DFS Alerts
Bomber Coming off of a High Finish
You will see a similar theme with the picks this week — they are all very long off the tee. We have a 7,500+ yard Par 71 on tap this week, so it should favor the bombers. We keep waiting for Finau to have that breakout win and even if it doesn’t happen this week, he’s still a very strong play for DFS. Given the lack of value, I prefer the balanced build over the stars and scrubs approach. Finau is coming off of a top five at the Masters and he’s played here four times, making the cut every time and finishing in the top 30 in three of those appearances. He makes a lot of birdies, he avoids bogeys, and he’s ranked second in this field in par five scoring.
Chris Kirk is no longer in the field
Chris Kirk has decided to take a pass on this weeks Wells Fargo Championship. Martin Piller will take his spot in the field. Piller should get added to pricing pools within the next 24 hours.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Martin Piller
Stewart Cink is no longer in the field
Stewart Cink has withdrawn from The Wells Fargo Championship and will be replaced in the field by Derek Fathauer. Sites should have a salary for Fathauer in the next day or so. At this time there is no injury news associated with Cink’s decision to skip this week’s event.
As reported by: Rob Bolton Twitter Other tagged players: Derek Fathauer Ten Minutes to roster lock, no major news to report
Ten minutes until roster lock and there is no major news to report. Martin Trainer withdrew earlier in the week, so please make sure to remove him from any rosters. Good luck this week. ResultsDB will be up and running within 15 minutes of roster lock. Make sure to check out how your lineups stack up against the field.
Branden Grace flying under the radar
As you make your late evening roster builds for this week’s RBC Heritage Classic, there is a strong case to make for adding Branden Grace to your player pool. Currently projected to garnish an ownership level lower than 8% Grace has both the skill set and past course history we are looking for this week. Like many other International golfers in this week’s field, Grace has a game that typically performs well in windy conditions. In addition to his win at the 2016 RBC Heritage, Grace has two top 11 or better finishes and has gained 30 strokes tee to green in his only three starts at Harbor Town. While Grace has struggled to put 4 rounds together yet this season, he has played well at times this season and appears closer to posting a top tier finish.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership Weather update for The RBC Heritage
Kevin Roth’s weather report for The RBC Heritage is up in the main forum. While we can expect the weather to impact this week’s event, at this point there does not look to be an edge in terms of stacking one tee time wave over another. Golfers on Thursday will face winds in the 5 to 15 mph range with a slight chance of rain later in the day. Friday will be a completely different day as winds will start around 20mph with potential gusts reaching 40mph later in the day. Rain is forecasted to move through the area later in the day and potentially that evening. For now, we can use the wind forecast to help pick players who tend to play better in the wind. Generally speaking, players who hit it pure are affected less by the wind. Give a slight bump to guys who are known as good ball strikers, or to players who have a great history playing in the wind.
As reported by: Kevin Roth Weather Report Matt Wallace looks to bounce back from a missed cut
Now that we have a major championship in each of the next three months, we should see some international players make The PGA Tour their home through the summer. Playing one week after a disappointing missed cut at The Masters Matt Wallace is one such player we can expect to see quite a bit on tour during this stretch. A proven international winner Wallace comes into this week as a top 40 player in the world. Priced down across the industry, Wallace stands out as a great value option for the week. Prior to his missed cut at The Masters, Wallace had gained double digits strokes tee to green in his last three starts on tour and finished 6th at The Players Championship. Facing another Pete Dye track this week, Wallace has both the skill set and talent to make him one of the better values for the week. Due to the lack of shot link data from European Tour players and the overall unfamiliarity of their games, players like Wallace can often go overlooked. In the case of Wallace, his missed cut could sour plenty who played him last week, but to thrive in the DFS arena you must learn to have a short memory.
As reported by: Pga Value Breakdown K.H. Lee has been added to the player pool
As we approach the start of The Heritage Classic DFS pricing pools across multiple sites have added missing players. K.H. Lee has been added on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Colt Knost, Denny McCarthy, and Peter Malnati have been added to FanDuel.
