2026 the Memorial Tournament: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 3
The 2026 Memorial Tournament has reached the halfway point, with some surprise names atop the leaderboard. Just as we all predicted, J.T. Poston (-9) holds a one-stroke lead over Ryan Gerard (-8), with just 11 players under par. With 53 players advancing to the weekend at +5 or better, this tournament still feels wide open for the taking. 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 Memorial Tournament DFS contests and live betting opportunities.
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 the Memorial Tournament Showdown Pillar Plays
Birdies have been tough to come by at Muirfield Village, particularly as the wind picks up and the greens have firmed up in the afternoon sun. We know this course well as a mainstay on the PGA Tour over the last 50 years, and it has continued to reward in-form ball strikers, reliable scramblers in thick rough, and confident putters on firm and fast Bentgrass greens. With bogeys feeling inevitable for the field over the next three rounds, it’s the players who are in complete control of their ball striking, and who can reliably scramble for par with consistency, who pose the greatest threat to contend at the 2026 Memorial Tournament.
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.
Xander Schauffele ($9,600)
It’s been a perplexing showing from the favorites at large this week, as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Cameron Young, and Matt Fitzpatrick are all over 10 strokes behind the leader through the first two rounds. The one star who has shown up at Muirfield Village thus far, however, is Xander Schauffele.
Schauffele has continued his form this week, having finished in the top 12 in five of his last six starts. He is currently 2-under par in a tie for 6th place at the Memorial Tournament. There were some concerns about Shauffele’s approach form leading in, having lost strokes with his irons in each of his last two starts. He seems to have worked that out this week, though, ranking 20th in SG: APP through the first two rounds. If he can start to get the putter going (50th SG: Putting), he’s positioned well to cut into Poston’s lead on moving day.
Sam Burns ($8,900)
Putting skill is required on a difficult course that seldom presents short-range birdie opportunities. It’s no surprise then that the top-2 players on the leader board rank 4th and 1st respectively in SG: Putting. If putting is the key to finding birdies at Muirfield Village, I like Burns’ chances to heat up over the weekend. He currently ranks 19th in the category and 2nd in SG: T2G. That combination has catapulted him to 3rd place at the halfway point, just three strokes off the lead at 6 under par.
Burns’s form has been solid of late, with seven straight made cuts leading in, and five top-25 finishes over that stretch. If his tee-to-green form remains at this level, he is a dangerous player to watch on moving day.
Alex Fitzpatrick ($7,200)
Fitzpatrick was a feature in this article after Round 1, and after another solid showing of 1 under par on Friday, I don’t see any reason to hop off now. Fitzpatrick has continued to look excellent from tee to green and made some encouraging improvements on the greens in his second round (28th SG: P). All told, the Englishman ranks 3rd in SG: T2G for the tournament, but 59th in SG: Putting.
On a course as difficult as Muirfield Village, I’m especially drawn to value-priced players who have proven they can handle the tee-to-green test. If he continues to improve on the greens, Fitzpatrick remains the highest-upside option in DraftKings Showdown for his price.
Live Bets To Consider Entering Round 3
Top Canadian: Nick Taylor
Best Available odds:
You are getting significantly better odds on Nick Taylor in this market today than you would have yesterday after a dreadful +6 showing in his second round. Even still, Taylor is +2 for the tournament, only two strokes behind Taylor Pendrith with two rounds to play. Taylor holds a two-stroke lead over Sudarshan Yellamaraju and a three-stroke lead over Corey Conners as far as this prop is concerned.
Taylor is the most battle-tested of this group in difficult conditions, entering this week with finishes of T26, T14, and T9 over his last three starts. While Pendrith’s form has looked strong to start, that has not been the story of his 2026 season. Since the Sony Open, Pendrith has failed to crack the top-30 in 14 consecutive starts. Expecting some regression from the current leader in this prop, I’m most optimistic about Taylor’s chances to make a run over the next two days.
Top 20 Finish: Tony Finau
Best Available odds:
I backed Tony Finau for a top-20 finish pre-tournament at roughly 4x his current price, but assessing the board as it currently stands, his odds still present some of the best value available.
Finau is on the good side of this prop at the moment, currently T12 at the halfway point. With just 53 players advancing through to the weekend, Finau can afford to fall back a bit and still cash in here. Finau backers were hoping to see course history prevail, and so far, it has. Regardless of form, he has always shown up with the right game plan at Muirfield Village, finishing top-15 in five out of nine appearances. Finau currently ranks 18th in SG: T2G, and has looked more capable than usual on the greens as well.
Best of luck with your Memorial Tournament DFS lineups and bets!
Photo Credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki
