PGA DFS Core Plays: Zurich Classic
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various price ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building lineups around? Find out below!
Even though I didn’t have an outright bet on him, it was good to see Justin Thomas get back in the winner’s circle for the first time in nearly 3 years. Several of the experts at RotoGrinders had Thomas as their favorite tournament play of the week, so hopefully some RotoGrinders members had nice weeks. We have a bit of a lull in the schedule, but some big events are on the horizon.
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings Core Plays for the Zurich Classic
We have a unique event on tap this week for the Zurich Classic. This is the only team event on the PGA TOUR calendar each year. If you are unfamiliar with the setup, there are 80 teams of 2 in this event. The top 33 and ties will move on to play the weekend. Rounds 1 and 3 will be played in four-balls, which is another term for best ball. This is where each golfer plays his own ball, and the team takes the lowest score between the 2 golfers on each hole. The other rounds will be played in foursomes, which is another term for alternate shot. This is where it gets tricky, as golfers have to rely a lot more on their teammates.
Due to the setup of the event, you will see a lot lower scores in Rounds 1 and 3 than you will in Rounds 2 and 4. Teams will need to take advantage of the four-ball rounds and then hang on for dear life in the foursome rounds. The winning score of this event is typically in the -25 to -30 range, so teams will have to go low in order to contend here. While team chemistry is important, there are so many reasons for golfers to team up for this event. They might be friends, they might have played together in college, they might have played together at the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, or they might think their skill sets are a good match for each other.
Editor’s Note: For more tournament and course notes for the Zurich Classic, check out this week’s PGA DFS First Look. To get access to Noto’s PGA DFS Model Breakdown & Download link, which allows you to create your own projections, click here.
The course is TPC Louisiana, which is a Par 72 that measures over 7,200 yards. The fairways are generous, and the greens are small. We shouldn’t focus too much of our attention on the course, as we don’t have any ShotLink data from the event ever since they turned it into a team event. Additionally, the format of the event is so unique that looking at course fit probably isn’t your best bet. I’m looking for good ball striking, golfers who make a ton of birdies, and golfers who can roll the rock.
There should be a lot of carnage this week, so don’t be afraid to fade some of the chalk in tournaments. And since there are only 80 teams to choose from, ownership will naturally be inflated on the whole field. If you are playing large-field tournaments, don’t be afraid to leave some salary on the table.
RotoGrinders has partnered with Betsperts Golf and the Rabbit Hole!
Tool Highlights
- Build unlimited custom stat models with official PGA TOUR data.
- Hundreds of filters to find the exact data split you’re looking for.
- Save custom reports and run them again with next week’s field.
- Download anything right to your computer with the click of a button.
- See expert models each week.
Core Plays
Sahith Theegala / Aaron Rai
DraftKings: $9,200 / pOWN%: 12%
I’m taking my chances with a fade of the defending champs. McIlroy is coming off the biggest win of his career, so I’m hoping a letdown week is on the horizon. My favorite spend is the Theegala / Rai pairing. While the former hasn’t had the best year, the latter has been playing some incredible golf. He picked up his first PGA TOUR win in the fall and has posted 4 top-15 finishes in his last 10 events. He’s also a great partner for team events because he hits a ton of fairways and is one of the best iron players in the field. Theegala can be streaky, so if this team gets some good vibes going, I think they can be in the mix on Sunday afternoon.
Want to read more? Sign up for Premium!
