Sleeper Picks: Look to recent major performances for picks at the Memorial

NOTE: Sleeper Picks did not appear in Rob’s Power Rankings but each presents value for the bet specified.

Outright

Taylor Pendrith (+8000) … While there’s always the narrative that the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday can serve as a tune-up for the U.S. Open that follows, don’t sleep on the same for the PGA Championship as a primer for the Memorial. Muirfield Village Golf Club stands on its own as a beast, so it’s not a coincidence that this page is teeming with talent that got over on similarly vexing Quail Hollow Club, site of the second major of the year. Pendrith finished T5 at Quail Hollow. It was his second T5 in six starts and fourth top 10 of the season. The lean machine is third on the PGA TOUR in total driving, fifth in greens in regulation and ninth in par-5 scoring, so he fits the profile for success at Muirfield Village. He’s also no stranger to the test for what is now his third appearance. As he continues to stride forward on the stage, the experience is more impactful than the results, but he cashed in both of his prior visits, anyway. And as a product of Kent State University, we can’t rule out invaluable feels unique to him as it concerns wanting to showcase himself to fellow Golden Flashes who have made the short drive over.

Top 5

Keegan Bradley (+700) … Adhering to the theme, here’s another long-hitting ball-striker who made noise at Quail Hollow with a T8. This is his 15th appearance at Muirfield Village where he has two top 10s (both also T8s), albeit way back in 2015 and 2016. His lone top five this year was at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard where he closed with a field-low 64 on Bay Hill Club & Lodge, also no pushover. And because it’s been a few months since he’s entered my focus in earnest, it’s worth revisiting that he hasn’t relented on his pace despite his imminent duties as captain for the United States Ryder Cup Team. There’s almost always a decrease in effectiveness at the day job as the side hustle encroaches, but he’s 28th in the FedExCup and angling hard at qualifying automatically for the squad for which he’s 18th in points. (If you’re keen for a top 10 instead, he’s +290 in that market.)

Top 10

J.J. Spaun (+290) … Sometimes it’s best to ignore course history. Of course, only hindsight can prove when it’s recommended, but using that lesson moving forward always is baked into the calculus of the next opportunity. This is where we find the 34-year-old. I faded him in the Fantasy Insider for the Charles Schwab Challenge for what were obvious reasons. Later, I watched my colleague, Chris Breece, on “The Drop” tout Spaun for a top 10 at +450. Breece delivered a compelling argument supported by Spaun’s 2025 stats and results but devoid of Spaun’s paltry 1-for-5 slate at Colonial (T63, 2023). Lo and behold, Spaun hit for a seriously strong T6 during which he was at par or better in every round. Even winner Ben Griffin and runner-up Matti Schmid couldn’t claim that consistency. So, I’m going back to the “Breece’s way,” (I’ll workshop it), albeit for shorter odds in a smaller field at Muirfield Village where Spaun’s record is similarly forgettable (1-for-4; T30, 2023). The dude is in his prime and playing like it – Spaun, that is, not Breece, although Chris does have recency bias.

Top 20

Christiaan Bezuidenhout(+210) … The approach is similar to Spaun’s, only that you saw the South African in this very slot at +240 for a top 20 at Colonial Country Club. He delivered a T16 with four red numbers. He’s also perfect in four tries at Muirfield Village with fourth-place finish last year, which came on the heels of a T17 at the Charles Schwab. That tandem represents the last time he connected top 20s on the PGA TOUR. He’ll keep his ball in play and via for the best short game in the field.

Joe Highsmith (+320) … He finished beside Bradley at Quail Hollow at T8, so he completes the correlation as outlined above. It was the lefty’s best finish since breaking through at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches at PGA National’s Champion Course, which is notorious for requiring accuracy on approach, but he also paired top 25s at THE PLAYERS Championship (T20) and Valspar Championship (T22) to prove that he can handle the sudden shift in his schedule as a result of the win in his second season. He’s a debutant at Muirfield Village but he has been at most sites since the win, including TPC Sawgrass and Quail Hollow.

Odds were sourced at FanDuel.

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