DFS Alerts
Too Cheap for the Second Straight Week
Thomas was basically an auto-play last week at that price and he certainly didn’t disappoint, adding another PGA Tour victory to an already impressive resume. While I tend to fade the golfer coming off of a win and fade the defending champion of an event (Thomas is both of these this week), it’s hard to pass on this price point of $9,700. He’s one of the best golfers in the world and this should be a course that sets up well for him. He’s long off the tee, incredibly accurate with his irons, and he can putt and chip with the best of them. Since DraftKings always releases their salaries for the majors weeks in advance, they didn’t take into account the results of the WGC-Bridgestone, which is why we are seeing a golfer that is 13-to-1 to win this week priced under $10,000. He’ll be chalky, but that doesn’t mean that he’s a bad play. I’m always more inclined to fade the cheaper chalk, as they tend to be more volatile golfers.
PGA Projections are live and Tony Finau looks to be a top play
Tony Finau heads into the last major of the season with a great chance to once again outperform his salary. Comming off three straight top ten or better finishes in major championships this season, Finau should once again be a popular play at an $8,100 price tag. Finau bounced back from a poor showing at the RBC Canadian Open to post his 8th top 10 of the season at last week’s WGC event and is a strong finish to the end of the season away from making his case for the Ryder Cup Team. Currently ranked inside the top 30 in the world Finau lacks the wins associated with other top named players in the game, but his current form and talent level standout in comparison to his salary yet again this week. The combination of his price and talent makes Finau a top tier play in terms of PT/$/K for the final major of the season.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projections Tool
Red Hot Value
He will probably garner a little more attention now after his weekend run at the WGC Bridgestone, but I don’t expect him to crack 12%+ ownership. Assuming he still flies under the radar, there’s plenty to like from a contrarian GPP perspective, especially since he is not a household name among the PGA DFS community and doesn’t play on the PGA Tour often. Olesen has five top 12 finishes in his last seven worldwide starts, and the price tag is still very cheap for our purposes. This is a great value selection.
The Perfect Villain
DFS players don’t love targeting Patrick Reed. He comes off as a jerk. He doesn’t talk to his family. He was mean to that Golf Channel on course employee a couple weeks ago. I get it. He’s not the friendliest guy on the planet, and I often avoid him myself for those reasons. However, this guy is a proven “big game hunter” who always shows up for the major events. Reed has finished inside the top five in two majors this year, and he ranks 16th on Tour in scrambling. His tee to green stats don’t pop as much as some others, but there’s something to be said for his talent, the always limited ownership, and his tendency to show up in majors.
Just Too Cheap
Salary, salary, salary. His price was too cheap on DraftKings last week, and it’s surprisingly affordable everywhere this week. This is a case where Thomas owners will benefit from the fact that pricing was released for this event before Thomas’ big win in Akron a week ago. He will be chalky, but it’s hard to pass on an elite golfer that is coming off a win and priced below five or six other players. He ranks in the top quarter of the PGA Tour in all the statistical metrics I am looking at this week, and I’ll have plenty of exposure despite his high ownership.
Running Hot Right Now
There’s little reason to doubt Dustin Johnson as a top pick at this point, as he is a top option on a weekly basis. Outside of his odd missed cut at The Open Championship, the form has been top notch of late. His last six starts have resulted in that missed cut and five top tens. His stats are elite across the board, with solid ranks in total driving (46th), ball striking (26th), and scrambling (10th). If anyone is capable of overpowering this golf course, it’s him. Despite a high price tag and likely high ownership, I can’t fade him here.
Troy Merritt plans to play this week despite an emergency surgery
Shortly after winning his second career PGA Tour event, Troy Merritt was forced to have an emergency surgery to remove a blood clot in his arm. With a constant pain in his arm for the last two months, Merritt decided to see a doctor after the RBC Candian Open. During his visit, the doctors discovered the issue in his arm thus leading to an immediate surgery to remove the clot. Merritt is hopeful to play this week but admitted that he won’t get much practice time in prior to Thursday. Prior to this news, Merritt had played well enough to receive some consideration this week as a deep sleeper. With the news of his injury, this appears to avoid until we know more about how the injury will effect Merritt’s game.
