It’s the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Northern Trust at Liberty National!
My name is Josh Thomas, and I am a PGA and NFL Coach here at DFS Army! Welcome to the 2019 PGA Season! We here at DFS Army have got you covered this year for DFS golf with my weekly preview out on Sunday Nights, Chalk Donkey article breaking down the ownership projections, where to pivot, and GPP strategy out Tuesday Nights, and our Research Station that is full of more information than you could ever need!
What a fun event to lead us into the FedEx Cup playoffs! JT Poston came from behind with a Sunday 62 to take down Byeong Hun An and Webb Simpson for his first title on tour. It was an unbelievable week for DFS Army VIP’s, particularly in showdown contests where we continued to dominate. There are so many screenshots this week we can’t fit them all in here.
Maybe my favorite DFS Army Win of ALL-TIME! Trippnup2 accidentally enters the $1 winner take all instead of the 20 max, and TAKES IT DOWN!
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This week, the tour heads to Jersey City, New Jersey and Liberty National Golf Club for the Northern Trust, the first event of the 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs! The top 125 players in the FedEx Cup standings tee it up with only 70 moving on to the next event, the BMC Championship at Medinah.
PGA Preview Video:
With Liberty National Golf Club only hosting three events since its in inception in 2006, we don’t have a ton of information and data points to go off in terms of what type of golfer to target, but there are some things that I pulled together in my PGA preview to hopefully give us an idea of what sort of test this golf course will be.
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Course Overview:
- Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City, NJ
- Par 71 -7353 yards
- Greens: Bent Grass
- Fairways: Bent Grass
- Designer: Bob Cupp and Tom Kite
- Course Record: 62 – Kevin Chappell (2013 Barclays)
Liberty National has held this event twice (2009, 20013) and the President’s Cup once (2017)
Previous Winners:
2017 – United States of America (President’s Cup)
2013 – Adam Scott (The Barclays)
2009 – Heath Slocum (The Barclays)
Runner up in 2009 and 20013…Tiger Woods
This course has a variety of hole lengths that will really test a golfer’s game. From a 611-yard par 5 to a 250-yard par 3, to three par 4’s under 400 yards its a very unique set up that will call on golfers to use every club in their bag. Kite has stated that in his designs he really wants to test every aspect of a golfer’s game and I think he’s done that here.
The holes on the exterior of the property are what I consider ‘American Links’ with undulating fairways, long fescue grass, not much rough, and greens that are shaved so that there is large collection areas off tight fairways. On the interior of the property it has a bit of a different feel, more of a classic New England design, while not heavily tree-lined, there are trees lining the fairways, and water is a constant feature.
There are a variety of forced layups and carries on this course that will give players lots of options off the tee. Some of the longer par 4’s will require an iron off the tee which is unusual but with the routing of the creeks and the design, it forces some very long iron shots into these greens. There are also holes where, if accurate enough you can pound driver and get a flip wedge into the green. Again, just a constant test of every aspect of a players golf game.
I really believe this course will identify the most well-rounded golfer, at least for those four days, come Sunday.
With the course having undergone some pretty major renovations after 2009, the only real data set we have for it is the 2013 Barclays. As you can see it played fairly difficult, with the front playing slightly under par, and the back playing slightly over par.
There was an equal number of birdies and bogeys and even with three par 4’s under 400 yards, we saw the vast majority of the eagles come on the 6th and 13th holes, the shorter of the par 5’s.
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Typically we look at the approach shot distribution, but since we don’t have that information, my best guess is that we see an increased number of shots from under 125 yards and over 175 with the middle being slightly average or below average. This course isn’t long, but we will see longer irons shots due to the way it’s set up with the creaks flowing through. There are lots of risk/reward holes but when looking at the leaderboard and some of those guys fairways/greens hit stats from 2013 it seems that the best course of action is to plod your way around and try to avoid double bogeys as best you can.
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Key Stats:
Key Stats to look for this week – Driving Accuracy, SG: Approach, SG: Off the Tee, Scrambling, Long Par 4 Scoring, and Projected Course Score.
You can find all of these key stats in our DFS Army research station accessible ONLY for our VIPs.
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Beat the Bookie Betting Card:
In this section, I usually provide my betting card for the week but I’ve included it in the video above so be sure to check it out to see who I’m on this week! We just missed a 55-1 Outright on Byeong Hun An, last week but hit the T5!
Check out the video above for the reasoning on betting these players! I’ll have my FRL, T5/T10/T20 bets up later this week for our DFS Army VIPs!
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Final Thoughts:
As always, there will be tons of ‘narratives’ this week and it’s best to just ignore them, particularly when it comes to FedEx Cup standings. Play good golfers and you’ll be fine. I think the key this week will be to find the best ‘all-around’ golfers and not just guys who get by on one particular skill set.
We will have content for you all through the week at DFS Army. Our research station and domination station optimizer will be updated on Tuesday and I will have my full Chalk Donkey article breaking down all the ownership and GPP strategy for our VIP’s on Wednesday afternoon!
Remember, this is the last few weeks of really big money PGA contests until next year, so while we preach contest selection and bankroll management, don’t be afraid to go a little crazy!
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Also, give me a follow on twitter @dfsupnorth as I’ll be posting updates there as well as useful retweets leading up to this weeks event!