RotoGrinders Subscriber Wins DraftKings PGA Championship Milly Maker
It was an exciting weekend back in May for RotoGrinders subscriber pittsburghpaymentpln, who took down the DraftKings Milly Maker during the PGA Championship. He was kind enough to take time out of his day to discuss the details.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where you are from, your job, family, etc.
I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a wife and two kids (a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old daughter), and I do oil and gas work. I buy mineral rights in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. However, I also own a sports card shop in Pittsburgh. And maybe DFS will be my job now? Who knows!
It’s crazy…I actually got less serious about DFS for a period of time as I focused more on the family and my day job. I started sports betting when I had free time. However, after I got limited, I turned back toward DFS over the last few years.
How did you get started in DFS? Prior to this year’s PGA Championship, what were some of your most memorable sweats?
I started playing around 2014/2015 on FanDuel. I was immediately fascinated by DFS after season-long didn’t feel like it was worth the grind and time commitment compared to what you can win in DFS.
I have a few memorable sweats. First, I qualified for an NFL Live Final on FanDuel (thank you, Ryan Fitzpatrick and DeAndre Hopkins) when they held the event at the Cosmopolitan.
Secondly, I actually chopped the Thanksgiving Day Milly Maker for $550,000 last year. That was an intense sweat, as I didn’t have very much PMR left heading into the night game. Basically, everyone had Christian McCaffrey (myself included), but I was being chased down by people with Deebo Samuel and the 49ers Defense.
How long have you been a RotoGrinders subscriber? What is your favorite part of the product?
I’ve been a RotoGrinders member since February of 2015 – the majority of that time has been as a paying subscriber.
My favorite part of the subscription is the premium content. When it comes to PGA DFS, Notorious is my go-to. His data-driven approach matches my thought process perfectly. Noto is as sharp as they come.
Also, a shoutout to Kevin Roth’s weather analysis! That’s one of the first things I look at before I do anything with my lineups.
On a non-PGA note, CheeseIsGood’s MLB article, Million Dollar Musings, fits my data-driven process as well when it comes to MLB DFS.
You’re missing out on great premium content if you’re not a RotoGrinders sub!
Tell us about your week leading up to the tournament. Did you feel good about the lineups you entered? Did you do anything differently than your normal process?
I am pretty systematic in my approach to DFS, so I entered the week the same way I do any other week. My process is my process. I am pretty disciplined in what I do when it comes to DFS.
I was really high on Bryson DeChambeau though.
Tell us about your sweat on that Sunday. Was there a specific shot or hole that comes to mind? At what point did you believe you actually had a realistic shot at taking down the Milly Maker?
If I could think of any day to have a sweat, this one would be the hardest to actually sweat since it was Mother’s Day. It was a unique day, as we had a bunch of people at the house.
I knew on the back 9 I had a sweat going on, but golf was mostly just on in the background, so it was more of a passive sweat. I didn’t want to alert anyone since golf takes so long to play out.
The Sunday golf sweat is the hardest because of all the jumping around with the placing points – you can go from 1st to 25th incredibly fast, so it’s challenging to get a grasp on where you’re actually at.
Overall, I didn’t get to actually sweat a lot because I was being courteous to all the mothers at our house celebrating Mother’s Day. Maybe if it were Father’s Day, it would be a different story!
Do you have any suggestions for casual players who are trying to make better DFS lineups?
Bankroll management: It’s important not to overextend yourself even if you feel confident about a slate. Instead of risking more money, I’ll just take bigger stands on either being overweight or underweight on a particular play. That way, if I’m really right, it increases my chances of having the right combination for one of my lineups to hit.
Trust the data: I don’t actually think I know better a lot of the time. I think projections do a tremendous job of factoring in most things that matter for predicting player performance.
Check the weather: The weather tends to be my biggest adjustment if I make any in golf. Be sure to know whether or not your projection source factors in weather/wind splits. Again, shoutout to Kevin Roth! When it comes to PGA DFS, checking the wind/weather is the first thing I do. You’re missing out if you’re not reading Roth’s weather analysis.
How does winning this tournament change your life moving forward? Have you made any big purchases yet?
After the big NFL win last November and the recent PGA Milly Maker, we purchased a new house that we close on in 2 weeks. I’d say the biggest way it changes our life is just to have financial security, and now I have a better DFS bankroll to play around with.
For more PGA DFS content and access to all of our data and tools, head to the PGA Content Schedule. To sweat your lineups and bets with us, go to our RotoGrinders Discord and find the golf channel!
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