As reported by: The Golf Channel Lee Westwood out of the PGA Championship
Lee Westwood withdrew from the PGA on Saturday with an undisclosed injury. Westwood will be replaced in the field by Jason Kokrak. Sites with posted games and salaries should add players like Kokrak and Barracuda Championship winner Andrew Putnam to the field at some point on Monday.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Jason Kokrak Golf Results DB is now live
DraftKings ownership numbers for this week’s golf slate are now live in our ResultsDB software. If you have not done so yet make sure to check out this very cool feature available for free on the site. You can see how your roster build compares vs the top named players in the game. Jordan Spieth comes in at 10% ownership in the Drive For The Green tournament this week and could end up being a very sneaky low owned difference maker.
As reported by: ResultsDB Twenty minutes to roster lock and no major news to report
Outside of the news of Justin Rose and Adam Hadwin withdrawing from the tournament, it’s quiet on the news front this morning. Good luck this week grinders, as always if any late news breaks we will provide the updates needed. Golf ownership numbers will be up and running within five minutes of roster lock. Make sure to check out Results DB to see how your percentages stack up vs the field.
Other tagged players: Adam Hadwin Charl Schwartzel flying under the radar
Almost seven years removed from his greatest triumph in golf, former Masters winner Charl Schwartzel is a very talented golfer flying under the radar for this week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Currently ranked inside the top 50 in the world, Schwartzel enters this week looking to improve on a very good course history at Firestone country club. With 5 top 25’s including two top 10’s in his nine starts at this event, Schwartzel offers more than enough upside to pay off his $7,200 price tag on DraftKings this week. The guaranteed four rounds of golf in this no-cut event makes it a bit easier to mix boom or bust type plays into your GPP mix, and Schwartzel at low ownership could end up being one of the great values on the week.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Weather update for The WGC Bridgestone
Kevin Roth’s weather report for the last WGC event of the 2018 season is up in the main forum. With very light winds and few scattered showers, it looks to be another week in which weather appears to have very little impact on roster choices. Both Thursday and Friday have a chance of an isolated shower or two, but for handicapping purposes, we are more concerned with the potential for high winds. With wind gusts staying under 10mph for the first two days of the tournament there looks to be almost no edge in stacking a tee time wave.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Weather Report Tiger Woods ownership continues to grow
It’s hard to argue with the success that Tiger Woods has experienced in his career at Firestone. In 14 tries at this course, Woods has 12 top tens including 8 wins. With the injuries over the past few seasons, Woods will make his first start at The WGC Bridgestone since the 2014 season. The close call at the British Open did very little to slow down the already increasing interest in the Tiger Woods comeback story. Already an extremely popular play prior to the Justin Rose news, Woods looks to be the biggest benefactor in ownership levels as the DFS community ponders rosters moves now that Rose is no longer playing. Woods looks to gain almost 9% in ownership shares post-Rose news but still remains a great play despite his surge in popularity. All that appears left for Woods in terms of his comeback is a win, and his past record would indicate that this week could be the moment that his fans have been waiting for.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Justin Rose WDs from the WGC-Bridgestone
In what should have been a pretty quiet week in terms of news, The WGC Bridgestone received it’s second big withdrawal today. World’s number two ranked golfer Justin Rose has removed himself from the field due to back spasms. The severity of his injury or his status for next week’s PGA has yet to be determined. Rose and his large shares of ownership will be the hot topic over the next 24 hours as we all try to figure out how to adjust to the news. One thing to consider in this no-cut event is to switch out Rose for golfers with a bigger salary discount than normal creating a roster with a large amount of money left on the table.
As reported by: The European Tour via Twitter Adam Hadwin is no longer in the field
Adam Hadwin withdrew from the WGC Bridgestone this morning. Hadwin is battling a condition that causes bones to rub together and was not able to make the movements needed to compete this week. He is hopeful to return for next week’s PGA Championship.
As reported by: Vancouver courier