PGA First Look: THE PLAYERS Championship

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The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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Event Preview

Brian Harman completed an impressive comeback on Sunday and drained a 30-foot putt on the final hole to take down the Wells Fargo Championship. The win was even more impressive given some of the names at the top of the leaderboard late Sunday (Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Pat Perez, and Patrick Reed). Harman’s form was trending in the right direction, but his win was certainly a surprise to the DFS community. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have a single share of Harman, so we are moving right along to the season’s fifth major, THE PLAYERS Championship.

I didn’t purposely capitalize THE PLAYERS Championship to emphasize anything, that is how the tournament wants the name to be shown. Shout it to the world, this is THE PLAYERS Championship. All right, enough of the all caps, let’s dive into the course. This tournament is held at the famous Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass located in Ponte Vedre, Florida. This is Pete Dye design that is a Par 72 that measures just under 7,200 yards. We have a stacked field for this event, as 48 of the top 50 golfers in the world will be in attendance. This is a prestigious event, but it also carries one of the highest purses of any event all year.

No-17-TPC-Sawgrass

The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is one of the shortest Par 72 courses on the PGA Tour. When you hear that the fairways are tree-lined and that there are water hazards on nearly every hole, you immediately think to place an emphasis on driving accuracy. However, with the course being so short and so tight, most golfers keep their driver in their bag. It’s hard to put any emphasis on driving accuracy when the bombers won’t be hitting their drivers very often. This is more of a second shot course, so I will be putting more importance on strokes gained on approaches. This course features four par fives and a drivable par four (that was added this year). This will create plenty of birdie opportunities for the players, but make no mistake about it, there will be some big numbers on the golfers’ scorecards.

The most recognizable hole at this course is the iconic par three 17th. By now, you’ve certainly seen the highlights of Rickie Fowler birdieing the hole two times in his final round to win two years ago. You’ve probably also seen Russell Knox (and many others) go from being in contention, to being completely out of it. The hole is just a short wedge for the players, but when it is completely surrounded by water, the pressure can really get to you. Like it or not, this hole will end up playing a pivotal role in who ends up holding the trophy on Sunday.

We’ve seen a mix of shorter and longer hitters win and compete at this event. Rather than focusing on a bomber or an accuracy specialist, I will be placing a big emphasis on approaches, par four scoring, and course history.

Cut Rule: Top 70 and ties move on after the first two rounds. The MDF rule is in effect if more than 78 golfers make the cut.

Recent Winners of this Event:Jason Day (2016), Rickie Fowler (2015), Martin Kaymer (2014), Tigers Woods (2013), Matt Kuchar (2012)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Birdie or Better Percentage
3) Par 4 Scoring
4) Ball Striking
5) Strokes Gained Around the Green
6) Par 5 Scoring

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2012-2016)

