Wow, what a week it was for DFS Golf at the Travelers Championship. First, the PGA Tour lost some of its top golfers do to the Coronavirus (Brooks Koepka and Webb Simpson) and then some of the golfers who are ranked at the top of the World Golf Rankings all decided to play terrible. It left many people searching their lineups for golfers for the weekend.
So how bad were the DFS lineups? My friends at Fantasy National sent me the chart below. Most of the DFS lineups in the large Tournaments had only 4/6 golfers make the cut. The Cash Contests were even worse. I played in one $5 50/50 Cash Contest and two of 100 lineups had 6/6 golfers make the cut. I had 3/6 make the cut and easily cashed. That almost never happens. The moral of the story is… We need to focus less on who will win and more on who will make the cut.
Course Breakdown
The Detroit Golf Club will be the course this week. Last year was the first PGA Tour tournament at this course so there is not much course history to use this week.
Detroit Golf Club is a par 72 which plays 7,340 yards in length. The course has a bit of everything. There are short par 3s, long par 3s, short par 4s, long par 4s, short par 5s and long par 5s. It should test every aspect of a golfer’s game this week. The fairways are lined with trees and the rough is expected to be rather long this week for a normal tour event. Accuracy off the tee will be important. The greens will have Poa grass and they have a lot of slope to them. Poa can get bumpy this time of year so we need golfers who putt well on this type of grass.
Click here to see the course: Detroit Golf Club
Key Stats for the Rocket Mortgage Classic
– Stroke Gained Off the Tee
– Strokes Gained Approach
– Strokes Gained Putting (Poa Greens)
– Birdie or Better %
Top 30 Golfers
|
Golfer |
Golfer |
|
| 1. Tyrrell Hatton DK $10.7K FD 11.1K | 16. Bubba Watson DK $9.2K FD $10.3K | |
| 2. B. DeChambeau DK $11.7K FD $12.K | 17. Scottie Scheffler DK $9K FD $10.5K | |
| 3. Webb Simpson DK $11K FD $12.1K | 18. Will Gordon DK $7.3K FD $9.1K | |
| 4. Victor Hovland DK $10K FD $10.9K | 19. Brendon Todd DK $7.8K FD $9.8K | |
| 5. Patrick Reed DK $10.5K FD $11.2K | 20. Maverick McNealy DK $7.6K FD $9.3K | |
| 6. Tony Finau DK $9.3K FD $10.6K | 21. J.T. Poston DK $8.7K FD $10.2K | |
| 7. Rory Sabbatini DK $8.8K FD $9.9K | 22. R. Cabrera-Bello DK $8.1K FD $9.5K | |
| 8. Sungjae Im DK $9.8K FD $10.8K | 23. Haron Varner III DK $7.6K FD $9.3K | |
| 9. Doc Redman DK $8.5K FD $10K | 24. Rickie Fowler DK $9.5K FD $10.7K | |
| 10. Adam Hadwin DK $8.2K FD $9.8K | 25. Alex Noren DK $7.8K FD $9.4K | |
| 11. Lucas Glover DK $8.4K FD $9.8K | 26. Mark Hubbard DK $7.2K FD $8.8K | |
| 12. H. Matsuyama DK $10.2K FD $11K | 27. Scott Stallings DK 7.5K FD $9.1K | |
| 13. Kevin Na DK $9.1K FD $10.4K | 28. Brian Harman DK $7.9K FD $9.7K | |
| 14. Brandt Snedeker DK $7.9K FD $9.7K | 29. Kurt Kitayama DK $8.1K FD $7.7K | |
| 15. E. Van Rooyen DK $8K FD $9.6K | 30. Tyler Duncan DK $7K FD $8.7K |
Rocket Mortgage Classic Strategy
The field in the first three PGA Tour events since the return to the course have been loaded with most of the top golfers in the world. The field this week is is not as strong as we have become used to in the month of June. My goal this weeks is to get 6/6 golfers through the cut. This is always my strategy in Cash Contests but last week’s tournament proved that building balanced lineups with 6/6 golfers who can make the cut can be a very profitable strategy in Tournament Contests as well.
There are seven golfers who have made the cut in all three tournaments since the PGA Tour made a return from the Covid 19 shutdown. They include: Bryson DeChambeau, Victor Hovland, Doc Redman, Lucas Glover, Brian Stuard, Mark Hubbard and Tyler Duncan. I have been digging Redman, Stuard and Duncan out of the trash each week for my lineups but their prices are much higher this week. I will still use them though.
