DFS Alerts
Long Iron Play and Elite Course History
Matsuyama is a regular feature in my core plays article because he does so many things well on the golf course — he’s solid off the tee (and improving), he’s good around the greens, and he’s one of the best iron players in the world. The big weakness is his putter, but there are some encouraging signs heading into this week’s event. He gained over a stroke putting at the PGA Championship his last time out, bentgrass is his preferred putting surface, and he’s gained at least two strokes putting in two of his last three trips to TPC Boston. He has some of the best course history in the field, reeling off four straight top 25 finishes here. He also has four top 25 finishes in his last five events on tour. It’s been far too long since he’s found himself in the winner’s circle.
Brendon Todd continues to play consistent golf
The addition of Brendon Todd to a roster pool is not exactly something that most in the world of DFS golf get too excited about. Despite a solid year Todd came in at just under 3% ownership for last week’s PGA Championship. Todd was able to bounce back from a disappointing Sunday at The FedEx to post his 9th top 20 or better finish of this season. Prior to ownership numbers coming out, I expected Todd to be a golfer that most would consider fading. Due to the overall strength of this field, Todd is trending as a very popular golfer for the week. In a very short time, Todd has emerged as a player that had played his way out of a spot on either The PGA Tour and or The Korn Ferry Tour, to now having a chance to compete for his 3rd win of the 2020 season.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership
Sergio Garcia needs a good week in order to make the playoffs
With the Wyndham Championship being the last event before the FedEx Cup playoffs, there will be plenty of pressure for those outside of the top 125. Sergio Garcia is one of the sixty-nine golfers in this week’s field who currently need to play their way into next week’s Northern Trust. Currently, in the 134th position on the FedEx Cup list, Garcia is less than 40 points from being inside the top 125. Despite a very disappointing missed cut at last week’s PGA, Garcia has both the skill set and course history to feel good about this week. In addition to being a past champion of this event, Garcia has finished inside the top 30 in his other 4 starts at Sedgefield.
As reported by: PGA TOUR Brandt Snedeker looks to build on a positive course history
Currently looking for his first top 25 or better finish since the tour launched its restart, Brandt Snedeker enters this week looking to fine-tune his game ahead of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Currently, inside the top 100 in the point list, Snedeker could use a good week to ensure a chance at making a deep run in this year’s playoffs. Despite his poor recent form, Snedeker does have a positive course history at Sedgefield Country Club and could make for an interesting tournament option at what looks to be a low POWN number. In addition to winning this event, Snedeker owns four top 10 or better finishes at The Wyndham Championship. For those who are unsure about adding Snedeker to a full week roster then you could look to gain exposure to him in showdown slates. Highlighted by a 59 Snedeker has 15 rounds of 68 or better in his last 20 at Sedgefield.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Paul Casey looks to build on a great week of golf
Prior to last week’s PGA Championship Paul Casey had not exactly played his best golf. Despite his low price tag last week, most in the world of DFS avoided what is usually a great ball striker in Casey. With his second-place finish at last week’s PGA Casey showcased the type of golf he is capable of playing. In one of his post-round interviews Casey noted that part of his rust was due to the inability to work with his swing coach during the pandemic. Even though Peter Kostis ( Casey’s Coach) was not on-site at last week’s tournament the duo started to make progress in tightening up Casey’s swing. With a game that appears to be on the mend, a priced up Casey makes for a great GPP choice for this week’s Wyndham Championship. Last week’s loss did not seem to affect him too much as he noted that eventual winner Collin Morikawa just played better than everyone else and that overall Casey was very pleased with the shape of his game moving forward.
As reported by: PGA GPP Breakdown Go Low!
I’m going back to my boy Keith Mitchell this week. It’s been a while since I have hopped aboard the train, but I like him in these birdie fests. It also doesn’t hurt that he will be back on his preferred bermuda putting surfaces this week after several weeks away. Mitchell made the cut in his only appearance here two years ago, and he is never shy about hunting at flag sticks. He should have some confidence after besting Tiger Woods in their H2H matchup on Saturday at the PGA Championship — and as silly as that sounds, it’s very much a real benefit from a mental standpoint. Mitchell is dirt cheap everywhere and has as much upside as any of the punts on the board. Let’s go Keith! Harken this one back to the Robert Garrigus bold call from a few years ago!
Very Affordable Price Tag
This price tag is simply too cheap for Sabbatini, particularly on both DraftKings and FanDuel. He is a better golfer than this tag would indicate, even though he doesn’t grade out quite as well statistically as some others. He has played in several stronger field events, and an inconsistent putter has grabbed him a bit of late. However, he still has three top 25 finishes since the restart, and he has a 6th place finish and a 4th place finish at this event over the last three years. He has plenty of upside in the mid-range here.