Golfer DK Salary FD Salary FDRFT Salary OWGR Odds DK Odds FD Odds FDRFT Odds Cuts 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Dustin Johnson $12,000 $11,200 $19,600 1 7 0% 0% 0% 3/3 28 69 59 500 500
Rory McIlroy $11,200 $10,500 $18,400 2 11 0% 0% 0% 4/5 12 8 6 8 107
Jordan Spieth $10,800 $9,700 $18,300 5 13 0% 40% 0% 1/3 77 103 4 500 500
Sergio Garcia $10,200 $9,200 $17,400 7 17 0% 60% 0% 5/5 54 2 3 8 56
Jason Day $10,000 $10,300 $16,900 3 20 -40% -133% -17% 2/4 1 126 500 19 73
Hideki Matsuyama $9,700 $9,600 $16,900 4 21 -33% -33% -33% 3/3 7 17 23 500 500
Jon Rahm $9,600 $10,100 $17,000 13 20 14% -50% -20% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Rickie Fowler $9,300 $9,400 $16,900 9 20 38% 29% 17% 3/5 77 1 77 78 2
Justin Rose $9,200 $9,400 $16,700 8 23 0% -29% 0% 3/5 19 76 4 89 51
Justin Thomas $8,900 $9,100 $16,500 10 28 0% 9% 0% 2/2 3 24 500 500 500
Henrik Stenson $8,800 $9,000 $16,200 6 34 0% 8% 0% 4/5 131 17 34 5 15
Brooks Koepka $8,600 $8,400 $15,700 19 38 -8% 24% 0% 1/2 35 76 500 500 500
Kevin Chappell $8,500 $6,700 $15,000 23 51 -23% 67% 6% 3/5 2 119 26 68 127
Adam Scott $8,400 $9,300 $16,100 11 35 14% -33% 0% 5/5 12 38 38 19 15
Paul Casey $8,300 $8,800 $15,600 14 39 7% -8% 0% 1/1 23 500 500 500 500
Russell Henley $8,200 $6,800 $14,300 52 68 -38% 51% 0% 2/4 116 24 17 78 500
Pat Perez $8,100 $6,800 $14,300 58 77 -47% 44% -14% 3/4 500 17 48 115 25
Patrick Reed $8,000 $8,200 $14,600 15 68 -17% -11% 0% 1/3 77 24 137 500 500
Matt Kuchar $7,900 $8,700 $15,400 17 47 21% -7% 0% 4/5 3 76 17 48 1
Jason Dufner $7,800 $7,100 $14,100 64 79 -30% 24% -4% 4/5 49 90 48 62 68
Patrick Cantlay $7,700 $6,000 $14,000 132 83 -48% 54% 0% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Kevin Kisner $7,700 $8,300 $15,100 40 51 19% 6% -6% 1/2 102 2 500 500 500
Francesco Molinari $7,700 $7,600 $15,000 34 52 14% 28% -6% 2/4 7 500 6 89 73
Ryan Palmer $7,600 $6,900 $13,300 87 109 -100% -14% -12% 3/5 23 119 59 5 73
Russell Knox $7,600 $7,100 $13,500 29 99 -63% -15% -5% 3/3 19 17 34 500 500
Tyrrell Hatton $7,600 $7,700 $14,100 16 81 -13% -13% -8% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Lee Westwood $7,500 $6,900 $14,100 50 82 -7% 31% -16% 3/4 500 90 6 8 61
Louis Oosthuizen $7,500 $8,100 $14,000 32 83 -11% -43% 3% 3/5 28 69 135 19 73
Tommy Fleetwood $7,500 $6,700 $13,900 28 86 -26% 29% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Sung Kang $7,400 $5,700 $12,700 86 140 -100% 28% 2% 1/1 500 500 500 500 61
Billy Horschel $7,400 $6,300 $12,800 76 128 -87% 7% 3% 3/4 28 13 26 98 500
Tony Finau $7,400 $7,000 $13,500 66 100 -37% -5% -11% 0/1 116 500 500 500 500
Bill Haas $7,400 $7,600 $13,300 41 107 -53% -84% -7% 4/5 43 4 26 108 25
Phil Mickelson $7,400 $8,700 $15,000 20 56 37% -36% -12% 1/5 77 119 83 78 25
Jhonattan Vegas $7,300 $6,300 $12,300 60 198 -111% -23% -3% 3/3 57 42 500 500 7
Martin Kaymer $7,300 $8,500 $14,700 46 64 43% -25% 0% 5/5 39 56 1 43 15
William McGirt $7,300 $6,500 $13,300 45 118 -49% 2% -21% 2/4 43 113 137 43 500
Daniel Berger $7,300 $7,300 $14,100 38 76 34% 23% 8% 1/2 9 76 500 500 500
Bubba Watson $7,300 $7,000 $13,500 26 99 -14% -3% -8% 4/4 43 42 48 37 500
Graham DeLaet $7,200 $5,900 $12,600 111 154 -63% 11% -3% 3/5 116 56 94 26 70
