PGA DFS Targets: RSM Classic
Graeme McDowell won a three-man playoff on the first hole, outing Jason Bohn and Russell Knox for the victory. Russell Knox bogeyed the 18th hole to setup the playoff, and McDowell capitalized on the mistake by planting a 5-iron just three feet away on the first playoff hole. Derek Fathauer, Scott Brown, and Harold Varner III rounded out the rest of the Top 5.
OHL Classic Review
I had pretty much faded the most expensive plays each week, largely with positive results. Last week, I decided to forego that strategy with Matt Kuchar. He “rewarded” me with a disgusting 68th place finish. Jason Bohn was the saving grace from last week, and he almost rewarded us with a victory. A 2nd place finish is hard to argue with, though. Will Wilcox and Jason Kokrak both finished 17th, decent finishes for their price. Hudson Swafford made the cut and finished 46th, while punt play Pat Perez missed the cut by one stroke. It wasn’t the best and it wasn’t the worst. We’ll go with a B-. We’ll try to improve on that with this week’s picks.
Some weeks, if time allows it, I’ll try to write up a section here about a particular topic, player, or possibly just some course information. This week wasn’t one of those weeks. Luckily, there are plenty of other excellent articles on RotoGrinders outlining the course layout, tournament history, and other helpful background information to help you this week. Follow me on Twitter @taylorezell and feel free to ask me any questions for this upcoming week. Good luck!
RSM Classic Picks
Kevin Kisner
I almost wrote up Kisner two weeks ago, but couldn’t quite pull the trigger. Kisner was excellent, posting a 270 (-18) in route to a 2nd place finish at the WGC-HSBC Championship. Although he finished second, Kisner faded a little bit in the later rounds. He opened with a 64, 66 start, but then finished with a pair of 70s to close out the weekend. Kisner has just about everything we’re looking for in a DFS play. First, Kisner should be well-suited for this course as he is an accurate driver of the ball (31st in Driving Accuracy and 1st in Total Driving). Second, he has some history here as he finished 4th here last year. Last, he is coming into this event in great form, finishing in the Top 25 in two of three events, including his runner-up last week. I expect him to be relatively highly owned, but it won’t be enough to drive me away from Kisner this week.
Patton Kizzire
Before a mini-meltdown (74) on Sunday last week, Kizzire was heading towards another potential Top 25 finish. Before that, he had finished 4th and 2nd in his other two events this season. I’m not going to let one bad performance deter me from targeting a player who is on his way to becoming a household name. This will also be an event at a home for Kizzire, so he should be very familiar with the course. Sometimes this is just the mental boost a player needs to get going. Kizzire has been impressive in two primary areas. First, Kizzire’s Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green ranks 16th on the season. That’s impressive, but Kizzire’s true strength thus far has been his putting ability (8th in Strokes Gained: Putting). If he can continue to putt like that, he’ll be on his way to another Top 5 performance.
Brandt Snedeker
Full disclosure: I am rarely on the right side of Brandt Snedeker. Whenever I choose him, he tanks. When I don’t, he’s probably have a nice week. Consider yourself warned. Anyways, Snedeker seems to be in a great spot and is also reasonably priced as the 14th most expensive golfer on DraftKings. Snedeker has picked up where he left off last year, and by that, I mean that he’s been wildly inconsistent. In two events, he has a 17th place finish and a missed cut. Like Kizzire, this is a bit of a home course for Snedeker, which can never hurt. The real reason Snedeker is featured here is his putting (5th in Strokes Gained: Putting). Although he ranks 5th, I don’t know if there is a better putter on Tour. When he gets it rolling, the birdies start flowing. Snedeker is a slightly risky, but high reward play.
David Lingmerth
Lingmerth is in a sort of no man’s land when it comes to pricing as he isn’t as expensive as the elite plays, but also isn’t super cheap. Although his pricing seems fair, I expect Lingmerth to outperform it this week. Lingmerth hasn’t missed a cut this year, and proved last year to be a consistent cut-maker. He showed his upside at the CIMB Classic when he posted rounds of 65 and 64 in rounds three and four in route to a 14th place finish. Nothing from Lingmerth’s stats jump off the page at you, but his Driving Accuracy (46th) and Par 4 Scoring (50th) last season were solid. Although Lingmerth is unlikely to challenge for a Top 5 finish, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him challenge for a spot in the Top 20.
Kevin Streelman
To pay up for the likes of Zach Johnson or Kevin Kisner, you’re going to have to find some value. Kevin Streelman is one of my favorite cheap options for this week. Streelman isn’t well-known by the casual fan, but has shown some real potential over the past few years. Streelman has started off the year by making three of four cuts, including a 16th place finish at The Shriners. He’s really only had one bad round this year, his 76 in the 2nd at Sanderson Farms. He finished 6th here in his only other appearance, so he does have some course history. Streelman is an accurate player (20th in Driving Accuracy, 25th in Greens in Regulation), which should suit him nicely at this short course. His Achilles heel has always been his putting, but he has proven the ability to get hot with the flatstick. If he can knock down some mid-range putts, he should be well on his way towards another Top 25 finish, more than enough to pay for his cheap price tag.