PGA DFS Picks
The PLAYERS Championship
Absorb information you need from this article to enhance your fantasy golf picks for THE PLAYERS Championship, and check out our PGA Lineup Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS lineups. Best of luck this week!
Recap from last week: DeChambeau brought out his power stick last week and found his A-game throughout his bag to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational after making par from five feet on his 72nd hole. We saw a couple of hole in ones, lots of holes where the pros struggled mightily, the fans in attendance were loud and excited to be there live, and it’s safe to say that golf is in such a great spot right now. Last week overall was incredible, but this week promises to be even better with a stacked field playing on another challenging course that will be set up like a major.
Preview for The PLAYERS Championship: This week marks week three of four for the Florida golf swing, and this is the biggest tournament of all – in some ways, it’s an unofficial major championship since all of the big names are in play this week and the event pays homage to the golfers. This big tournament dates back to 1974 when Jack Nicklaus won the first edition of this prestigious event, taking home $50,000 out of a total purse of just $250,000. One year ago marked the start of the pandemic affecting PGA Tour play with just the first round being played and the rest of the tournament being canceled. We didn’t see any more PGA Tour golf until June – some three months’ worth of tournaments were either canceled or postponed during that time and others fell into the same bucket for the rest of the season as well. So the defending champion here is Rory McIlroy who won two years ago, and he will look to defend his title this week with some good momentum on his side. The past five winners of The PLAYERS Championship include the aforementioned Rory McIlroy in 2019, Webb Simpson in 2018, Si Woo Kim in 2017, Jason Day in 2016, and Rickie Fowler in 2015.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at a whopping $15M – the highest prize pool of any golf tournament in the world, the winner receives an insane $2.7M and also earns himself 600 FedEx Cup points – the same number given out at the four major championships.
Course and key stats: TPC at Sawgrass Stadium Course has been the host site of this tournament since 1982 – the track is relatively short at just 7,189 yards in length, is a par 72, and the greens are again Bermuda. The winning score over the past decade here ranges from -12 to -18, and you can expect a similar result this week, as well. The Shark, Greg Norman, still holds the tournament record when he went off for a -24 back in 1994, beating Fuzzy Zoeller by four strokes. Some of the key stats to pay attention to this week are strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: around the green, strokes gained: off the tee, birdies or better gained, and driving accuracy.
The field: The field will be 154 golfers, up from the typical 144 for The PLAYERS Championship, and the top 65 players plus ties at the conclusion of round 2 will move onto the weekend to play rounds 3 and 4. We have 48 of the top 50 players in the world competing this week, just Brooks Koepka and Matthew Wolff will be absent from action. Interestingly enough, no player in the field this week has won this tournament more than one time – normally there are multiple-time winners on any given week, but this week there are none. Tiger Woods would have been the exception as he’s a two-time winner at The PLAYERS Championship, but he, unfortunately, will be watching the action on television as he recovers from his terrible SUV accident last month. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be a very solid A+.
Lineup construction strategy this week: Pricing looks quite soft this week, as is the case for the majors and many of the elite-field tournaments, so you really have the freedom to put together some superb lineups. I suggest taking a stars and scrubs approach, along with hybrid configurations for GPPs, and in cash games, you can take a more balanced mindset, but you should still have a superstar in each lineup as there’s a high probability that an elite player will win. If you have all players in the $8K to low $9K range, you could end up with all of them making the cut, but if they mostly all finish outside of the top 10 then you might have a hard time getting into the money.
All the best in your quest to win some contests this week – here are my 15 DFS golf picks which feature my top 3 players from each tier on DraftKings (DK) in no particular order, plus I include player salaries for DK, as well. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performance at this event over the last 5 years, and add in some helpful pieces of information, also.
The $10K+ Range
Dustin Johnson (Salary: DraftKings – $11.2K) – Johnson finally showed that he’s human at the WGC – Workday Championship finishing T54, but prior to that he had two wins in four starts and six straight top 11’s this season. I think he will regain his form this week on a course that he’s been solid at over the years, and has been in the top 17 over the last three tournaments here including 2019’s T5. He could also play inspired golf this week after the recent passing of his fiance’s Grandpa, the late great Walter Gretzky. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T5, 2018 – T17, 2017 – T12, and 2016 – T28.
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $10.3K) – It was challenging to decide between Schauffele and Rahm, but I’m going with Xander as he had a runner-up finish here three years ago, has three runner-up finishes this season, two T5’s, and is $600 cheaper than Rahm. I think you could go with either player and do well, but I just get the feeling that Xander is pressing hard for a win to come soon, and it really could happen this week. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut and 2018 – T2.
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $10.6K) – He’s getting back to the Rory we all used to know – with back to back top 10’s and a solid record at this tournament, you get the feeling that McIlroy is really itching to hoist a trophy again soon. Every stat looks good for him right now and I think that if his around the green game is decent, then he has a legit chance to defend his title from two years ago. He’s eyeing The Masters next month too for that elusive grand slam and will be extra motivated to keep playing well leading up to the world’s biggest golf spectacle. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Won, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – T35, and 2016 – T12.
