Russell Knox Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

I wasn't expecting Knox to be the most expensive core play this week, but based on the current weights in my PGA model, he's ranked sixth for this week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am. To put that into context, he's the 16th most expensive golfer on both DraftKings and FanDuel. He has made 11 straight cuts on tour and has posted eight straight top 37 finishes. He doesn't have any top 10 finishes during that stretch, but he's inching closer and closer after a T16 at the Waste Management Open. He's added swing speed this year and he's quietly hit some bombs (check out some of his 330+ yard drives from last week). While that won't come in handy all that much this week, it never hurts on the par fives. He's ranked third in this field in strokes gained approach and he's one of the best on tour at avoiding bogeys. I understand the argument that he lacks upside, but that's only an argument until it's not. He's won multiple events on tour, Poa Annua grass is his preferred putting surface, and he's posted back-to-back top 15 finishes here. His game is trending upward and I plan to be there when he peaks.

Up next we have Mr. Knox, who nearly made the list of core plays last week. I always look his way on shorter courses, even if they are Par 72 tracks like the three that they will play this week. He has top 30 finishes in each of his last three tries at this event and comes into the week in great form. He hasn't finished outside of the top 35 in any event worldwide since October. That's fairly impressive for a golfer that's priced around the average salary for an event. If his floor is a T35 and his ceiling is finishing in the top five, I'll take my chances at this price each and every week. He's ranked second in this field in approach, fourth in opportunities gained, and first in bogey avoidance. Being at the top of the rankings in birdies and bogeys avoided is extremely impressive and bodes well for scoring in DFS.

When it comes to consistency in a value play, Knox checks a ton of boxes. To finish out the Fall Swing, Knox finished 28 - 11 - 33 - 20, ganing strokes on Approach in all 4 starts. He has turned is game around a lot the past few year so looking at his Sony Open results, you can see a trend in the right direction with 2 Top 11s the past 3 years. Knox is a great mix of safety and upside in this group of values.

Knox continues to make cuts and post middling finishes. After a T11 at the Bermuda Championship, he backed it up with a T33 at last week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic. When it comes to Knox, we typically play him on the same tracks every season — the ones where accuracy is more important than distance off the tee and where his irons can shine. He’s not the best putter around, but we know any golfer can have a good week on the greens. He’s ranked third in this field in strokes gained approach and sixth in greens in regulation. He has played here four times in his career, posting three top 40 finishes. He’s a safe bet to make the cut and a good bet to finish in the top 20.

This isn't the strongest field that we've seen recently and the golfers at the top can win on any track, but most of them gain a ton of strokes off the tee. Personally, I like the balanced build with golfers that fit the course a little better. I will be starting many lineups with Knox, who has made five straight cuts (if you include the European Tour), highlighted by a T11 his last time out (Bermuda Championship). We know that he's very good at two things -- hitting fairways and gaining strokes with his irons. That's basically all you need at El Cameleon Golf Club. Knox clearly has an affinity for the course, as he is 6-for-6 here with no worse than a T37 finish. He's also finished inside the top 10 here in each of his last three attempts. He rates out number nine in my stat model for the week and number five overall.

Russell Knox is not biggest household name, and he’s also surprisingly expensive on every site except for Yahoo this week. I’m hoping that serves to lower his ownership. Knox always seems to thrive on layouts that minimize the importance of distance and maximize the importance of approach play, and that’s exactly what we have here. Sometimes course history can be a fluke, but it is no fluke that this is the course where Knox has top ten finishes in each of his last three trips. He has solid Vegas odds, and he showed signs of life in Bermuda two weeks ago with four straight sub-70 rounds and an 11th place finish. Knox is an elite option in this spot.

Russell Knox may come in slightly under the radar but another guy who has fit the mold for this course over the years, in fact he won it back in 2016. His results outside of that Win have been a bit perplexing but let’s take a peek at what he is bringing into the week this year. Since the Florida Swing (February), Knox has lost SG:APP in an event only once, with over half of his tournaments gaining more than 4 SG:APP. When looking at Traditional Stats, something I like using quite a bit, he is hitting fairways at nearly 75% and GIR number at 67%. If ball striking consistency is what you need, Knox fits the bill.

Knox is another shorter hitter that gains most of his strokes with his irons. While he doesn’t have the same short game as Kisner or Snedeker, this is still a good course for what he does best and it’s worth noting that he’s ranked 25th in the field in strokes gained around the green. It’s really just his putter that has let him down recently. He has gained 12 strokes on approaches in his last two events on tour and has quietly made nine straight cuts. He has a nice track record at this course, making four of his last five cuts. The only cut he missed here (2017) was right on the number.