Martin Laird $7,200 $6,500 $12,800 104 144 -55% -17% -7% 2/4 93 500 94 5 2
Jim Furyk $7,200 $6,600 $12,400 68 173 -75% -40% -1% 4/5 35 56 2 78 25
Zach Johnson $7,200 $7,800 $13,300 57 103 -8% -87% 0% 5/5 54 13 26 19 2
Jimmy Walker $7,200 $8,200 $13,600 24 95 8% -95% -3% 3/5 139 90 6 15 35
Lucas Glover $7,100 $5,800 $12,500 118 157 -47% 15% 0% 0/3 500 500 83 115 86
Sean O’Hair $7,100 $6,200 $11,400 88 298 -122% -54% -4% 2/4 64 132 500 43 86
Hudson Swafford $7,100 $6,000 $12,400 77 165 -49% 1% 3% 1/1 57 500 500 500 500
Scott Piercy $7,100 $6,200 $11,700 54 245 -89% -31% 1% 1/4 23 103 500 98 94
Charl Schwartzel $7,100 $7,100 $14,300 18 77 47% 29% -9% 3/3 500 51 48 55 500
Seung-Yul Noh $7,000 $5,700 $11,800 258 248 -72% -4% -4% 2/3 500 113 72 66 500
Michael Kim $7,000 $5,000 $11,200 212 318 -114% 6% 1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
David Hearn $7,000 $5,200 $11,300 202 307 -106% 1% 0% 5/5 28 42 6 26 68
John Huh $7,000 $5,600 $11,600 192 268 -78% -3% 0% 3/5 139 103 72 68 23
Robert Streb $7,000 $5,800 $11,300 152 310 -108% -33% -1% 1/2 102 30 500 500 500
Webb Simpson $7,000 $6,300 $12,400 67 165 -34% -12% 3% 2/4 500 66 112 15 86
Charley Hoffman $7,000 $6,800 $13,300 49 105 10% 0% -5% 3/5 77 30 38 37 115
Emiliano Grillo $7,000 $6,400 $12,900 39 130 -14% 0% -4% 0/1 110 500 500 500 500
Matthew Fitzpatrick $7,000 $6,500 $13,500 37 101 16% 21% -14% 0/1 77 500 500 500 500
Ryan Moore $7,000 $7,500 $14,100 31 84 36% -19% -28% 2/5 102 76 26 115 46
Spencer Levin $6,900 $4,500 $10,700 308 540 -122% 4% 0% 1/3 116 76 500 500 15
Cameron Tringale $6,900 $5,100 $11,100 260 357 -87% -1% 0% 3/5 16 56 107 78 72
Bryce Molder $6,900 $5,200 $11,400 241 288 -63% 6% -2% 3/5 12 63 112 108 40
Cody Gribble $6,900 $4,500 $10,800 216 524 -117% 6% -7% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Robert Garrigus $6,900 $4,600 $10,700 211 474 -108% 6% 6% 0/4 500 134 94 78 122
Smylie Kaufman $6,900 $5,400 $11,900 175 221 -35% 13% -1% 0/1 116 500 500 500 500
Rod Pampling $6,900 $4,700 $10,800 149 467 -107% 2% -2% 1/1 500 500 500 500 56
Jason Kokrak $6,900 $4,800 $11,500 120 281 -58% 22% -2% 0/3 500 76 128 78 500
Cameron Smith $6,900 $6,300 $14,100 114 82 53% 53% -12% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
James Hahn $6,900 $5,400 $11,400 81 310 -73% -12% -8% 3/4 43 30 94 62 500
Shane Lowry $6,900 $7,300 $12,900 70 126 8% -83% 0% 1/2 16 103 500 500 500
Brendan Steele $6,900 $7,000 $12,600 56 154 -7% -64% -2% 2/5 57 76 26 78 122
Kevin Na $6,900 $6,500 $13,100 55 120 12% 0% 0% 3/4 77 6 38 500 7
Gary Woodland $6,900 $7,200 $12,800 42 139 2% -84% -2% 2/4 28 134 11 500 115
Wesley Bryan $6,900 $6,100 $13,100 36 122 10% 19% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Rafael Cabrera-Bello $6,900 $7,200 $12,700 35 146 -5% -97% -3% 0/1 77 500 500 500 500
Danny Willett $6,900 $6,600 $12,200 21 202 -25% -50% -1% 0/2 77 90 500 500 500
Bernhard Langer $6,800 $4,800 $10,800 1031 502 -66% -5% -5% 0/2 93 90 500 500 500
Ben Crane $6,800 $5,100 $11,200 432 336 -44% 0% -3% 1/4 500 103 131 8 73
Ernie Els $6,800 $5,000 $10,700 404 662 -83% -24% -6% 3/5 64 66 72 89 107
Johnson Wagner $6,800 $4,500 $10,800 232 483 -65% 8% -4% 2/4 64 500 83 129 35
