019, MC in 2018.
Good luck this week and the US Open at Brookline is only 2 weeks away!