DFS Alerts
Precipitation very likely to play a role on Thursday/Friday
The weather forecast for the Wells Fargo Championship could play a significant role in the outcome of the tournament. With a forecast calling for a 90 percent chance of rain on Friday, there is a very good chance that players in the early Thursday/late Friday wave could have an advantage. If the weather forecast holds true we could see a strong storm front move into the Wilmington area mid-morning on Friday. Once the storm hits there is a better than average chance that Round 2 will carry into Saturday morning. Players who tee off in the early wave on Friday would stand to play in the tougher conditions.
Wells Fargo Championship WD Alert: Louis Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith, Jonas Blixt, and Bud Cauley all withdrew
No injuries were cited regarding any of the four withdrawals. Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt partnered and won the Zurich Classic on Monday. The C. Smith/Blixt team defeated Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner via a four-hole playoff. Perhaps a little extra celebrating is in store for Smith and Blixt this week. Bud Cauley also performed well last week, he and partner Justin Thomas finished T5. Louis Oosthuizen finished T24 at the Zurich Classic, partnering with fellow South African Branden Grace. Oosthuizen has an extensive WD history over the last few years, but this is his first withdrawal of the season. Alternates Tyler Aldridge, Stuart Appleby, Steve Wheatcroft, and Willy Willcox will be teeing it up on Thursday at Eagle Point Golf Club.
As reported by: Rob Bolton via Twitter Other tagged players: Cameron Smith, Jonas Blixt, Bud Cauley
Felipe Aguilar has WD from the Volvo China Open
Aguilar finished solo 2nd in last year’s Volvo China Open and actually led going into the final round. But Hao-Tong Li posted a 64 in Round Four to chase down Aguilar and win the 2016 tourney. No official details have emerged regarding Aguilar’s withdraw, just be sure he is out of your lineups.
Steve Stricker denied special exemption to U.S. Open, still vying for entry
The USGA rarely grants special exemptions to the U.S. Open, but Stricker applied at the request of his brother-in-law/agent, Mario Tiziani. The U.S. Open will be played in Wisconsin for the first time in 2017, at Erin Hills which is just about an hour east of where Stricker lives in Madison. Stricker still remains optimistic in being at Erin Hills and has a few chances left. He’s entered U.S. Open sectional qualifying in Tennessee and could also crack the required Top-60 ranking by May 22 or by the Monday of the U.S. Open. Currently ranked 94th in the world, Stricker will be at the Players Championship and possibly foregoing the Senior PGA Championship so that he could compete at the Dean & Deluca Invitational starting on May 25th. “I’m leaning toward Colonial,” Stricker said. “I still want to be relevant. I can still compete out there, it’s a good course for me and I won there.” Stricker performed well at the Masters, finishing T16. He will be competing at the Zurich Classic this week with Jerry Kelly, but the results won’t help his cause as no world ranking points are awarded this week due to the new team format at TPC of Louisiana.
As reported by: ESPN Golf Dustin Johnson (lower back) reportedly looks good hitting drives at clinic in Los Angeles
Dustin Johnson held a clinic today at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles during the Friends of Golf charity tournament and reportedly “looked great” hitting drives off the first tee. There seems to be little or no long-term effects resulting from the shocking back injury sustained on the day before the 2017 Masters began. He has already committed to next week’s Wells Fargo Championship and will likely be a favorite to win the tournament. Two weeks ago, Johnson surprisingly opened as the 8-1 favorite for the 2017 U.S. Open despite not officially releasing any updates regarding his recovery at that time. Those odds have since improved to 7-1 on some sites after Johnson’s official Wells Fargo Championship commitment.
As reported by: Brentley Romine, Golfweek Jimmy Walker withdraws from Zurich Classic, plans to undergo further testing related to Lyme Disease
Walker performed well at the Valero Texas Open, finishing T13 including a competitive 2-under par 70 on Sunday. He received a confirmed diagnosis of Lyme Disease after tests taken on Wednesday of Masters week came back positive. Walker previously believed he had mononucleosis, but additional test results confirmed the Lyme disease diagnosis. Participation in his hometown event at TPC San Antonio was up in the air, but a new medication regiment had not yet started last week so he was able to play. When asked about possible upcoming medication schedules Walker stated, “ I heard it can take it out of you pretty bad for four, five days, … Anybody knows me, rest isn’t something I’m really good at doing.” Walker is not currently among the commitment list of players at the Wells Fargo Championship starting next week. The Players Championship, where Walker missed the cut in 2016, follows on May 11th. We wish the Walker family the best and can’t wait to see Jimmy back at full strength, smiling, and on the leaderboards again, hopefully very soon.
As reported by: John Whisler, San Antonio Express-News RBC Heritage contests, salaries released on DraftKings and FanDuel
Masters T4 finisher, Matt Kuchar, tops both salary lists being set at $11,500 on DraftKings and $10,000 on FanDuel. Kuchar has great course history at Harbour Town Golf Links finishing in the top-10 the last three years including a win in 2014. Kuchar’s strong 67 Sunday finish at Augusta National including the big ace on the 16th hole will likely lead to heavy ownership this week in GPPs. Other strong finishers in last week’s Masters that are in the RBC Heritage field include Martin Kaymer (T16), Charley Hoffman (T22) and William McGirt (T22). Huge pricing disparities exist for several players between DraftKings and FanDuel. Russell Henley’s strong recent form has propelled his salary to $10,700 on DraftKings, second highest on the site. But Henley’s salary is just 14th highest on FanDuel at only $7,900. Conversely, Jim Furyk and Luke Donald are among the most expensive options on FanDuel but both priced below $8K on DraftKings. Furyk and Donald have good course history at Harbour Town, but DraftKings is discounting their experience in recognition of their inconsistent recent form. The pricing differences will likely result in Furyk and Donald being low owned on FanDuel in both the Rd 1-2 and Rd 3-4 roster slots. Henley could be very chalky on FanDuel, especially in the Rd 1-2 position.
