DFS Alerts
Chalk rising to the top of DraftKings salary list for Puerto Rico Open
The extremely weak field of the Puerto Rico Open and scarcity of obvious values in cheaper salary ranges is initiating massive projected ownership for golfers priced above $9.5K. Luke List, at $9.9K on DK, is emerging as one of the industry’s favorite golfers this week. List’s combination of course history, resurgent form, and strong Vegas odds are pushing his DK GPP projected ownership over 30%. Intriguing pivots from List to golfers with much lower projected ownership exist in nearby salary ranges. Harold Varner’s DK GPP pOwn% is also trending up, now exceeding 20%. Interesting pivots from Varner include Seamus Power currently at 13% pOwn%. Puerto Rico Open ownership projections for DK GPPs are now live on RotoGrinders.com. Numerous pOwn% updates are made throughout the week up to 30 minutes before roster lock. The complete projections are viewable for DraftKings Golf Premium subscribers in the “PGA Lineup Builder” and “Golfer Projections” sections. Additional ownership analysis is provided in Trae Schwabe’s “PGA Projected Ownership” article published on Wednesday.
As reported by: RotoGrinders
Scott Brown, Alex Cejka, Graham DeLaet, and Will MacKenzie carry strong course history at Coco Beach Golf Club
Of this group of course horses, only Graham DeLaet is a longer hitter, currently averaging 299.8 yards per drive this season. It’s an indication that accuracy often trumps distance at the Puerto Rico Open. At over 7,500 yards, it’s natural to gravitate towards bombers at Coco Beach but the ten Par-4 holes bring about a less-than-driver game for most of the round. Scott Brown is the top course horse in the field this year having three top-10 finishes since 2012 including a win in 2013. However, Brown has struggled after his T2 finish at the Genesis Open in February. He’s missed the cut in his previous two events including last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Will MacKenzie has placed in the PRO top-10 the last two years but is also struggling with recent form. Alex Cejka won the PRO in 2015 and followed with a T11 last year. Cejka’s form seems to be shaping up with a T14 in his last outing at the Valspar Championship. There’s always a lot of turnover in the PRO field. This year welcomes 39 first-time participants elevating the need for more course fit analysis this week. For a complete breakdown of course history through 2012, be sure to read Derek Farnsworth’s “PGA First Look” article now available on RotoGrinders.com.
As reported by: RotoGrinders Puerto Rico Open weather forecast: Rain all week, winds 10-15 mph
Light rains will begin on Tuesday morning and should intensify throughout the week peaking on Friday or Saturday. Winds are projected to be 10-15mph all week. Extended forecasts have light rains persisting through Wednesday of next week, so a shortened 2017 PRO is possible. A potentially saturated Coco Beach Golf Course could favor the longer hitters due to diminished fairway roll. We could also see lift-clean-place in effect for most, if not all, of tournament play. Keep an eye on the weather in Puerto Rico. Kevin Roth’s weekly golf forecast on Wednesday night will be important in confirming course conditions and potentially identifying a tee-time advantage based on weather patterns.
As reported by: Weather.com FanDuel and DraftKings release Puerto Rico Open contests
Wesley Bryan has some of the best initial odds to win the tourney (18/1) according to Vegas but just the 4th highest salary on FanDuel at only $8,900. DraftKings has placed W. Bryan atop its salary list at $10,800. The solo 69 finish last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was disappointing, but W. Bryan will be one of the highest owned golfers this week considering his strong recent form and the very weak field in Puerto Rico. Graham DeLaet and Graeme McDowell are placed with top-3 salaries on both sites. Initial top values on FanDuel include Peter Uihlein at $7,200 and JT Poston at $6,500. Strong DraftKings value plays include Danny Lee at $8,700 and Brandon Hagy at $8,300.
Tiger Woods remains hopeful to play in 2017 Masters
While on ABC’s Good Morning America promoting his new book, Tiger Woods didn’t rule out his participation in the 2017 Masters starting in two weeks on April 6th. When asked if he would play, Woods stated, “God, I hope so. I’m trying. I’m trying everything I can do to be able to get back and play”. Woods’ latest book, The 1997 Masters: My Story, is being released today near the 20th anniversary of his epic 1997 Masters win by 12 strokes as a 21-year old. We last saw Tiger play in February at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic where he WD just prior to the second round citing back spasms. He had shot a five-over par 77 in the first round, his worst score in 29 rounds at the Emirates course. Woods also missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in January after opening with an ugly round one 76. Tiger’s GPP ownership was strong at the Farmers, especially in smaller stakes tourneys such as the DraftKings Birdie where his ownership was over 20%. Tiger has since pulled out of the Genesis Open, Honda Classic, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Even if Tiger tees it up in Augusta, the DFS community will easily overlook his enormous popularity and look to roster healthier golfers in better form.
As reported by: Michael Strahan on ABC Weather Forecast for the Arnold Palmer Invitational: Sunny and cool, minimal winds.
RotoGrinders Chief Meteorologist forecasts nice weather for the API. Thursday morning starts out pretty chilly, with frost possible. Temps will climb to the 60s by the Thursday afternoon with winds remaining calm (5-10 mph). Friday morning will be a bit warmer, starting in the 40s and the winds will be even lighter (0-5 mph). Friday afternoon winds could reach 5-10 mph. Saturday and Sunday weather should be similar to Friday. There could be a very, very slight edge in targeting the Thur-PM / Fri-AM golfers on DraftKings. This wave of golfers will avoid the coldest weather and experience slightly calmer winds. There doesn’t appear to be any tee-time advantage for FanDuel’s new roster format. Click on the link below for Kevin Roth’s complete forecast.
