DFS Alerts
DraftKings projections are live and Brandt Snedeker ranks as a top play
Tennessee native, Brandt Snedeker will tee it up in his first FedEx St. Jude’s Classic in the last five years. Reasonably priced in terms of his overall ability Snedeker is trending as a top player in terms of Pt/$/k in the RotoGrinders projection tool. A slew of Tuesday withdrawals has made it even harder to find value this week, and despite lack of recent course history, Snedeker is the type of player that should play well at what could be a very difficult golf course. Priced down due to very inconsistent play, Snedeker has the upside you are looking for when picking a sub 8k player. Even though Snedeker has not played this event in the last five seasons, he does have a three career top 30 or better finishes including a T5 at the 2007 FedEx St. Jude Classic. Like a few other top named players in this weeks field, Snedeker will use the time at TPC Southwind as preparation for the U.S. Open.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projections Tool
Lucas Glover is no longer in the field
Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover has withdrawn from The FedEx St. Jude Classic this morning. Glover will be replaced in the field by John Rollins. Glover is the 7th golfer to withdraw from the event today. The field of DFS eligible players is getting smaller and smaller. Glover is exempt into next week’s U.S. Open.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Patton Kizzire is no longer in the field
The list of players deciding to no longer play in the FedEx St. Jude Classic is now one player longer. Patton Kizzire is no longer in the field and will be replaced by Parker McLachlin. Like some of the other withdrawals earlier today, Kizzire will use this week to prepare for the U.S. Open.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Multiple players withdraw from the FedEx St. Jude Classic
For the third straight year, the FedEx St. Jude Classic will have to deal with multiple early week withdrawals. Headling the names of players who decided to take a pass at this week’s event is Adam Scott. As expected, Scott took a pass on the week after qualifying for the U.S. Open. Please remove the players tagged in this alert from your lineups as they are no longer in the field. Unlike some of the other early week withdrawals, this new wave of players really affects DFS strategy for the week since all five players were potentially in play this week.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Patrick Rodgers, Ollie Schniederjans, Keegan Bradley, Russell Knox Adam Scott qualifies for the U.S. Open
Forner number one ranked player in the world, Adam Scott qualified for the U.S. Open today keeping his streak of 67 majors in a row intact. Second, only to Sergio Garcia’s 75 consecutive majors, Scott secured his spot in the second major of the year by firing a 36 hole score of six under par. With uncertainty surrounding whether or not he would actually play today, Scott gutted out a brilliant performance in an absolute clutch spot. Scott is currently slated to compete in this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic, but it would not surprise anyone if he decided to sit the week out. In an effort to qualify via improving his world rankings, Scott has played in five consecutive events.
As reported by: USGA Scottie Scheffler to make his PGA professional debut this week
Former Texas Longhorn golfer Scottie Scheffler will make his PGA Tour debut as a professional at this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic. Scheffler will look to fall into the mold of other successful college players making an impact on tour. Like many other players, Scheffler is attempting to qualify for the U.S. Open today via sectional qualifying. Scheffler finished last year’s U.S. Open as low amateur beating Cameron Champ by one stroke. For Scheffler, the week will be about making the most of an opportunity. The graduating senior of Texas made it a priority to finish out the year of college golf, so we can expect to see Scheffler attempt to gain full-time status via the Web.com Tour for the remainder of the season. Evident by the recent play of Joaquin Newman and Arron Wise, young talented golfers are more prepared to take the leap and play well on the biggest stage in golf. While some may argue that Scheffler is in a talent tier below Wise and Newman, he is a player worth keeping an eye on as a deep GPP sleeper this week.
Sectional U.S. Open qualifying could impact the field for the FedEx St. Jude Classic
The final field spot via open qualification for this year’s U.S Open are up for grabs at eleven different worldwide locations today. Just as in years past we could see the field for this week’s FedEx St. Jude change quite a bit after today’s 36 hole qualifying event. Big named players like former world’s number one Adam Scott are in the field for both the FedEx St. Jude and the Sectional Qualifier in Columbus Ohio. Scott who is three under par through his first nine holes will have his hand’s full playing in perhaps the strongest of all the qualifiers. If you are the type of player that set’s your lineup early in the week, then I would suggest keeping an eye on field news, as today’s event will impact this week’s field. In the past, we have seen notable withdrawals take place on Tuesday after DFS pricing has been set.
As reported by: USGA Ten minutes to roster lock and no major news to report
Outside of the already reported news of Jason Day missing the pro-am yesterday, it’s all quiet on the news front this morning. Day is expected to still play this week, and for now, we should consider him good to go. The first two days of golf could have quite a bit of rain and wind, but at this point, there appears to be no real clear-cut edge in determining a favorable tee time draw. Good luck this week grinders, as always if any late news breaks we will provide the updates needed.