Dustin Johnson WDs (lower back) from the Masters
Johnson stepped up to the first tee but decided to WD before taking his first shot. Hopefully, the lower back injury will not have any long-term effects. We should learn more after Johnson addresses the media.
As reported by: Ben Everill of PGATOUR.com ESPN: Dustin Johnson to attempt to play Masters after injuring back
Dustin Johnson arrived at Augusta National and entered the physical therapy trailer around 12:30 PM. Johnson’s agent, David Winkle, stated Johnson planned to warm up and hit balls at about 30-40% of his potential and also attempting some drives to test his back in preparation for his scheduled 2:03 PM tee time. Johnson’s ownership fell to just 8.41% for the DraftKings Milly Maker contest.
As reported by: Bob Harig, ESPN ESPN: Don't expect early Dustin Johnson announcement
Jason Sobel of ESPN warns golfing fans not to expect an early announcement regarding Dustin Johnson’s status for The Masters. Projected ownership for Dustin Johnson remains low, currently at 6% on RotoGrinders for the DraftKings Milly Maker. However, line movement has recently improved for Johnson. At 30 minutes before roster lock, Johnson is now at 8-1 on some sites.
As reported by: Jason Sobel via Twitter Augusta National received 1.4 inches of rain on Wednesday, no damage to the course
Mud balls have wreaked havoc at Augusta National before as the Masters Tournament is reluctant to implement lift, clean, and place rules. The wet conditions and heavy winds will greatly diminish scoring for the first two rounds. Targeting golfers with strong bogey avoidance metrics may be profitable this week. Bill Haas is among the leaders in bogey avoidance this season making bogey only 10% of the time through 39 rounds. However, Haas is scheduled to tee off later today at 1:52 PM during the strongest winds.
As reported by: Masters Tournament via Twitter Masters final weather check: Thursday afternoon winds still the worst
RotoGrinders Chief Meteorologist Kevin Roth provided his last look at the weather for the Masters. The rains have moved out but the winds will be around 15mph sustained for opening tee times, climbing to near 20mph by late morning. Winds continue to strengthen, sustained winds will be between 20 and 25mph, with gusts of 35-40mph on Thursday afternoon. Thursday afternoon is the worst time slot of the first two rounds. Friday is similar but the winds will be weaker near 10-15mph for the Friday AM wave and likely in the 15-20mph range with gusts around 30mph on Friday afternoon. Increasing exposure to golfers in the Thursday AM / Friday PM wave will be very popular for the 2017 Masters.
As reported by: Kevin Roth via Twitter Dustin Johnson's trainer says "slip" was nowhere close to a hospital visit, remains optimistic he'll play
A member of the Dustin Johnson team, trainer Joey Diovisalvi, discussed Johnson’s injury during an interview aired on Masters Radio on SiriusXM Wednesday night. Diovisalvi revealed that Johnson fell down a small set of three wooden steps landing on the left side of his lower back in the muscular area. Diovisalvi dispelled fears that Johnson fell down a flight of stairs and remains optimistic he’ll play on Thursday. On a Twitter poll launched by Masters Radio on SXM, over 65% of voters (small sample size of just over 250) believed Johnson will play. Johnson’s odds to win quickly fell from 7/1 to 10/1 after the story broke and have remained near this level overnight. Projected ownership for Johnson in the DraftKings Milly Maker has fallen below 10%. We’ll continue to monitor the situation, but confirmation of Johnson’s status may not arrive until after roster lock. Johnson is in the last pairing scheduled to tee off at 2:03 PM on Thursday afternoon. To hear the Diovisalvi SXM interview, click on the link below.
As reported by: Masters Radio on SiriusXM via Twitter DraftKings Milly Maker projected ownership: DJ injury and weather updates
The weather and Dustin Johnson injury news have altered many rosters over the last few hours. It’s clear that the Thursday AM / Friday PM wave of golfers has a scoring advantage that could result in a few strokes altering the ownership of many golfers. The uncertainty surrounding Dustin Johnson’s lower back injury has caused his projected ownership to plummet breaking through the 10% barrier. Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Jason Day were beneficiaries but it was Jordan Spieth that gained the most pivot ownership from Dustin Johnson. Spieth’s salary is just $200 more and he could be perceived as a safer option as compared to McIlroy, Day, and Fowler. And in a week dominated by terrible weather reports and an injury to the top player in the field, any sort of safety would be welcomed. DraftKings Milly Maker ownership projections have been updated post DJ injury and with the most recent weather/tee time news considered.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Russell Henley riding good form and best tee time, pairing for The Masters
Russell Henley won his way into The Masters by taking first place last week at the Shell Houston Open. He’s been trending up and cracked the top-10 at the Valspar Championship with a T9 finish four weeks ago. Russell has course history at Augusta National going 21-T31-CUT in his first three tries from 2013 through 2015. But perhaps the most intriguing reason to play Henley this week is his tee time and pairing. Henley is in the first pairing scheduled to tee off at 8:00 AM Thursday morning. It is the only pairing (barring WDs) scheduled with only two golfers. This pairing should play at a fairly brisk pace, certainly faster that all the other pairings consisting of three golfers. Henley’s pairing partner is Daniel Summerhays. Henley and Summerhays have the best shot of completing the first round before the heaviest winds set in.
As reported by: RotoGrinders