DFS Alerts
Driving distance not a factor for The OHL Classic at Mayakoba
This is the 11th year that the OHL Classic at Mayakoba is being played at El Camaleon. Without the typical Shotlink data stats a normal tour event provides we must use the somewhat old fashion scoring metrics like driving accuracy and greens in regulation. With a scoring average of 69.61 last season, El Camaleon played almost a shot and a half under par, thus making it one of the easiest courses played on the PGA Tour. Past Champions like Graeme McDowell and Pat Perez who won last year aren’t considered bombers, in fact, most of the ten past winners with the exception of Charley Hoffman and Harris English aren’t long, so you using the driver as a weapon is not a trend that we need to pay attention to this week. El Camaleon is, however, a second shot course. Last season players who played well here hit a lot of greens and scrambled well when they did not. Since this course is pretty much a layup for PGA Tour players we need to target golfers who can make birdies, last season the field averaged 4.15 birdies per round. While hitting it long is never a bad thing, the course setup at El Camaleon does not favor a player who can smash it off the tee. Current form and good course history should be used in combination with a good second shot player to help create your player pool for this week’s OHL Classic
As reported by: RotoGrinders
PGA rosters lock at 10:05 A.M. Est
No major news to report. Make sure to get any last minute changes done prior to lock. Good luck this week.
As reported by: PGA Tour Using predicted ownership to find pivot plays
Ownership projections can be a very useful tool to help build successful rosters. Game selection will often determine how a player uses a tool such as ownership projections. For cash game players the optimal strategy usually consists of playing the value plays regardless of ownership. Tournament roster construction often looks to find a lower owned pivot play around the same price. This week we have a prime opportunity to fade what appears to be a popular mid ranged play in Luke List. At $8,300 List is projected to be one of the highest owned players on DraftKings for the week. While his salary and opportunity make List a great play for cash, we could easily see the merit for pivoting to other players in tournaments. Having never won on Tour, List is the type of player that ultimately makes for an easy fade. Even if he plays well, there is a very small possibility that List performs at a clip that makes him a must play for the week. For tournaments, I like the idea of paying up to get a player like Martin Laird or J.B. Holmes. As a past champion of this event, Laird at somewhat low ownership levels stands out as a great pivot play. With the ability to make a ton of birdies, a player like J.B. Holmes always provides a bit of interest in large field GPP’s. Holmes is the type of player that can pay off his salary in light of a top ten finish. The process of using projected ownerships is a great way to help you grow as a player. Even if you don’t find a pivot play, the time spent thinking about the merits of making such a move will serve you well in the long run.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projected Ownership Other tagged players: J.B. Holmes Weather Update for the Shriners Open
RotoGrinders own chief meteorologist Kevin Roth posted his weather report for The Shriners Open in the main forum. The fall time weather in Vegas looks great and with no rain in the forecast, the only concern golfers face this week a bit of increased wind. Strongest winds are predicted for Friday afternoon, but for now, there appears to be little or no edge in avoiding this time frame. Overall weather looks to play a very small roll in your weekly roster decisions.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Looking to capitalize on an opportunity
Rod Pampling shocked the golfing world with his upset win over Brooks Koepka at last year’s Shriners Open. The 48-year-old Australian had not won on the PGA Tour in over a decade and had to spend part of the 2015 season on the Web.com tour in order to secure his card moving forward. Pampling cited his passion for the game as motivation to try to win again on tour. The fall season can be a great time for a player both old and young to capitalize on an opportunity. Maverick McNealy enters this week as a young player in search of a chance to earn full PGA Tour status. McNealy turned pro earlier this year and will need to earn enough money off limited sponsors exemptions in order to receive full time playing status on the PGA Tour. As a former highly ranked amateur McNealy has played in a handful of tour events prior to turning pro. This former Stanford golfer has flashed his talent at times, but he has yet to put 4 solid rounds of golf together. McNealy shares more than his desire to capitalize on an opportunity with Rod Pampling. Both players share the same swing coach Alex Murray, and McNealy should be able to gain both course knowledge and positive vibes from that connection. The pressure is high for McNealy to play well early, and this new face on the PGA Tour has more than enough talent to make an impact. Risk of the unknown makes McNealy more of a tournament option, but I love the upside he offers at this price.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Other tagged players: Maverick McNealy Past Shriners Champion ranks well in the course fit model
Ryan Moore entered the 2017 PGA tour season with all of the momenta in the world. Fresh off a spectacular fall finish that saw this UNLV graduate nearly won the FedEx Cup and he competed in his first Ryder Cup. At this point in the 2017 season, Moore had the whole world in front of him. Unfortunately for Moore, injuries kept him from playing his best golf in 2017. Pain and poor play forced Moore to rest his shoulder for the majority of the summer. After nearly two months away from the game, Moore was able to finish the season strong by posting 4 top 30 or better finishes in last six events. Fully healthy and ready to return to a full schedule Moore ranks as one of the better plays in our weekly course analysis article. Known for his strong iron game, Moore has high rankings in 4 out of the 5 second shot measurements used for this week’s course analysis. In addition to his win at the 2012 Shriners, Moore has two top 15 or better finishes in his last four starts in Vegas. At $9,400 on DraftKings, Moore makes an excellent play in both cash and tournament lineups for the week.
