Try the DFS Army for 7 days free with coupon code WIN at dfsarmy.com
Every week of the year the PGA Tour plays on a new course. There are some examples in other DFS Sports of environments impacting performance, such as Coors Field in Baseball; Golf, however, offers an entirely unique environment each and every week. This article will break down the week’s PGA course and attempt to find what skill sets are needed for success. This article will then combine the course breakdown with the DFS Army Domination Station and give a few players to target in both Cash Game and GPP formats. For more updates throughout the week follow me on twitter @_bschnarr
Last week’s picks
Matt Kuchar – All Formats – (T4 – 91 DK Points)
Over the years Kuchar has repeatedly shown he plays well at the same courses. Whether you believe course history matters more than recent performance or vice versa when analyzing Kuchar we can see a correlation between his performance and certain courses. Murfield fit the mould for Kuchar and his performance did not disappoint. Kuchar had the most DraftKings points of any player priced over $9000 and outshined golf’s elite this week.
Justin Thomas – GPP – (T4 – 88 DK Points)
Any week Thomas has the ability to put up an insane amount of fantasy points due to his ability to score. With a $7600 price tag, he was in a spot that was hard to pass up; especially with other players having a similar price taking some of the ownership off of him. Thomas ended up anywhere from 11% to 22% ownership in major GPP’s and more than made up for his price tag.
Kevin Kisner – Cash – (T6 – 90 DK Points)
Kisner had been red hot as of late and with the same $7600 price tag as Justin Thomas he certainly stood out. Given this, I thought Kisner would be a lock in cash for many but he only saw about 14% ownership in the $5 and $25 Giant double-ups. If you were one of those 14% your teams were off to a great start with Kisner receiving the 7th most DraftKings fantasy points for the week.
Byeong Hun-An – all formats – (T25 – 68.50 DK Points)
Although this is only my fourth week doing this article for DFS Army if you have been reading you would probably realize that I really like An; especially when he’s priced at under $7000. Regardless of ownership, I felt An was a solid pick this week in GPP’s and a no brainer in cash. An stumbled on Sunday and fell outside of the top 10 with a double and triple bogey on his back nine. Despite this An still provided tremendous value given his price tag and allowed you the flexibility to spend up elsewhere.
St. Jude Classic – Course Preview
The PGA Tour heads to Memphis this week for its annual visit to TPC Southwind. The par 70, 7,244-yard course feature two par fives and a whole lot of water. The course is known and discussed for its thin fairways.
The short course, potential hazards and thin fairways may lead you to lean towards accuracy off the tee here but that really isn’t necessary. Over the years we have seen many different types of players do well here. Because the fairways are so thin many players find themselves in the rough off the tee here not just the guys who have a tendency to spray it. With thin fairways and a bit shorter of a course and only two par fives we see a few fewer drivers coming out of the bag then we are accustomed to which also lessens its importance this week.
Instead of focusing on length or distance off the tee I think a greater focus should be put on approach shots. With water coming into play approaching the green becomes that much more crucial to avoid a big number. To be specific, the course features ten water hazards and 94 bunkers so lots of trouble can be found even if you are just a few yards off.
On the greens this week we see bent grass and a stimpmeter of 11.5-12. Finding players who putt better on bent grass and at that speed can be a good indicator of success on the greens for the week. Finally, par four scoring is critical this week as we see two more than usual. This also means that par five scoring is less important than usual with only two par fives instead of four.
The tournament also does not see the greatest field. Rickie is the only player inside of the top ten competing this week as most guys are gearing up for the US Open instead
St. Jude Classic Picks!!!!
Adam Scott – DK: $11000 FD: $10300 – GPP
Adam Scott finds himself in between the top salary well costing more than other high-end players with good course history. That’s a recipe for lower ownership on a player that is suited for the course and can win any event when his game is on. Scott is great on par fours and can score a ton when the putter is hot.
Phil Mickelson – DK: $10200 FD: $9700 – Cash
2,3,11,2. That’s a good enough course history for me to roster anyone in cash. When you take into account his 12/12 made cuts this season there becomes even more reason to roster him this week. Phil has shown his game can translate to any course with TPC Southwind being no exception. With lots of potential trouble around the greens scrambling will be important and Phil has shown year after year he’s one of the best at it. Our field adjusted statistics that can be seen in the VIP PGA Spreadsheet show the same. For those who love sports narratives with Phil withdrawing from the US Open you can expect him to have extra motivation to pull out a win here at St. Jude.
Peter Uihlein – DK: $7200 FD: $7000 – All formats
Our Domination Station has Uihlein projected as one of the top players this week based on pricing. The VIP PGA spreadsheet backs this up as our premium course adjusted stats show Uihlein ranking near the top of the field tee to green, in greens in regulation and in birdie or better %. The price is right on Uihlein this week and with Danny Lee being the same price he could see his ownership slightly suppressed.
Richy Werenski – DK: $6400 FD: $4500 – cheap GPP flyer
If you’re employing a stars and scrubs approach this week then Richy Werenski may be worth a look. I am by no means suggesting to load up with Werenski on most of your teams or if you only enter a few lineups; but if you’re someone who enters multiple lineups then I think Weresnki could turn out to be a good play. There are a few things working for Werenski here that lead me to him. First off, like any player in this range Werenski is losing strokes to the field; however, he is losing most of his strokes putting and is actually gaining strokes off-the-tee. Second, Werenski is not a par five scorer and with two fewer par fives that helps. Finally, his win and three second place finishes last year on the web.com tour came out of nowhere. All three seconds came after missed cuts and the win didn’t come out of prime form. I’m not saying this will happen here for Werenski but there are worse plays as flyers and you will certainly get him at a low ownership number.
Other DFS Army PGA Golf Tools and Articles
Taco Tuesday DFS PGA Podcast – St Jude Classic 2017
DFS Army VIP Members also have access to our PGA Cheatsheet!
DFS Army VIP Members also have access to our DFS Army Domination Station Lineup Optimizer!
DFS Army VIP Members also have access to our Euro Tour Cheatsheet!
Be sure to sign up to our DFS Army VIP Membership in order to utilize our custom Domination Station projections, PGA spreadsheets and access to chat with Taco, myself and many other proven winners. Use Coupon Code “20-OFF” to receive 20% all of this PGA content as well as content for MLB, NBA, NFL and every other DFS sport your heart desires.