PGA DFS Core Plays - DraftKings & FanDuel: Sony Open
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS plays at various salary ranges for the coming week’s golf tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
Sony Open
Wow, what a start to the year. It didn’t look like we’d have drama at the Tournament of Champions, but Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa had other plans. After 67 holes of flawless golf, Morikawa bogeyed three straight holes. To make matters worse, they were three of the easiest holes on the course and he was in good shape after all three tee shots. After being so good all week, his short game abandoned him down the stretch. Rahm was quick to take advantage and fired a Sunday 63 to add another win to his impressive resume. While I feel for Morikawa, his meltdown allowed me to cash on the main slate and on the Sunday showdown slate. When it comes to DFS, we’ll take any win we can get.
The PGA Tour stays in Hawaii this week, but Waialae Country Club is vastly different than the Plantation Course. Last week was all about hitting a bunch of drivers and hitting a bunch of wedges. It was hard to get into trouble off the tee and there weren’t a lot of even lies given all of the undulations and elevation changes. This week is all about positioning off the tee. Many will opt to club down off the tee and a lot of the time it will be with long irons. On approach, 70% of the shots will be hit from 125-200 yards. Golfers will have flat lies and will be hitting a lot more mid and short irons this week.
The fairways will be tough for everyone to hit, but there is certainly a premium on finding the short grass. The rough here can be tricky, as can the angles into the greens if you aren’t playing from the fairway. There are a number of dog legs and the fairways are tree-lined. Many have compared this course to the likes of Harbour Town, Colonial Country Club, and Sea Island. Ultimately, it’s more about getting the ball in play off the tee than it is about bombing it out there. Approach will play a critical role, around the green is important, and gaining strokes on these bermuda greens is a must if golfers want to contend this week.
Course history has played a significant role in determining winners and top 10 finishers over the years. In fact, 16 of the last 17 winners had previously played the Sony Open prior to holding up the trophy. This doesn’t mean an elite player like Tom Kim can’t come out and win in his first appearance here, but this is certainly more of a strategic course than we saw last week. From placement off the tee to reading the grain on the greens, experience is certainly an advantage. Many are quick to point out that most winners of this event played in the Tournament of Champions the week before, but I see that narrative inflating ownership more than it should. If you think about it, the best players in the field each year at the Sony played the TOC the week before, so naturally a lot of the winners fit this criteria.
As far as scoring goes, we can expect another birdie fest. This has been one of the easiest courses on tour in each of the last two seasons and it doesn’t look like there will be much wind this week. I’d be surprised if the winning score wasn’t at least 20-under par. As always, leave any questions in the comments. The more interactive the article is, the better.
Model Video & Download Link for the Sony Open
Tournament Info
Field Size:
- 144 golfers
Cut Rule:
- Top 65 and ties move on after the first two rounds
Weather Forecasts
Core Plays
Brian Harman
DK: $9,700 — FD: $11,500