As reported by: Course Analsis Hometown player at a discount
The DFS community always loves a good narrative. For the most part in DFS golf, we don’t get quite as many narratives as other sports. The tour’s return to American soil brings an opportunity for players to compete near or in their hometown. The Shriners Hospital for Children Open has been held in Las Vegas since 1983 and offers a chance for a few PGA tour players to compete close to home. Former UNLV standout Charley Hoffman will grab a fair amount of momentum this week as popular narrative play, but he is not the only person in the field with local ties. Scott Piercy was born and raised in Las Vegas, and he enters this week as probably a lesser known hometown talent. Piercy’s 2017 PGA Tour season was cut short by an unspecified injury. Piercy missed the cut in eight of final 12 tournaments he appeared in last season. Piercy’s T17 at this year’s Safeway Open marked his first competitive round since June. With his apparent injury behind him, Piercy comes into this event with a great course history. A combined 35 under par over his last twelve rounds at TPC Summerlin Piercy has posted three straight top 25 or better finishes at The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Still a little underpriced across the industry, Piercy makes for a great salary relief play in formats this week.
As reported by: PGA Cash Game Breakdown Bubba Watson in need of a rebound season
Not making the 2016 Ryder Cup team had a strong effect on Bubba Watson’s game. Although Watson said and did the right things, you could tell by his body language on the course that this former two-time major champion had not yet recovered from the devastation of not making the team. Currently ranked 63rd in the official world golf rankings, Watson played some of the worse golf in his career last season. Winless for the first time since the 2013 season, Watson only managed to make 4 top tens last season, with only two of those coming in full field cut events. Typically Watson is a player that the public loves to hate, even when he is playing well most don’t like to roster this volatile lefty. The turning of the page on a new PGA season gives everyone hope, and Watson’s attendance in a tournament that he has not played in almost 10 years stands out to me as a player motivated to turn things around. The 2018 Ryder Cup points race will heat up throughout the year, and Watson figures to have the motivation to make the team on his own accord. Things are shaping up to make Watson a very sneaky GPP play for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The combination of his low ownership compared to the tremendous upside he brings in terms of DK scoring, makes Watson a strong tournament play this week. From a roster construction standpoint, you could use Watson as a pivot from the hometown hero Charley Hoffman at $9,100 or even pay up from a player like Luke List ( $8,300) to differentiate your lineups.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projected Ownership Luke List looks for a repeat of last season
Many in the DFS community have a love-hate relationship with Luke List. Known for his ability to hit quality golf shot’s List is the type of player that often standouts in a ton of different scoring metrics. His strong skill set often shows up in any model that uses advanced scoring metrics. A streaky putter leads to sporadic an inconsistent performances for List, thus making him a frustrating player to roster. No longer considered a young player on tour, List is hopeful to follow up on his most successful season to date. List started off last season by posting 5 top 25 finishes out of his first six events and then struggled to play well towards the middle of the season. List was able to salvage his season by making three consecutive cuts during the FedEx Cup race and finished the year with 9 top 25 or better finishes. This 120th ranked player in the world rates out as one of the top plays in terms of PT/$K in the FanDuel RotoGrinders Player projection tool for the Shriners Open. A value on most sites this week, List can be had at a much cheaper price on FanDuel where his $5,600 price tag equates to only 9.3% of the salary cap.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Player Projections Making the most of his second chance
With a new season comes the opportunity for players to get an early jump on the grueling race known as the FedEx Cup. The third full-field event of the season is here and we can now begin the process of evaluating the many new faces on the PGA Tour. The Shriners Open represents an opportunity for many of the recent graduates of the Web.com Tour finals to finally play on the PGA Tour. The overall leader in the top 25 race on the Web.com Tour is no stranger to playing on golf biggest tour. As a past winner of the PGA Tour Chesson Hadley looks to make the most of his second chance to compete with the best players in the world. As a full-time member of the Tour from 2014 to 2016, Hadley experienced both the highs and lows of playing professional golf. Like many first time winners on tour, Hadley struggled to live up to the newfound expectations created by his victory. Poor play in the 2016 season forced Hadley to play full time in 2017 on the Web.com Tour. Demotion is never an easy thing to deal with, but Hadley made the most of his time on Web.com Tour last season. Fueled by his two wins on the Web.com Tour, Hadley earned a second chance to play on the biggest tour in golf. The lack of debt in terms of talent for this week’s Shriners Open has created some unique pricing situations. On the heels of a 2nd and 3rd place finish in his first two starts of this year’s PGA tour season, Hadley comes into this week as the fifth highest-priced golfer on DraftKings. Early ownership levels indicate that many in the DFS community simply feel like the price is just too steep for Hadley. While momentum is always a hard thing to quantify in sports, there is little doubt that Hadley is playing the best golf of his career. Fresh off his second-place finish in last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, Hadley is in a prime spot to continue his good play. In other DFS sports, the need for price sensitivity is typically magnified by constraints of roster construction. The combination of this lack of roster confinement and the trending low ownership makes this an excellent place to fire up Handley in GPP’s for this week’s Shriners Open.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projected Ownership Patrick Cantlay hopes to build on a successful 2017 PGA Tour season
