It is Masters Week!!! This is the best week for fantasy golf the entire season. Augusta National Golf Club is the most pristine course on the planet and the field this week consists of the best golfers in the world. There will be a lot of people who usually do not play DFS Golf throwing money at this tournament. Hopefully we can take advantage of their inexperience and win some cash Sunday.
The Masters will be the first tournament in 2025 with the LIV Tour and PGA Tour golfers. We cannot ignore the LIV Tour golfers this week. Some of their players have good course history at Augusta National and we would be fools to fade them just out of spite. Jon Rahm won the Masters in 2024, Dustin Johnson won in 2020, Patrick Reed won in 2018, Sergio Garcia won in 2017 and Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson both won twice. These golfers know Augusta National well (but DJ and Bubba are in horrible form).
COURSE BREAKDOWN
Augusta National Golf Club is the No. 1 sports venue on my bucket list. The course is absolutely beautiful. There is not a blade of grass out of place, a flower out of bloom and the sand looks like it is straight from the beaches in the Caribbean. Augusta plays 7,510 yards this week. The 11th, 15th and 18th holes have been lengthened but some of the rough was taken out last year. This made the course tougher and it favored the bombers a bit more than it has in the past. Augusta National ranked second-toughest on tour since 2013.
Click here to see the course: Augusta National Golf Club
* Click on each hole to see a drone flyover of the hole. Augusta National Hole by Hole
KEY STATS FOR THE MASTERS
– Driving Distance
– Stroke Gained Approach
– Scrambling
– Bogie Avoidance
– Strokes Gained Putting (Fast Greens)
Here is the recent form and course history for each golfer this week: History and Form
*Course History means more at Augusta National than any course on the PGA Tour.
TOP 30 GOLFER RANKINGS
CORE GOLFERS FOR THE MASTERS
THE MASTERS STRATEGY
There will only be 96 golfers in the field this week for the Masters (there could be a few WD before the first tee-shot is hit Thursday). The field will get cut down to the top-50 golfers and ties after the final rounds Friday. The 10 shots of the leader rule are not longer in play. Last year 59 players advanced to the weekend. That means at least 61% of the field will play all four rounds. We can eliminate the Senior Tour from the list: Fred Couples, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Angel Cabrera, Rafeal Campos and Jose Maria Olazabal. We can also eliminate three of the five armatures in the field. This means roughly 59 out of 87 golfers left on the list will make the cut Friday (68%). You MUST have 6/6 golfers in your lineup this week if you want to win some cash.
I love the $10+ price range and I hate the $9K price range for the Masters. I am going to play Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm in 35% – 45% of my lineups. I will pair them with the golfers from the $8K, $7K and $6K price ranges. I also will have a few shares of Bryson DeChambeeau (15%). Augusta National is not his best course, but sooner or later “The Mad Scientist” will figure it out.
BEST BETS STRATEGY
The last seven golfers who won the Masters all had these stats in common:
– They were top-30 in the World Golf Rankings
– They finished top-15 in one/both of the last two majors (Open Championship or U.S. Open)
– They finished a previous major in the top-five
– They had a top-five finish during the current season
– They had a previous top-25 The Masters
– They ranked top-25 in SG: T2G
– They ranked top-50 in both SG: App and Scrambling
There are five golfers who check every box listed above. They are: Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Hedeki Matsuyama, Russell Henley and Shane Lowry
*Jon Rahm just missed out making this list because some of his stats do not count on the PGA Tour. His LIV Golf stats suggest he would check all of the boxes if he was on the PGA Tour.
DRAFTKINGS CASH CONTEST
COLLIN MORIKAWA ($10,500): I picked Morikawa to win Sunday so I will start my Cash Contest lineup with him. Morikawa has been incredibly consistent at the Masters. He finished 3rd, 10th and 5th in his last three trips to Augusta National and he played in the final group with Scottie Scheffler last year. Morikawa is one of the best ball-strikers and putters on fast greens in the field. I just need him to learn to close out the tournament on Sunday and he will be wearing a green jacket this week.
SHANE LOWRY ($8,800): Lowry is the most likely golfer to win Sunday if it is not one of the golfers priced in the $10K+ price range. Lowry is in great form and he has good course history at Augusta National. He finished 3rd in 2022 and he has four finishes in the top-25 in his last five trips to this course. Lowry is a good golfer for all types of contests at the Masters.
RUSSELL HENLEY ($8,400): Henley is now ranked No. 7 in the World Golf Rankings. He is starting to enter the conversation of the elite players on the PGA Tour. His accuracy off-the-tee and with his approach shots sets him ahead of the field. They only flaw in his game is his length off-the-tee. Henley proved that is not an issue when he finished 4th at Augusta National two years ago. I like Henley’s chances for a top-five finish Sunday.
COREY CONNERS ($7,900): I thought about using Cam Smith over Corey Conners and Phil Mickelson over Keegan Bradley, but I will stick to the PGA Tour golfers in my Cash Contest lineup. Conners is having one of his best seasons on the PGA Tour. Everyone was using him last week and he only finished 18th. Conners used two different putters at the Valero, so it was obvious that he was simply dialing in his game for the Masters. Conners has finished three of the last four Masters in the top-10. I think he makes it four out of the last five after the final round Sunday.
PATRICK REED ($7,300): This pick hurts….. I hate Patrick Reed, but you cannot ignore his recent form and his course history. The 2018 Masters winner has four top-10 finishes in his last six starts on the LIV Tour. He is one of the best in the field at scrambling at Augusta National. He has finished 12th, 4th, 35th, 8th, 10th, 36th and 1st in his last seven Masters. He is safe pick for all contests this week.
