Harris English Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Sure, English missed the cut last week, but I am not going to hold one missed cut against a player, especially when you consider the form that English displayed heading into last week’s event. He had not missed a cut since mid June, finished inside the top five at the U.S. Open, and and was riding a streak of eight top 25 finishes in nine starts prior to last week’s hiccup — and he still shot five under par in two rounds last week. That just wasn’t good enough to make the cut at the birdie fest that was the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The price tag is far too cheap on every site, and English is a great option here with his consistency and ball striking ability.

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.

There was a point at the start of the season where I had to ignore my model and play English without the backing of statistics. He was in such bad form the last couple of years that it was really bringing down his projection. As crazy as it sounds, he’s been one of the most consistent producers on the PGA Tour over the last year of play. Since last August, he has made 14-of-16 cuts with 10 top 20 finishes and five top 10 finishes. He has gained strokes putting in seven straight events and has gained strokes around the green in 10 straight events. The ball striking has been solid over his last three events and he’s second in this field in bogey avoidance. He checks all of the boxes that I’m looking for and he’s dirt cheap across the industry.

On a points per dollar basis, I think English is the best play on the board this week. He seems fully recovered from his battle with COVID a few weeks ago, as he returned to play at The Memorial and immediately picked up a 13th place finish. That included an even par round in the very difficult conditions on Sunday. We can only hope that his missed cut at this event a year ago leads to lower ownership in GPP formats, though I am not banking on that. He has five top 20 finishes in his last six starts, and the form does not appear to be cooling down despite a breather thanks to his COVID diagnosis. This feels like the type of field where English could contend, and he currently sits 14th on the PGA Tour in ball striking this year. I also like him as a Vegas bet at 33/1 to win outright.

Chalk English doesn't sound like a fun way to bring in the return of the PGA Tour, but I have a simple philosophy when it comes to DFS -- if I like the play, I don't worry about ownership. I target them and look to differentiate my plays elsewhere. There are plenty of strong options in this range, so hopefully that will help spread out ownership. If not, so be it. English was once one of the best young golfers in the game and has five professional wins on his resume. He admittedly struggled for many years, largely because he tried to become like Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson off the tee. Whether it be a different mindset or a different swing, he has really turned it around this season. Since August, he's made 11 of 12 cuts while posting five top 10 finishes. In this field, he's ranked seventh in bogey avoidance and fourth in greens in regulation. Despite being in poor lead-in form, he's posted three straight top 30 finishes at this event.

One popular value play that I will be loading up on this week is English. He has four top six finishes in his last seven events on tour. His form has tailed off in the last two outings, but he had bad course history at the RSM Classic and he still managed to make the cut at last week's American Express. The ball striking has been impeccable over the last few months and he's always been one of the best putters on tour. We often think of him as a great Bermuda putter, but he actually has his best splits on Poa. If we throw out his missed cut here last year (when he was in truly awful form), he has some of the best course history in the field. Here are his finishes in the previous four years -- T8, T14, T32, and T2. He offers a nice mix of safety with upside and feels underpriced compared to the names around him.