2026 FedEx St Jude Championship: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 3
The 2026 FedEx St Jude Championship has reached the halfway point, with TPC Southwind offering a fair test to the field, reward great shots and penalizing misfires.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has certainly looked the part of the best golfer on the planet, jumping out to a solo lead at 11-under-par after a sizzling second round 61. It will be a tall order to catch him now, as he holds a three-stroke lead over Sungjae Im and Viktor Hovland. Just six players are within five strokes of Scheffler’s lead at the midpoint of this tournament, with Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood representing the biggest threats to catch him.
Looking ahead, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 3 gets underway on Saturday. Conditions have been clear and breezy thus far, but the course will continue to get firmer as the week goes on. Ahead, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 3 breakout.
Take a look at some of the best pillar players for the 2026 FedEx St Jude Championship DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
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DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy
DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.
Round 3 FedEx St Jude Championship Showdown Pillar Plays
As expected, ball-striking form and Bermuda putting skill have prevailed through the opening round at TPC Southwind. Much like last week at Sedgefield CC, this is a venue that can be attacked from the fairway by trending wedge players. As one of the purest positional courses on the PGA Tour, we’ve also seen a steep penalty for wayward misfires here, whether it be the ample water hazards, tight tree lines, or penal Bermuda rough. That places a heightened importance on driving accuracy and ball-striking, as the leaders have displayed in the opening round. Looking ahead, it is going to take a combination of driving accuracy, elite iron play, and a streaky putter to go low at TPC Southwind.
Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 3 Showdown lineups for these reasons.
Ludvig Åberg ($9,300)
Total Driving and Approach play are the two strengths of Åberg’s game, and he’s leaned on those skillsets throughout the first two rounds of the FedEx St Jude Championship. He ranks top-8 in Driving Distance, SG: OTT, SG: T2G, and SG: APP for the tournament. He seems to have regained his form now after a strong showing at The Open where he finished T9 in his most recent start, as he continues to excel in every facet of his game in Memphis.
It’s hardly a surprise to see Aberg thrive on a short, positional, Bermuda course; he picked up his first career win at Sea Island Resort and dominated for 63 holes at The Players Championship earlier this season. Currently in 3rd place, just four strokes off of Scottie Scheffler’s lead at 7-under-par, Åberg is on a short list of players capable of catching the World No. 1 over the weekend.
Sungjae Im ($7,200)
Throughout the 2026 season, Sungjae has gotten the most out of his game despite getting absolutely nothing out of his irons. After losing strokes on approach in 16 consecutive starts, it appears he has finally turned a corner. His improvements with the irons have resulted in three top-15 finishes over his last four starts. He seems destined to add to that streak this week, as he heads to the weekend in 2nd place at 8-under-par.
It’s the improved iron play that has propelled Sungjae thus far, ranking 14th in SG: Approach and 2nd in SG: Putting. One of the strongest Bermuda putters on Tour throughout his career, I expect he can keep things rolling over the weekend. At 53rd in the FedEx Cup standings leading into this week, he can put himself in position to reach East Lake if he maintains this level of play.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju ($6,100)
Scottie Scheffler was nearly perfect on Friday with the round of the day at 9-under-par. There was one player even better than him on approach in round 2, however, and that’s Sudarshan Yellamaraju. While known for his great distance off-the-tee, Yellamaraju is accurate too, and is one of the best total drivers on Tour when he’s in form. He ranks top-3 in terms of SG: T2G, SG: Ball Striking, and SG: APP through the first two rounds.
The hot start at TPC Southwind has come as a bit of a surprise, as he’d posted finishes of MC, MC, T52, MC, MC over his last five starts. TPC Southwind seems to fit his eye though, as he’s channeling the same positional game plan that resulted in a T5 finish at TPC Sawgrass earlier this year. Currently T9, Yellamaraju has a great opportunity to make a charge on Saturday if he can flip his putter around. Entering this week 57th in the FedEx Cup standings, he’ll be motivated to finish strong and finish inside the top-50 to earn himself a tee time at Bellerive next week.
Live Bets To Consider Entering Round 3
Top 10 Finish: Hideki Matsuyama
Best Available odds: -108
Matsuyama may have a reputation as a volatile player, but few have been more consistent than him over the last month. That’s a credit to his commitment to accuracy of late, as he’d traded distance for more fairways. As such, he’s gained on the field in Driving Accuracy in each of his last five starts, and finished inside the top-15 in each.
That momentum has not stopped at TPC Southwind where he sits T9 on the leaderboard at the halfway point. We shouldn’t expect that form to halt any time soon either, as Matsuyama ranks No. 1 in this field in terms of Course History with a win and T2 finish under his belt. Looking in complete control of his ball-striking now, Matsuyama is positioned well to maintain his standing on the leaderboard the rest of the way.
Top Canadian: Sudarshan Yellamaraju
Best Available odds: -158
I would not have picked him over Nick Taylor or Corey Conners coming into this short, positional venue before the week began, but having seen the game each of these Canadians have displayed thus far in Memphis, it’s Yellamaraju who is handling the test of TPC Southwind best.
While Taylor and Conners are certainly known to be superior in accuracy, Yellamaraju has them both beat in that category through the first two rounds. More encouragingly, Yellamaraju has been the superior player in terms of SG: APP too, the most important skillset needed to generate scoring opportunities at TPC Southwind. With a 2-stroke lead over Taylor and a 6-stroke lead over Conners, Yellamaraju is positioned well to hold on to his lead.
Best of luck with your Fedex St. Jude Championship DFS lineups and bets!
Photo Credit: REUTERS