KEEGAN BRADLEY ($7,000): Bradley has been playing some of his best golf this season and it has a lot to do with the Ryder Cup. He is the Captain this year and he desperately wants to play his way onto the team. A top-10 finish at the Masters could do it. Bradley has not missed a cut at the Masters in over a decade. Most of those finishes are outside the top-20. This could be the year Bradley finishes inside the top-20 and maybe inside the top-10.
DRAFTKINGS TOURNAMENT CONTEST
JON RAHM ($10,400): Rahm won the Masters in 2023 and then he was the second-highest owned golfer (behind Scottie Scheffler) last year. Rahn finished 45th and burned a lot of people. He had a lot of bad thoughts in his head because the media attacked him for leaving the PGA Tour for the LIV Tour. Rahm is in a better place this year and his form is excellent. I will fade the higher owned golfers priced above $10K and take a chance with The Big Spaniard.
PATRICK CANTLAY ($8,700): Cantlay could get overlooked this week and that could be a mistake. Yes, he never wins, but Cantlay is one of the more consistent golfers in this field. Cantlay has only missed one cut in six years at the Masters. That includes numerous top-25 finishes. He knows Augusta National well and Cantlay has top-five upside. His price is just too cheap to ignore this week.
WILL ZALATORIS ($8,300): If Will Zalatoris is Popeye, then the grass at Augusta National must be made out of spinach. I am not sure what happens to Zalatoris when he makes a trip down Magnolia Lane, but he turns into one of the best players in golf. Zallatoris finished 9th, 6th and 2nd in his three Masters tournaments. His form is good enough to add another top-10 finish to that list.
CAM SMITH ($8,200): Smith was one of my favorite golfers until he left for the LIV Tour. It is still cool that we get to see him play. Smith is a wizard around the greens and his tee-to-green game is just good enough to keep him in contention. Smith finished 6th, 34th, 3rd, 10th, 2nd, 51st and 5th in his last seven Masters. That may be the best finishes without a win for any player in the field. Smith showed some life last week at Doral on the LIV Tour, so I will take a chance with the Austalian Sunday.
SEPP STRAKA ($7,600): I have been playing Straka all season so why quit now? Straka ranks No. 7 in SG Tee-to-Green, No. 3 in SG Approach and No. 3 in SG Total heading into the Masters. He finished 16th in the Masters last year and his form was nowhere near as good as it is now. I like Straka’s chances for a top-10 finish Sunday.
PHIL MICKELSON ($6,700): I will finish my Tournament Contest lineup with Old Reliable. Death, taxes and Mickelson making the cut at the Masters are three things we can count on in this crazy world we live in. Lefty knows this course better than anyone in the field. He has actually been playing pretty well on the LIV Tour this year. I will take a chance with Mickelson despite how stupid his picture looks on the DraftKings Profile Page J .
Here are my lineups for Multi-Entry Tournament Contests: (Multi Entry Lineups)
DRAFTKINGS MILLIONAIRE MAKER LINEUP
I typically do not play the Millionaire Maker Tournament because the odds of winning are shit. I have a couple tickets for the tournament so I will play this year.
I expect 80% of the lineups will use a “stars and scrubs” approach with Scottie Scheffler, Rorry McIlroy, Collin Morikawa or Jon Rahm. I will pivot and build a balanced lineup. I want six golfers with a good chance to finish in the top-10. That is what the lineup above has. Wish me luck, I will need it J .
FANDUEL CASH CONTEST
FANDUEL TOURNAMENT CONTEST
PGATOUR.COM FANTASY PICKS
* This is the fifth tournament in Segment 2. We have the Masters and the PGA Championship in this Segment. This is the toughest Segment to navigate, so use your golfers wisely.
** Do not be afraid to use some of the Golfers from the LIV Tour. This is one of the only tournaments where we can use them in our lineups.
FANTASY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP ONE & DONE PICK: JON RAHM (MASTERS)
Players in Fantasy Golf Championship One & Done so far: Keegan Bradley (47TH), Aaron Rai (MC), Tommy Fleetwood (16TH), Scottie Scheffler (20th), Rory McIlroy (15th), Shane Lowry (11TH), Akshay Bhatia (9TH), Collin Morikawa (17th), Tom Kim (44th), Patrick Cantlay (33rd), Jason Day (32nd), Sungjae Im (MC), Corey Conners (MC)
SEASON-LONG ONE & DONE PICK: JON RAHM (MASTERS)
– One & Done picks used so far this season: Akshay Bhatia (MC), J.J. Spaun (MC), Corey Conners (8TH), Scottie Scheffler (20th), Ludvig Aberg (22nd), Daniel Berger (25TH), Patrick Rodgers (25TH), Taylor Pendrith (50th), Nick Taylor (25th), Collin Morikawa (17th), Jason Day (32nd), Russell Henley (10th), (Sungjae Im (3rd), Ben Griffin (15th), Nico Echavarria (29TH), Harris English (14TH), Beau Hossler (56TH), Tom Kim (MC), Keith Mitchell (MC), Ben Griffin (37th)
BEST BETS FOR THE MASTERS
JON RAHM (14-1)
COLLIN MORIKAWA (18-1)
SHANE LOWRY (45-1)
RUSSELL HENLEY (55-1)
CAM SMITH (60-1)
SEPP STRAKA (75-1)
PHIL MICKELSON (110-1)
Good Luck This Week!!!!
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