If the PGA Tour still awarded a comeback of the year award, Patrick Cantlay would have been your unanimous winner. Still relatively young (25), Cantlay has already overcome so much in order to play professional golf. Sidelined by a serious back injury Cantlay had not played a competitive round of golf since 2105. During his 4 year period of recovering from a stress fracture in his back, Cantlay would ultimately deal with more than just the grueling rehab associated with a significant injury. Not only was Cantlay faced the with the possibility of never playing professional golf again, but he also had to cope with the loss of his best friend and caddie Chris Roth.A night out on the town came to a tragic ending when Roth was hit by a car as he was crossing the road. Determined to make it back to competitive golf, and ultimately play on the PGA Tour, Cantlay’s 2017 season turned out to be one of the better stories of the season. Finishing 29th in the FedEx Cup standings, Cantlay played the type of golf that once had him ranked as the top amateur in the world. Cantlay only played in 13 events last season, thus making his final year-end standings even that more impressive. With no missed cut’s in those 13 events, Cantlay posted an impressive 8 top 25 or better finishes last season. Heading into the first full cut event of the 2018 season, Cantlay ranks as one of the top Pt$K plays on the RotoGrinders projection tools page. Fresh off his T29 in last week’s HSBC Championship, Cantlay is a great spot to yet once again outperform his price tag. The limited schedule of last season might keep some in the community off Cantlay, thus making this a great time to start buying shares of a very talented young player.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Player Projections PGA Rosters lock at 8:50 P.M. Est
The PGA tour is finishing up its annual leg of events on foreign soil. For the third straight week, we will have primetime golf. Please remember to set your lineups. As of now, there is no WD news to report. As always we will monitor things right up until roster lock.
As reported by: PGA Tour Tyrrell Hatton looking for his third win in a row
Tyrell Hatton has been on an absolute tear of late. His last four starts on The European Tour have consisted of two wins and two top ten or better finishes. Currently ranked 22nd in the official world golf rankings, Hatton is looking to claim his first victory on the PGA Tour. As a worldwide player, Hatton only plays a handful of events on The PGA Tour each year. Last season Hatton posted three top tens in 13 events and is in a prime spot to make a bigger impact in the world of golf. Hatton is the type of golfer that we should want exposure to this year, and a no-cut event at this price makes this an exceptional spot to get him into your GPP lineups.
As reported by: STLCards' GPP Breakdown Xander Schauffele looks to recover from a bad week
At this time last week, Xander Schauffele was trending at one of the highest owned players for the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges. The momentum gained over the second half of the season had this budding PGA Tour star trending as a top pick for the week. Horrible play over the weekend has left many in the DFS community off Schauffele this week. One week of bad play should not really sway the popular opinion, but with a still somewhat unproven player in terms of his long run ability, it’s very easy to simply write Schauffele off this week. With a predicted low ownership this week, Schauffele becomes an intriguing GPP play for the HSBC Championship. If we can reason that last weekend’s rounds were an exception, then the upside that Schauffele displayed over the last few months makes him a great tournament play this week.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projected Ownership Ross Fisher looks to build on past success
Lesser known foreign-born players tend to go largely unnoticed by the majority of golf fans. With most of the attention focused on the PGA Tour, it’s very easy for players such as Ross Fisher to have very little fan fair. Not known as an elite player by many Fisher is still an extremely talented player that provides a ton of upside at this price this week. In his last eight rounds at Sheshan International Golf Club Fisher is an amazing 31 under par. With a T6 and a T3 in those last two starts at the HSBC Championship, Fisher should be considered a great play across the industry. Currently ranked 33rd in the world rankings Fisher sits as the top overall pay in terms of Pt/$/K rankings on the RotoGrinders FanDuel Projections tool. Many in the golf world may not know much about Fisher, but he is a player we should pay attention to moving forward. Fisher comes into this week on the heels of back to back 2nd place finishes in his last two European Tour starts and should be a great option in any format for The HSBC Championship.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Player Projections