As reported by: Kevin Roth on RotoGrinders Arnold Palmer Invitational WD update: All clear through Wednesday afternoon
Up to this point, all golfers in the API field are expected to tee it up on Thursday. There was some concern regarding Sean O’Hair after his WD at the Valspar Championship citing a neck injury. But O’Hair has given no indications this week of pulling out of the API. Even though O’Hair has made the cut in his last five attempts at Bay Hill, his ownership will be very low due to the risk of re-injury. Jason Day participated in his press conference today and seems to be fully recovered from the flu and double ear infection that caused his WGC-Mexico Championship WD two weeks ago. Kevin Na has also recuperated from his illness last week. We’ll keep you updated regarding any WD news throughout the evening and up to roster lock.
Other tagged players: Jason Day, Kevin Na Stenson returns to his Diablo Octane 3-wood during the Valspar Championship
Henrik Stenson had been experimenting with the GBB Epic 3-wood after cracking the face of a Diablo earlier this season. Following the WD at the WGC-Mexico Championship, Stenson returned to his trusty Callaway Diablo Octane 3-wood for the Valspar Championship. He proceeded to rank T2 in driving accuracy hitting 75% of his fairways at the Copperhead course in Innisbrook and finished T7 at over 35% DraftKings GPP ownership. Highly priced at $11,500 on DraftKings and $10,200 on FanDuel, Stenson should again be among the most popular plays this week in both GPPs and Cash games.
As reported by: Jonathan Wall on PGATOUR.com Adam Hadwin gets salary boost for the Arnold Palmer Invitational
After winning the Valspar Championship last week, Adam Hadwin finally gets a significant salary increase heading into the Arnold Palmer Invitational. DraftKings raises his salary to $8,600 and FanDuel has Hadwin at $7,600 for its opening PGA slate. Regression is inevitable and often materializes quickly for first-time PGA Tour winners. Earlier this season, Hudson Swafford followed his first PGA Tour win at the CareerBuilder with three consecutive cuts. However, Hadwin should continue carrying significant ownership this week approaching 20% in GPPs. This will be his second crack at Bay Hill, finishing solo 36th last year.
Perfect weather forecasted for Valspar Championship
RotoGrinders Chief Meteorologist Kevin Roth is predicting near perfect weather for the Valspar Championship starting early Thursday morning. No rain is in the forecast on Thursday or Friday and winds should be light ranging from 5-10 mph. There are no clear advantages in favoring any tee times this week.
As reported by: Kevin Roth on RotoGrinders Jon Curran WDs from Valspar Championship due to rib injury
Jon Curran will not be in the field for the Valspar Championship starting on Thursday morning. Curran withdrew due to a rib injury and will be replaced by Tim Wilkinson. Curran had missed the cut in his last two events at the Honda Classic and Genesis Open. This development won’t have a big DFS effect as Curran was projected to have less than 1% ownership in GPPs. But be sure Curran is removed from all lineups. Stay tuned for updates regarding higher-owned golfers in question for the Valspar Championship including Justin Thomas (illness), Daniel Berger (illness), Kevin Na (illness) and Charl Schwartzel (wrist).
As reported by: PGA Tour Media on Twitter Other tagged players: Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Charl Schwartzel, Kevin Na Kevin Na (illness) latest WD from Valspar Pro-Am, still in field for Thursday
It’s sometimes difficult to rely on the PGA for injury/illness updates. Kevin Na isn’t active on Twitter either like many of the other players today including Justin Thomas. Na’s scheduled tee time is at 11:40 AM, well after roster lock. DFS players may not get an official statement regarding Na until it is too late. Stay tuned for updates.
As reported by: Chantel McCabe on Twitter Charl Schwartzel (wrist) WDs from Valspar Pro-Am, still currently in field for Thursday
Charl Schwartzel withdrew after 10 holes during the Pro-Am event. He was struck in the wrist by an errant shot from his Pro-Am partner that ricocheted off a tree. Schwartzel remains in the field for the Valspar Championship starting on Thursday. Schwartzel has an early 7:56 AM tee time on Thursday so there is a good chance of an official statement before roster lock. Stay tuned for updates.
As reported by: Chantel McCabe on Twitter Daniel Berger (illness) WDs from Valspar Pro-Am, currently remains in field for Thursday
After the Henrik Stenson WD last week at the WGC-Mexico Championship, few will risk rostering golfers who are battling illness. Even before the illness concerns, Berger was trending towards lower ownership having the worst course history and lighted levels of tout buzz among the top-salaried golfers. Stay tuned for updates regarding Berger, Justin Thomas (illness), Charl Schwartzel (wrist) and Kevin Na (illness).
As reported by: Chantel McCabe on Twitter Justin Thomas WDs from Valspar Pro-Am, hopeful to play on Thursday
Justin Thomas also canceled his press conference today while battling the sinus/flu but remains hopeful to play on Thursday. Daniel Berger (illness) and Charl Schwartzel (wrist) have also withdrawn from the Pro-Am event. Henrik Stenson’s ownership continues to aggressively trend up.
As reported by: Twitter