Good Ball Striking
Varner bounced back from a recent slump with a solid top 30 finish at the PGA Championship last week. He could be one of the better values on the board for the Wyndham. He ranks 15th on Tour in ball striking this year, and he ranks above field average in par four scoring and birdie or better percentage. It will all come down to whether or not he can prevent the blow up round and keep his flat stick rolling. There’s a nice discount on his price tag this week, and he makes sense as a tournament upside option in this weak field.
Top Play on the Slate
Yes, the narrative is tired, but it’s clear that Simpson absolutely loves this event. He has finished 3rd, 2nd, and 2nd here in the last three editions, and you know he is hungry to finally pull out that victory. He did win here back in 2011, he leads the PGA Tour in par four scoring, and his game is suited perfectly to this course. Don’t let the healthy salary scare you away. He is the top option on my board by a fairly wide margin, and the form is reasonable enough. He ranks sixth in this field in strokes gained approach over the last 50 measured rounds, and that’s without accounting for just how good he is at this specific venue.
Bezuiden-WHO? Bezuidenhout!
Bezuidenhout will likely be the play that makes or breaks my week. I’m writing this before our first set of ownership projections, but I’m hoping he doesn’t become the chalk play in the mid-range. I view him as a perfect fit for this golf course. His two biggest strengths are approach play and putting (especially on bermuda). He’s essentially a poor man’s version of Webb Simpson. In eight events on the PGA Tour this year, he’s gained strokes on approach in seven of them and strokes putting in seven of them. Every time he has made the cut on this side of the pond, he has finished in the top 30.
11 Top 25 Finishes in his Last 17 Events on the PGA Tour
English has turned into one of the most consistent producers on the PGA Tour. Since the start of last August, he has played in 17 events. During that stretch, he has 11 top 25 finishes (65% rate) and five top 10 finishes (29% rate). If you compare that to some of the best golfers in the world, you’d be surprised how well English stacks up. His best putting surface is bermuda and he’s a golfer that can gain strokes in all facets of his game. In fact, he’s gained strokes in at least three of the four categories (off the tee, approach, around the green, putting) in each of his last eight events. He is a perfect 6-for-6 at this event since 2012, which is even more impressive when you consider he was in awful form for nearly two years.
They Should Rename this Event the Webb Simpson Championship
Golf is a wild sport where anything can happen. Take last Sunday for instance — Brooks Koepka was primed to take home his third straight PGA Championship and he only beat one golfer in the field. I open with that because no matter how good a play looks on paper, it’s still golf. With that out of the way, Simpson is the clear favorite in my eyes this week. He has a home on the course and as noted above, he named his daughter after this event. He’s first in this field when it comes to course history and he’s first in the field in strokes gained on Par 70 bermuda courses. He’s fourth in strokes gained approach and second in strokes gained putting. His form is impeccable with seven top 10 finishes in his last 12 events on tour. He’s going to be popular, but I will look to differentiate my lineups elsewhere.
Lanto Griffin is no longer in the field
In what has already been a busy Monday of player movement, Lanto Griffin becomes the latest player to take a pass on this week’s Wyndham Championship. Vaughan Talor and Abraham Ancer also withdrew earlier on Monday. Ben Martin, Peter Uihlein, and Josh Teater have all be added to the field and will get projections once they are added to the pricing pool. Taylor is the only player with a known injury ( ribs).
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Abraham Ancer, Vaughn Taylor, Ben Martin, Peter Uihlein, Josh Teater Five minutes to PGA roster lock and no major news to report
With just a few minutes to the first major of 2020 there is no news to report. The weather could be a factor in terms of affecting play, as winds could be strong on Thursday afternoon. ResultsDB will be up and running a few minutes after lock. Good luck this week Grinders!!!
Weather update for The PGA Championship
As we get closer to the first round of The PGA Championship, it appears that there could be an edge to have in terms of a weather draw. With winds expected to pick up throughout the day, the afternoon draw on Thursday could potentially have the worst of things. Friday could have a similar pattern, but for now, it appears the worst of the wind could happen after lunch during today’s first round. If you are looking for a tie-breaker on a golfer this week for the classic slates, then weather could be used to break that tie. Overall if you like a player who plays late on Thursday, then the weather draw should not exclude you from playing that golfer. Thursday afternoon should be harder, but as we have seen in the past there can still be good rounds on the wrong side of the draw. Late week projected ownership numbers show a decreased interest in players with the worse perceived draw, so there is also a chance you can gain an edge by mixing in some of the golfers from the late wave on Thursday and hope the weather forecast misses. Perhaps the safest way to gain an edge this week using weather would be to stack the early wave in Thursday showdown slates.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Weather Report