$11K – $10K Price Range
Bryson DeChambeau $11,700: How fun is it to watch The Incredible Hulk play golf. Last week his tee shot went 426 yards (Yes, I know it was helped by the cart path, but that is still amazing). Bryson DeChambeau is the best player in this field but he will be over 30% owned. That is a lot of ownership to eat but how do you fade a player who is almost a lock for a top-five finish. I will have the big dude in 40% of my Tournament Contest lineups this week.
Tyrrell Hatton $10,700: Bryson DeChambeau is the best all around player but Tyrrell Hatton is my pick to win Sunday. He ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green, and No.1 in Strokes Gained Putting (Poa). Hatton has finished third (RBC Heritage), first (Arnold Palmer) and sixth (WGC-Mexico) this year. Everyone will be using DeChambeau so I will pivot to Hatton in 40% of my Tournament Contests this week.
Victor Hovland $10,000: I have been playing Victor Hovland since the PGA Tour returned and I am not stopping now. He has played all three events and made the cut in each of them. Hovland ranks No. 3 in Shots Gained Tee-to-Green, No. 3 in Shots Gained Approach and No. 1 in Ball-Striking. If his putter can heat up, Hovland can win. I will play him in both Cash and Tournament Contests this week.
* I will also be playing Webb Simpson $11,000 and Patrick Reed $10,500 in some Tournament Contests. I do not trust them as much as Bryson DeChambeau or Tyrrell Hatton to finish in the top five, but I will use them in 15% of my lineups. I will completely fade Hideki Matsuyama, which means he will probably win this week… LOL
$9K Price Range
Tony Finau $9,300: Tony Finau is the Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde of golf. You really do not know which Finau will show up. This week Finau has a good chance to finish at the top of the leaderboard. Finau can crush it off the tee but he tends to spray it all over the course. Detroit Golf Club has some of the widest fairways on tour so hitting it into the short grass should not be a problem. Finau also excels on poa greens. I will use him in some Tournament Contests this week.
Kevin Na $9,100: I am not thrilled about a golfer who withdrew from the Harbour Town and missed the cut at Colonial, but it is hard to ignore how well Kevin Na played last week. He finished fifth at the Travelers Championship so maybe he is over whatever was bothering him in early June. I do not trust Na enough for Cash Contest but I will use him in some tournament lineups this week.
$8K Price Range
Rory Sabbatini $8,800: Wow, $8,800 for Rory Sabbatini? That is a lot to pay for a golfer who is typically in the mid-$7K price range, but he is so consistent right now that I cannot fade him. Sabbatini finished third in this tournament last year and he finished 14th in the Charles Schwab Challenge and 21st at the RBC Heritage since the PGA Tour returned in early June. I will have Sabbatini in most of my Cash Contests this week.
Doc Redman $8,500: I have been using Doc Redman as a value pick ever since the PGA Tour returned and even earlier in the season. Just two weeks ago I recommended Redman on FanDuel at nearly the minimum price. Now he is $8,500. Redman finished second in this tournament last year and he is one of seven golfers to make the cut in every event since early June. I will play Redman in Cash and Tournament Contests this week.
Lucas Glover $8,400: Lucas Glover is a golfer who excels from tee-to-green. When he gets on the green his struggle begin. Glover ranks fifth in Shots Gained Tee-to-Green and 114th in Shots Gained Putting. He would have a lot of top-10 finishes if he could just heat up the flat stick. Glover is one of the seven golfers who have made every cut since the PGA Tour returned, so I will use him in both Cash and Tournament Contests this week.
Adam Hadwin $8,200: There is not a lot of course history to use at this tournament so I looked at the comparable courses (Riviera, Silverado and Mexico). I noticed that Adam Hadwin finished in the top 10 in all of them. He has also made both of his cuts since the PGA Tour returned. Hadwin is a Cash Contest lock for me this week.
Rafa Cabrera Bello $8,100: Pretty much everything I wrote about Adam Hadwin can be said about Rafa Cabrera Bello. He ranked in the top 15 in all of the comparable courses and he has been decent since the PGA Tour returned. I do not trust RBC enough for Cash Contests but I will play him in some Tournaments this week.
Kurt Kitayama $8,100: Kurt Kitayama is a play on FanDuel only. He was added to the tournament Tuesday afternoon after he won the Monday qualifier. The two DFS sites have him priced completely differently. Kitayama is $8.1K on DK and $7.7K on FD. His price on FD is almost equivalent to $6.5K on DK. He has made every cut since last October. I will take a chance with him on FD and fade him on DK.
Erik Van Rooyen $8,000: Erik Van Rooyen ranks 40th in the World Golf Rankings, mostly because of his three wins on the European Tour. His tee-to-green game is solid and that should allow him to at least make the cut this week. If he can get his putter rolling, EVR should be a great value. I will play him in some tournament contest this week.