Other tagged players: Colt Knost, Denny McCarthy, Peter Malnati #1 in Tee to Green
Do you know who is tied with Dustin Johnson for the most strokes gained tee to green in this field? I’m sure you have figured it out by now — Benny An. He has been incredible all year off the tee, on his approaches, and around the green. He’s one of the worst putters on tour, but that’s something that can flip at any time. Basically, he just needs an average putting week and he’s going to find himself in contention once again. He played here last year and finished in a tie for seventh. He’s arguably the best player on tour to not make the Masters, so perhaps he has a little added motivation after missing out on the game’s biggest tournament.
Cut Maker with Upside
Poulter was in contention last week at The Masters, but I worry about him less than I do some of the other golfers in this field. He’s a grinder and one that we can rely on each and every week. His statistics don’t jump off the page at us, but he doesn’t really have a weakness in his game. He’s good with his irons and he has a great short game. He has made four straight cuts here and has posted three top 20 finishes during that stretch. I always love targeting cut makers with upside, especially when they are affordable. This is a play that we don’t have to overthink.
No Slowing this Train Down
I’ve been riding the Kokrak train for months now and he has yet to let me down. In fact, he hasn’t missed a cut since last year’s Open Championship. At this point, there are basically two different camps when it comes to Kokrak — those that have been on him and continue to be on him and those that have been fading him and don’t want to hop on too late. He’s one of the only golfers in this field to be ranked inside the top eight in strokes gained approach, proximity, birdie or better percentage, bogey avoidance, and par four scoring. He has three top 12 finishes here in the last five years and his price is more than reasonable across the industry. Why fix what isn’t broken?
My Pick to Win this Week
It looks like the masses are going to overlook Furyk this week, which I really hope is the case. He’s not going to be contrarian by any means, but anything under 15% ownership would be lovely. He has played well here throughout the years and even has a win here back in 2015. He hasn’t played great the last two years, but he was working his way back from injury and had all of the Ryder Cup captain obligations hanging over his head last season. He’s ranked number three in my stat model this week on a course where you have to be accurate with your irons, avoid bogeys, and have a great short game. He’s my pick to win this week and I love that he didn’t have the four-day grind of the Masters like many of the other elite options in this field.
Form, Fit, and Course History
Even though I don’t want a ton of exposure to the golfers that were in contention on Sunday at Augusta, it’s hard not to like Kuchar this week. He’s been in amazing form over the last six months, he’s a Pete Dye specialist, he’s won at Harbour Town before, and his tee to green game is as strong as ever. We typically think of Kuchar as a guy with a great short game, but he’s gained nearly as many strokes off the tee and on approaches as anyone in this field. Given how many great options there are in the mid-range this week, I like the balanced build approach. Starting with Kuchar allows you more flexibility than starting with Dustin Johnson, even though he’s a strong play in a vacuum.
Rory Sabbatini is trending as a top value play
PGA Tour veteran Rory Sabbatini heads into this week’s RBC Heritage Classic looking to keep his solid form intact. Prior to this week, Sabbatini has made five consecutive cuts while finishing no worse than T36. Accurate iron play and a strong short game are prerequisites to play Harbor Town well, and Sabbatini has always had a great short game and tends to hit his irons well enough at this course to play well. Over his last six starts at this event, Sabbatini is 4 for 6 in made cuts with 4 top 25 or better finishes. The combination of his price and fit for this event has Sabbatini in the number one spot in our projection model in terms of PT/$/k for the week.
As reported by: Rotogrinders Projections Tool Cameron Champ set to return from injury
Cameron Champ made his presence known early in his rookie season by winning The Sanderson Farms during the fall start to the season. The long-hitting Champ quickly became the darling of the DFS world as he posted two more top 10 or better finishes before the end of the calendar year. Champ has struggled to find his game over the last few months and even had to withdraw from The Players Championship to rest an ailing back. The once popular Champ is set to return this week after missing almost a month of time to get his back in better shape. Despite his discount in salary, Champ will be an unpopular play for The RBC Heritage. The combination of his poor recent form and the fear of injury will have many taking the wait and see approach on Champ. It’s somewhat of a surprise to see Champ make a return to a venue that does not appear to fit his game. While there is no doubt about the upside this young player brings to the table, the addition of Champ to a GPP lineup should be looked at as a deep sleeper this week. Champ will be a better option on courses where his length can play to his advantage.
As reported by: DraftKings Projected Ownership