PGA DFS Tournament Breakdown: Zurich Classic
Long-time grinder, stlcardinals84, breaks down his top PGA DFS tournament picks in various price ranges on DraftKings for the Zurich Classic. Which golfers should you be targeting to try and take down the big DFS tournaments? Find out below!
Welcome back to the PGA DFS tournament breakdown! This back half of April brings us an unusual partner-based team event this week with the Zurich Classic, and DraftKings is offering contests once again this year. As of the time I am writing this, FanDuel is not offering contests. Be somewhat careful with your bankroll usage for this tournament, as it is often unpredictable in nature, but it’s still an interesting one to discuss and break down given the nuances and different format than what we usually see on a weekly basis.
For the 9th straight year, this will be played as a pairs event: 74 pairs of golfers will partake in the event, with the top 33 and ties making the cut after Friday’s second round. The first and third rounds will be played in four-ball (best ball) format, which is where each player plays his own ball and the best score of the pair is taken for that hole. Scores will be very good in those rounds. The second and fourth rounds will be played in foursomes (alternate shot) format, which is where alternate shots are taken by each player on just one ball. Scores won’t be quite as good in those rounds, though this is generally an easier course.
TPC Louisiana has been the host of this event for every edition since 2007. From 2007 to 2016, this was a traditional PGA TOUR event, and the winning score was -13 or better every year. In the years where it has been played as a team competition with two four-ball days and two foursomes days, the winning scores have been -20 or better every time. Last year’s winners were Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak, and they got to -28 for the week. We saw a -30 winning score three years ago, and we have seen a few other winning scores get deep into the -20s. You need to target birdie makers here, especially when you consider the four-ball format that will be used in two of the rounds.
We can also expect some unpredictability with this event. This is essentially an exhibition that is seen as “fun” for a lot of the golfers, though you do see some who take it quite seriously depending on their status. It will be very interesting to see how things shake out in terms of ownership. I will give some weight to golfers or teams that have played well here in the past, though it’s not paramount.
DraftKings has priced individual golfers for this tournament, but each member of a team has the same salary, and you cannot roster both members of one team. For all intents and purposes, they are “together” despite being shown individually. This likely was easier from a coding perspective for DK to maneuver.
Let’s move along and get to some of my favorite GPP tandems for this week!
PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings Tournament Breakdown for the Zurich Classic
Shane Lowry & Brooks Koepka
DraftKings: $10,000
I hit a winner in this space last week with Matt Fitzpatrick, so let’s try to keep the good vibes rolling. Fitzpatrick is teeing it up again with his brother this week, and they will be a popular choice at the top. However, I prefer getting a team with two high-upside golfers, so give me Lowry and Koepka as my preferred starting point. Lowry has plenty of experience in this team event, and he has played with Rory McIlroy as well. He is no stranger to pairing up with a well-known golfer. While neither golfer has been in top form in recent weeks, no other team can match their experience and ceiling if both are playing their top game. In a weak field, I don’t see how they aren’t at least in contention in this format, especially given Lowry’s success in the team format in the past.
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