$7K Price Range
Brandt Snedeker $7,900: Brandt Snedeker played decent last week with his 41st place finish (Hey, that is a lot better than the top golfers in the world who missed the cut). Snedeker is “Mr. Poa Greens Putter”. The narrative in Fantasy Golf is that whenever the PGA Tour plays at a course with poa greens, Snedeker is a good play. I think he will be more popular than he should be so I will play him in Cash and Single-Entry Tournaments and fade him in Multi-Entry Tournaments this week.
Brendon Todd $7,800: Brendon Todd looked fantastic last week for three rounds. Then it was tough watching him explode on Sunday. I think Todd will bounce back nicely this week. I do not trust him enough for Cash Contests but I will use him in some Tournament Contests this week.
Alex Noren $7,800: Alex Noren is a golfer who always gets overlooked. He is not a bomber off the tee but he does hit it straight. Avoiding the penalty areas usually keeps a golfer in the tournament and helps them make the cut and take home a paycheck. Noren has made both of his cuts since the PGA Tour returned and I think he will make it three cuts made in a row this week.
Maverick McNealy $7,600: I recommended Maverick McNealy a few weeks ago as my “Top Gun” and he did not disappoint. McNeally is two-for-two in cuts made since the PGA Tour returned. This rookie is 55th in Fedex Cup Standings so he is playing pretty well this season. I also like his price. I will use McNealy as a Cash and Tournament play this week.
Harold Varner III $7,600: Harold Varner III would have a lot of top-10 finishes this season if the PGA Tour played three rounds, instead of four. If he could just fight off the nerves and play well on Sunday, HV3 would have a lot more value. For $7,600 I will play him in Cash and Tournament Contests this week.
Scott Stallings $7,500: Scott Stalling is a sneaky good play this week. Since the PGA Tour returned in June, Stallings finished sixth last week at TPC River Highlands and 48th at Harbourtown. Not too bad for a golfer at his price in a very weak field.
Brian Staurd $7,500: Brian Staurd is a Michigan native and he knows this course better than anyone in the field. He was second in the field with 26 birdies made in this tournament last year. Those birdies add up quickly in DFS golf. Staurd has made all three cuts since the PGA Tour returned. I will be taking some chances with him in his home state.
Will Gordon $7,300: Will Gordon came out of nowhere last week to finish third at the Travelers Championship. To be honest, I did not know much about him so I researched more about Gordon Monday. Gordon finished third, 20th, and 21st in his three starts this season. He must make the cut to keep his card so you know he will have his best game this week.
Mark Hubbard $7,200: I like golfers who make the cut and that is what Mark Hubbard has been doing. He is one of the seven golfers to make every cut since the PGA Tour returned. Hubbard finished 43rd at the Charles Schwab, 33rd at the RBC Heritage and 37th at the Travelers Championship. Hubbard won’t finish inside the top 30 but at least he should score points all four days.
Tyler Duncan $7,000: Tyler Duncan is a golfer I have been digging out of the trash each week to let me pay up for the higher-priced golfers. His price was in the mid-$6K range and now it is at $7K. He still has a lot of value because Duncan won earlier this year at the RSM Classic and he is one of only seven golfers to make all three cuts since the PGA Tour returned. I will use him in some Tournament lineups this week.
$6K Price Range
I am not too excited about the golfers priced in the $6K range this week. This is already a weak field and the golfers in this range are very inconsistent. There will be a few of them that pop this week but there are 100 golfers priced in this range. Figuring out which ones will make the cut is going to be hard. With that said, I will play a few golfers in my Tournament Contest lineups. They include: Sam Burns $6,900, Lanto Griffin $6,800, Harry Higgs $6,800 and Wesley Bryan $6,500.
PGATour.com Fantasy Picks:
* There are only 7 events in this segment and I doubt the golfers will play all 7. I am not worried about allocations since the fields are likely to be stacked this summer and provide a lot of choices for our teams.
My One & Done Pick is: Tyrrell Hatton (Rocket Mortgage Classic)
Players Used This Season in One & Done: Abraham Ancer, Ian Poulter, Web Simpson, Cameron Champ, Charles Howell III, Lucas Glover, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland and Bryson DeChambeau
My Best Bets For Rocket Mortgage:
Dustin Johnson was my pick last week at 28-1 odds. I was happy I cashed my ticket but upset I only put $5 on him. I plan to take those winning and return to the pay window Sunday.
Tyrrell Hatton 16-1
Tony Finua 33-1
Adam Hadwin 66-1
Erik Van Rooyen 60-1
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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