D.A. Points $6,800 $5,400 $11,300 219 319 -40% -16% -5% 1/2 500 500 131 48 500
Keegan Bradley $6,800 $6,000 $12,300 106 183 6% -6% 0% 2/5 35 76 83 98 35
Chris Kirk $6,800 $5,500 $11,900 100 220 -4% 9% 0% 4/4 500 13 13 55 51
Brian Harman $6,800 $6,600 $13,900 93 86 56% 32% -3% 3/5 54 8 94 135 51
Anirban Lahiri $6,800 $5,900 $12,000 82 226 -6% -12% -5% 0/1 500 113 500 500 500
Luke Donald $6,800 $6,400 $12,900 71 135 25% -2% -5% 3/5 93 134 38 19 6
Yuta Ikeda $6,800 $5,500 $10,800 48 562 -74% -52% -10% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Adam Hadwin $6,800 $7,100 $13,300 47 104 43% -29% -2% 1/2 39 119 500 500 500
J.B. Holmes $6,800 $8,000 $13,300 43 116 34% -132% -19% 1/4 77 51 121 500 127
Marc Leishman $6,800 $7,100 $13,500 32 92 53% -6% 3% 5/5 64 24 23 8 45
Bernd Wiesberger $6,800 $6,300 $13,500 30 97 51% 37% -3% 1/2 49 76 500 500 500
Branden Grace $6,800 $7,500 $13,900 22 85 57% -22% 0% 3/3 57 42 500 48 500
Alexander Noren $6,800 $7,400 12 108 39% -62% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Peter Malnati $6,700 $4,600 $10,600 409 810 -52% -8% -1% 0/1 133 500 500 500 500
Jason Bohn $6,700 $4,600 $10,700 351 643 -49% -5% -5% 1/4 133 76 94 55 500
Ricky Barnes $6,700 $4,700 $10,700 298 614 -47% -9% -4% 2/4 110 90 500 72 46
Brian Gay $6,700 $5,300 $12,000 261 211 17% 20% 0% 1/3 500 500 121 98 46
Jonas Blixt $6,700 $5,600 $11,800 256 210 18% 10% 7% 3/4 19 140 75 77 500
Troy Merritt $6,700 $4,900 $10,800 245 476 -34% -6% -3% 1/2 116 72 500 500 500
Blayne Barber $6,700 $4,700 $10,900 223 426 -28% 6% 1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Chad Campbell $6,700 $4,800 $11,200 184 321 -16% 11% -1% 2/3 39 500 500 43 94
Kyle Stanley $6,700 $5,500 $12,500 173 170 27% 22% -5% 2/3 500 500 71 33 86
Jerry Kelly $6,700 $5,300 $11,300 168 305 -9% -4% 1% 3/5 19 17 94 37 132
Harold Varner $6,700 $5,400 $11,800 127 231 11% 10% -1% 1/1 57 500 500 500 500
Aaron Baddeley $6,700 $5,300 $11,900 119 229 12% 15% -4% 0/5 93 139 112 137 134
Luke List $6,700 $5,800 $12,200 117 204 19% 3% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Harris English $6,700 $5,800 $11,400 98 286 -3% -24% -1% 2/5 102 90 112 33 64
Daniel Summerhays $6,700 $5,900 $11,500 89 281 -1% -30% -2% 3/4 23 134 23 26 500
Graeme McDowell $6,700 $6,900 $13,200 85 111 48% -17% 6% 3/5 9 56 62 89 73
Jim Herman $6,700 $4,700 $11,500 78 277 0% 26% -1% 0/1 133 500 500 500 500
Matt Every $6,600 $4,500 $10,600 1152 850 -31% -5% -2% 2/5 133 42 137 26 122
Greg Chalmers $6,600 $4,500 $10,700 289 633 -25% -1% -5% 1/3 500 500 121 37 107
Tyrone Van Aswegen $6,600 $5,000 $11,000 253 436 -10% -7% -7% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Ben Martin $6,600 $5,000 $11,400 243 276 16% 18% 3% 1/2 137 4 500 500 500
Derek Fathauer $6,600 $4,500 $10,600 208 602 -23% 1% 4% 1/1 500 17 500 500 500
Ian Poulter $6,600 $5,800 $12,500 199 174 36% 9% -8% 4/5 57 30 65 89 25
Vaughn Taylor $6,600 $5,300 $11,600 166 274 17% 6% -3% 0/1 77 500 500 500 500
Patton Kizzire $6,600 $5,200 $11,300 147 310 6% 0% -1% 1/1 76 500 500 500 500
Chez Reavie $6,600 $5,200 $11,000 145 412 -6% -13% -4% 0/2 93 500 500 500 94
Billy Hurley $6,600 $5,400 $11,700 131 252 22% 6% -1% 0/1 500 90 500 500 500
