FanDuel PGA Expert Survey: Sentry Tournament of Champions

Want to know who Notorious is definitely paying up for in PGA DFS this week? Wondering which value play STLCardinals84 is eyeing most? You’re in luck. Our daily fantasy sports experts will answer a handful of questions to help you make crucial lineup building decisions for this week’s tournament.

Sentry Tournament of Champions

# PGA Expert Survey Questions (Sentry Tournament of Champions) Notorious STLCardinals84 futureoffantasy Tour Junkies hondizzle
1 Who is your must-play stud in cash games? Jordan Spieth Justin Thomas Jordan Spieth Jordan Spieth Jordan Spieth
2 Who is your must-play stud in tournaments? Hideki Matsuyama Dustin Johnson Jordan Spieth Dustin Johnson Jon Rahm
3 Who is your favorite salary saver on the board? Kyle Stanley Bryson DeChambeau Austin Cook Wesley Bryan Grayson Murray
4 Which value priced golfer has the best chance of making the cut? No-Cut Event No-Cut Event No-Cut Event No-Cut Event No-Cut Event
5 Which player are you afraid of being underweight on compared to the field? Rickie Fowler Marc Leishman Marc Leishman Rickie Fowler Rickie Fowler
6 Which player will you be most overweight on compared to the field? Hideki Matsuyama Brendan Steele Wesley Bryan Jon Rahm Patrick Cantlay
7 What type of golfer are you targeting most? (ie: bomber, short game specialist) All-Around Ball Striker Short Game Specialist Putting Ball Striker
8 Which statistic other than Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green are you weighing most? Birdie or Better % Birdie or better % SG Around the Green plus Putting Strokes Gained Putting Birdie or Better %
9 Predict the top three finishers of the week. 1. Matsuyama 2. Spieth 3. Henley 1. D Johnson, 2. Thomas, 3. Steele Spieth, Fowler, Rahm 1. Spieth 2. Rahm 3. DJ 1. Rahm, Cantlay, Spieth
10 Predict the winning score of the week (ie: E, -5, -10). -22 -19 -20 -24 -22

Which stud are you fading in tournaments and why?

Notorious: Rickie Fowler – He’s coming off of a win where he nearly birdied every hole on Sunday at the Hero Open. While he’s certainly capable of winning this week, he’s a tad too expensive for my liking. His splits on Bermuda greens worry me a little. He was the best putter on tour overall last season, but is ranked 14th in the field if you narrow that down to strokes gained putting on Bermuda.

STLCardinals84: Jordan Spieth – This is mainly an ownership move. Spieth will get plenty of attention in a short field event, especially since he has finishes of first, second, and third at this venue on his resume. Also, we might see more casual players start to come into the game at this point, and they are going to want to play Spieth. I prefer Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson if I’m spending this week.

futureoffantasy: Justin Thomas – He is the defending champion so he will naturally draw a lot of attention. He is also coming off a career year with a win rate that is unsustainable in the long term. I am willing to fade in weeks where he is popular and highly priced. This week he is the most expensive golfer on DK, 3rd on FD, and 2nd on FDRFT. With my flag firmly planted on Spieth, Thomas just doesn’t fit in with my plans.

Tour Junkies: Rickie Fowler – we know, he’s coming off a great performance at the Hero Challenge, but we would much rather target Jordan or DJ at this price level and take our chances fading Rickie. He also does not typically fare well when compared to the field on Bermuda grass greens and make no mistake about it, this will be a putting contest this week.

hondizzle: Justin Thomas- Justin Thomas- I will typically look to fade the defending champion each and every week. Thomas had a fabulous year in 2017, and he is an exceptional talent, but I will take my chances that he struggles a bit out of the gate this season.

Who is your top contrarian play on the board and why?

Notorious: Russell Henley – Henley loves to play in Hawaii. He has a good track record at this event and at the Sony Open. He is one of the streakiest putters on tour and can catch fire at any time. He’s also a good wind player and there appears to be 16+ MPH winds in the forecast every day of the tournament.

STLCardinals84: Russell Henley – This tournament can sometimes turn into a putting contest, and I’ll gladly take Henley in those types of events. He also has a strong history in some of these Hawaii events, with a win at the Sony Open and a third place finish here among his past highlights. He’s an under-rated ball striker, too. Don’t sleep on him as a great mid-range option in the 2018 season opener.

futureoffantasy: Wesley Bryan – He’s not going to stand out in most statistically categories but from watching his game over the past year we know he is elite with his short irons and wedges. He is also one of the best putters on TOUR. With extremely wide fairways at Kapalua, he should be able to attack these flagsticks all week and easily salvage pars with his short game when needed. Despite his low salary across the board, I am expecting him to go overlooked for the most part.

Tour Junkies: Brian Harman – this is mainly an ownership play as we think Harman will go overlooked with his price tag this week. Brian is a fantastic putter and ball striker and even those this course is fairly long, it’s extremely fast so a guy like Harman can score just as easily as a DJ or Koepka.

hondizzle: Grayson Murray- Everyone’s favorite twitter villian will have no problem finding his fair share of critiques. While there is no doubt that this guy struggles with off the course issues, I happen to think that he is a very talented golfer. A no cut event is a great spot to take a shot on Murray and I love the flexibility he provides in terms of roster construction..

Which useful trend or statistic stuck out most during your research?

Notorious: These are the widest fairways on the PGA Tour. The average width of the fairways is 54 yards. Strokes gained off the tee will not be factoring into my decision making this week. It’s a long course, but it doesn’t play like a typical 7,400 yard course. Shorter hitters have played well here in the past.

STLCardinals84: This course has played as the easiest on Tour relative to par for each of the past three years. That might not quite pan out this time around with heavier winds expected throughout the tournament, but scoring opportunities should still be ample.

futureoffantasy: There are EIGHT par 4s at 420 yards or shorter. The median fairway width is also right up there with TPC Deere Run as some of the widest on TOUR. Distance is not required this week but a strong short game likely will be the key to success.

Tour Junkies: We got some great insight from a regular caddie on tour regarding Kapalua and the main thing we took from it was putting is the most important key stat this week along with proximity inside 100 yards due the the exttremely large Greens.

hondizzle: Last year the course played to a stroke average of 70.38 making Kapalua one of the more score friendly courses of the season. The wind can always play a big role in this event, and more specifically if the winds blow out of the north.This week the forecast calls for winds out of the northeast at 20mph per day. Typically this type of wind favors a shorter hitters.

What’s your hot take of the week?

Notorious: Hideki Matsuyama picks up the W.

STLCardinals84: Rickie Fowler finishes outside the top 20 in the 34-man field.

futureoffantasy: Strong winds wreak havoc of the ease of the course but Spieth still reaches 20-under to win by three strokes.

Tour Junkies: Jon Rahm wins to kick off what will be a fantastic year that could end with him being 2018 Player of the Year

hondizzle: Justin Thomas finishes outside the top 20.

About the Author

RotoGrinders
RotoGrinders

RotoGrinders is the heart of the daily fantasy sports community. Let us connect you with strategy, tools, and content that can help you become a better DFS player.