The $9K Range
Collin Morikawa (Salary: DraftKings – $9.4K) – Some golf analysts think he will eventually be the top player in the world and it’s easy to see why as he is the top approach player on the PGA Tour this season, and other than putting, everything about his game is superb. He won two weeks ago at the WGC event, he won the PGA Championship last season, and he’s a threat every time he steps foot on a golf course now. If his putter is working again this week then he could very well have two wins in as many starts. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Bryson DeChambeau (Salary: DraftKings – $9.7K) – DeChambeau added his second win of the season last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, winning by just a single stroke over Lee Westwood – who might I add has a very impressive tan for early March. I’m not big on going with players the week after they just won, but Bryson is a star and I don’t think the win will rattle his attention to detail. After he won the U.S. Open in his first start this season, he had a T8 in his next start after, it was a month later mind you, but we often see players coasting a bit after a win and it appears that he didn’t do that after the biggest win of his career. You could start your core with DeChambeau this week and feel pretty good about it. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T20 and 2018 – T37.
The $8K Range
Scottie Scheffler (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – Scheffler has found his groove once again as he has two top 7’s over his last three starts, and his best finish of the season so far came two weeks ago at the WGC event where he finished T5. He’s another young player who has all kinds of talent, and he could have a major win or two at some point in his career – yes, he’s that good. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Jordan Spieth (Salary: DraftKings – $8.6K) – I’m honestly quite shocked what Spieth is doing right now – three top 4’s in his last four starts and his worst finish was a T15 over the last month. It seemed to have come out of nowhere, it’s almost like he woke up one day and said “I’m not going to suck anymore, it’s time to start playing like the multiple-time major champ that I am!” and he has. His record here isn’t that good at all, but the way he’s playing, it appears as though he could have a top 5 even on new courses that exist on other planets. Not many golf analysts gave him a shot last week on a brand new course to him that should have played him tough, but he goes out and finishes T4. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T41, 2017 – Cut, and 2016 – Cut.
Jason Day (Salary: DraftKings – $8.0K) – Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi oi oi! Day is a bit of an enigma these days as he can miss the cut by a ton of strokes or finish quite high. He was T7 at Pebble Beach, T18 two weeks ago at the WGC event, and prior to that he had three missed cuts in four starts. He’s high risk/high reward, and he’s not for everyone, I get that. He won here five years ago and has a T5 and a T8 over the last two times this tournament was a go. For a flat $8K price on DK, he’s a pretty damn good play and I think he will find his way into many of my lineups this week. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T5, 2018 – T8, 2017 – T60, and 2016 – Won.
The $7K Range
Joaquin Niemann (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – The $7K range on DK this week is a bit hard to sort out, but I’m sure things will get more clear as the week progresses and more research is done. I have been on Niemann for quite some time now and he has rewarded me with a couple of runner-ups and nine top 28’s in ten starts. He’s one of the best scorers on the PGA Tour also, and often finishes in a higher DK points position than his overall finishes – ultimately, that’s most important. I seem to like a lot of players who have no track record at this tournament, but strong recent play trumps everything else for me and they all have that going for them – Niemann included. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Tommy Fleetwood (Salary: DraftKings – $7.9K) – Fleetwood seems to play quite well during the Florida swings, and his record at this tournament sure backs up that statement with two straight top 7’s here. He’s coming off a T10 at the API last week, had a T19 at The Masters last year, and garners some attention at his salary number. The only knock against him is that he isn’t a huge birdie or eagle maker, so he often doesn’t rack up the DK points like others do in his same positional finish, but he’s good at avoiding bogeys and that’s valuable on this track. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T5, 2018 – T7, and 2017 – T41.
Carlos Ortiz (Salary: DraftKings – $7.5K) – Ortiz won at the Houston Open back in October, has three top 10’s this season, and has lots of other impressive finishes, as well. He’s coming off a T15 at the WGC event two weeks ago where his weekend rounds were the best two of his week despite tougher track conditions, and his finishing round of 66 was most impressive – top round 4 score in the field, in fact. He missed the cut here five years ago, but his play between then and now and is night and day. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2016 – Cut.
The $6K Range
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – Harman withdrew from the API last week, so be sure that he’s good to go before lineup lock on Thursday, otherwise, I like him this week. He has only missed a single cut in 13 starts this season, has piled up lots of birdies and even eagles too, kept his bogey count fairly minimal for the most part, and is a nice buy in the cheap range. Plus his track record at this event has been pretty decent, especially last year when he finished inside the top 10. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T8, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – T53, and 2016 – T54.
Richy Werenski (Salary: DraftKings – $6.4K) – Werenski had a fantastic week last week at the API, gaining strokes in all major categories and securing a T4 as a result. He has now made five straight cuts with three top 22’s, and he has a good-looking track record at this event. Based on his price on DK, I think he’s a good option to pair up with elite talent at or near the top of the board. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T47 and 2018 – T23.
Andrew Putnam (Salary: DraftKings – $6.3K) – Putnam is rocking and rolling these days with back-to-back top 5 finishes, he had a T7 at the Phoenix Open last month, has made six consecutive cut lines and five of them have gone for top 32’s. He missed the cut here two years ago but his game is much better right now – if he keeps his strong around the green and putting game going, then he should make the cut this week and has top 30 upside. The PLAYERS Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut.
Recapping my 15 pick’s finishes from last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational
The $10K+ Range
- Rory McIlroy – T10
- Viktor Hovland – T49
- Tyrrell Hatton – Cut
The $9K Range
- Matthew Fitzpatrick – T10
- Sungjae Im – T21
- Paul Casey – T10
The $8K Range
- Francesco Molinari – Cut
- Will Zalatoris – T10
- Marc Leishman – Cut
The $7K Range
- Lanto Griffin – T21
- Matt Jones – Cut
- Luke List – T63
The $6K Range
- Matthew NeSmith – Cut
- Kyle Stanley – Cut
- Patton Kizzire – T57