David Lingmerth $6,600 $5,500 $12,200 116 193 34% 17% 1% 1/3 77 500 112 2 500
Danny Lee $6,600 $6,000 $12,100 113 215 29% -16% -3% 1/2 35 90 500 500 500
Jamie Lovemark $6,600 $5,900 $11,700 102 254 21% -21% -2% 1/1 64 500 500 500 500
Steve Stricker $6,600 $6,400 $12,600 97 143 45% -7% 3% 3/4 500 38 13 37 115
Roberto Castro $6,600 $4,800 $11,000 95 390 -4% 6% -1% 1/2 500 500 94 19 500
Si Woo Kim $6,600 $5,200 $11,000 72 386 -3% -10% 0% 1/1 23 500 500 500 500
Ross Fisher $6,600 $6,000 $13,300 44 111 56% 28% -14% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Mark Hubbard $6,500 $4,500 $10,600 539 848 -13% -4% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
David Toms $6,500 $4,900 $11,200 435 333 14% 8% -2% 2/3 500 13 500 115 10
Shawn Stefani $6,500 $4,900 $10,800 407 538 -3% -11% -8% 1/3 72 103 121 500 500
Boo Weekley $6,500 $4,700 $11,000 373 426 6% 6% -5% 2/4 16 90 112 48 500
Brett Stegmaier $6,500 $4,500 $10,600 343 855 -14% -6% -3% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Andrew Loupe $6,500 $4,500 $10,700 274 674 -11% -3% -7% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Vijay Singh $6,500 $4,600 $10,700 265 610 -7% -3% -3% 2/4 28 63 500 78 94
Fredrik Jacobson $6,500 $5,500 $10,800 255 510 -1% -47% -6% 4/5 49 42 64 48 115
Zac Blair $6,500 $5,700 $11,600 226 271 29% -10% -2% 1/1 49 500 500 500 500
K.J. Choi $6,500 $5,000 $11,000 203 410 9% -3% -3% 4/5 43 42 13 48 122
Kyle Reifers $6,500 $5,100 $11,100 193 357 13% -1% 0% 1/1 64 500 500 500 500
Alex Cejka $6,500 $4,800 $10,800 190 412 8% 3% 3% 2/2 9 74 500 500 500
Grayson Murray $6,500 $4,700 $10,700 163 569 -5% -6% -2% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500
Patrick Rodgers $6,500 $5,300 $11,000 158 390 10% -17% -1% 0/1 116 500 500 500 500
Kevin Streelman $6,500 $5,200 $11,600 140 269 30% 13% -1% 3/5 74 119 112 2 51
Brian Stuard $6,500 $4,600 $11,400 138 290 23% 26% -3% 1/4 93 134 17 98 500
Fabian Gomez $6,500 $5,200 $10,800 126 533 -2% -26% -7% 1/1 74 500 500 500 500
Scott Brown $6,500 $5,900 $11,400 123 300 21% -38% -5% 2/4 102 30 62 108 500
Mackenzie Hughes $6,500 $5,300 $10,800 122 452 4% -26% -1% 0/0 500 500 500 500 500

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend

Term Description
Site Odds The percentage differential between a golfer’s salary rank and odds rank. The higher the %, the better.
OWGR Official World Golf Ranking
Cuts Cut record of each golfer at this course in the last five seasons.
2012 – 2016 Columns Course history at this event in the last five seasons.

About the Author

Notorious
Derek Farnsworth (Notorious)

Derek Farnsworth (aka Notorious) is a lead RotoGrinders Expert and one of the most recognizable names and faces in all of DFS. Before joining the RotoGrinders team, Derek received a Master’s Degree from the University of Utah. When he’s not busy providing content, he’s dominating the DFS industry as evidenced by his consistent top rankings in several sports and multiple Live Final appearances. Noto provides expert NBA, NFL, MLB, and PGA analysis for RotoGrinders Premium members on a daily basis and has also been nominated for five different Fantasy Sports Writer’s Association (FSWA) awards. Follow Noto on X – @RG_Notorious