Weather update for The Memorial
Kevin Roth’s weather report for The Memorial is up in the main forum, and for now, it looks like the weather could play a role in the handicapping process. According to Roth, we can expect a wet and windy first two days of golf. Trying to gain an edge in terms of trying to nail down the ever elusive better tee time draw could prove to be a very daunting task this week. There is a chance for rain both Thursday and Friday, but for now, the forecast calls for the best chance to occur on Friday afternoon. Rain could cause delays on either day, thus making the chance of predicting a weather advantage via a tee time wave even harder. When dealing with what could be a difficult first two days of rain, it might be a better strategy to pick golfers who you think perform better in wet and windy conditions. For multiple GPP lineup builders it would not be a bad idea to stack a few lineups via tee time draws, but by no means is there a clear path to understanding which draw has an advantage at this point.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Weather Report Hideki Matsuyama flying under the radar
International superstar and multiple PGA Tour winner Hideki Matsuyama is a player trending towards a low ownership ahead of this week’s Memorial Golf Tournament. Plagued by an early-season wrist injury, Matsuyama has struggled to get his 2018 season going. Normally a very consistent player, Matsuyama has missed two of his last three cuts and heads into this week at a discount in both price and ownership. Currently ranked in the 10th position in the official world golf rankings, Matsuyama is a very talented player worthy of GPP roster spot this week. Making his 5th career start at Muirfield Villiage, Matsuyama earned his first career PGA victory at the 2014 Memorial. The combination of a strong field and his lack of great recent form has Matsuyama trending towards a sub 7% projected ownership number for this week. Muirfield Village is the type, of course, that rewards great ball strikers, and Matsuyama when healthy is still one of the best iron players in the world. The poor short-term play by Matsuyama creates a great opportunity to buy low on a golfer that could end up being a difference maker in the 2018 Memorial.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Tiger Woods is a horse for this course
In a year with so many great headlines, the return of Tiger Woods to The PGA Tour is without a doubt the biggest story of the year. With 79 career tour victories, there is always a strong case to make for Woods as a great play at almost any venue on Tour, and Muirfield Village is no exception. In his 15 career starts at this venue, Woods has 8 top ten or better finishes including five wins. The biggest question for Woods this season is can he return to the form that once made him the most dominant player in the game. While it’s too early to make a sufficient claim about dominating again on Tour, Woods has played well enough to create interest as a solid pick for this week’s event. With each passing week, Woods looks surprisingly more comfortable on the course and he is gradually playing his way back into the upper echelon of the golf world. With 4 top 15 or better finishes already this season, Woods heads into this week with both solid form and exceptional course history by his side. Priced lower than other big named players, there is a strong argument to be made for including Woods in both cash and GPP lineups this week.
As reported by: PGA Cash Game Breakdown Patrick Cantlay looks to bounce back after a missed cut
Patrick Cantlay made his presence felt on the PGA Tour last season. The one time top-ranked amateur in the world played well enough last season to make the Tour Championship by posting 8 top 25 or better finishes in only 13 starts. Currently ranked in the 18th position this season, and with one win already under his belt, Cantlay is in a great spot to compete for a deep FedEx run again this year. Somewhat spoiled by his consistent play, Cantlay’s poor recent form should lead to a decrease in interest in terms of ownership after missing the cut in two of his last four starts. After burning a large majority of players last week, you can expect even at a discount in price most will not look to roster Cantlay again this week. Still regarded as a very talented young player, Cantlay provides a great source of upside at a cheap price this week. Having a short memory is important to win in DFS and the choice to roster Cantlay at a discount is the type of play that makes sense if you look more at his long-term value and less at his poor recent form.
As reported by: Pga Value Breakdown Top 10 Upside at Less than 10% Ownership
Benny An is my favorite tournament play of the week and he’s going to make one of my two main lineups. With close to 50% exposure to An, I will likely be 10x on the field when it comes to ownership. He’s one of the best ball strikers in the world, he has two top 25 finishes in his two appearances at this event, and he’s made six straight cuts on tour. The only concern that I have is that he played in the Euro Tour event last week, so there could be some potential jet lag, but it’s not like these golfers are riding in coach with the common folk. An has top ten upside and he’s going to be low owned. He’s a tremendous leverage play this week.
Chalky, but Too Cheap to Ignore
Finau is a lock and load play for me this week. If you read my picks weekly, then you know that my strategy is to make two main teams that I enter into everything (cash games, 3-max tournaments, 5-max tournaments, etc). I generally only use two or three players in both of those lineups and Finau is on my short list of potential plays that will be on both squads. He loves bentgrass greens and he has a great track record at this course, making all three cuts here with two top 11 finishes. He’s one of the best scorers on tour, so as long as he makes the cut, he’s going to rack up a ton of points all weekend.
Only a Matter of Time Before he's Back in the Winner's Circle
Tiger is back in our lives at an event that he has won five times. He loves this course and he also loves Firestone, which is another Ohio golf course that correlates well with Muirfield. Tiger has gained at least four strokes tee to green in five straight tournaments and his weekend at The Players showed that he’s still capable of rattling off birdie streaks. He has four top 11 finishes in his last six starts and you can feel that killer instinct start to come back in his eyes. While you should always take my Tiger thoughts with a grain of salt (I am the biggest Tiger homer out there), everything lines up for him this week.