Presidents Cup Picks and Strategy from STLCards & Notorious
Hello, golf Grinders! We were not sure where the sites would land for golf contests for this week’s Presidents Cup, but DraftKings has offered us some really strong GPP contests, including a large-field tournament with $100,000 to 1st place. As such, we are going to deliver you some golf content.
The DraftKings game format will be similar to what they use for Showdown slates in other sports, with a Captain spot available, which costs 1.5x salary and also earns 1.5x fantasy points. This will help to lower the amount of duplicate rosters. It also adds an intricate layer of strategy, which is never a bad thing in DFS, as it gives sharper players an edge.
That potential edge is magnified this week with the unique Presidents Cup event. This is an event that is similar to the (more prestigious) Ryder Cup, where each team will have 12 golfers competing. In this case, it is simply the USA vs. an International team, as opposed to the USA vs. Europe format that is used in the Ryder Cup.
Here is the format for the Presidents Cup, which will be held at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada (which boasts itself as the oldest Golf Club in North America):
- 30 matches in total
- Thursday: 5 four-ball matches (everyone plays their own ball)
- Friday: 5 foursome matches (alternate shot)
- Saturday Morning: 4 four-ball matches (everyone plays their own ball)
- Saturday Afternoon: 4 foursome matches (alternate shot)
- Sunday: 12 singles matches
Any individual golfer could be involved in up to 5 matches in the 5 sessions. The only requirement is that every golfer must play at least 2 matches over the course of the event. Since every golfer will play in Sunday’s singles, that means that golfers are only required to play in 1 of the first 4 “paired” sessions.
There are two important points to note here: First, some golfers will get 2 matches, while others will get up to 5 matches. Trying to identify the golfers who are going to get more matches is an obvious priority, but it is not an exact science. As of the time that rosters will lock, we will only know the pairings for Thursday’s contests. Another angle, particularly for tournaments, is to try to identify the golfers who are playing together in the pairs matches. If one pairing wins often, it will be a massive benefit to have both players on said pairing. Again though, we will only know one set of matchups by the time rosters lock. However, if those teams start off well, they generally stay together in these formats. You could also take an opposite approach, as golfers who are NOT playing in the first set of matches will also likely carry much lower ownership, and we have seen those golfers sometimes be difference-makers in previous Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup events.
I am noting all of this to say that there is an advantage to be had by playing a strategy angle or two. This event should be a lot of fun!
Editor’s Note: RotoGrinders has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole!
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Here are some of my favorite picks, and then I will pass it to Noto for some of his favorite picks as well.
DraftKings PGA DFS Picks and Strategy for the Presidents Cup
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STLCards’ Favorite Picks
1) Xander Schauffele, $10,800 ($16,200 – CPT)
If there is one constant that has come out of the world of golf over the last five or six years, it has been the commonalities between Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. They are good friends. They have played together often at the Ryder Cup and at this event. They always pair up at the Zurich Classic team event in the spring. They are two of the best players on the PGA TOUR, and they obviously know how to complement each other’s games in a team setting. Experience matters, as does knowing the playing style of your partner. I will have plenty of rosters where I will attempt to roster both Schauffele and Cantlay with value plays around them.
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