PGA DFS Picks
Handpick the information you need from this article to elevate your fantasy golf picks for The Masters Tournament, and check out our PGA Lineup Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS lineups. Best of luck this week!
The Masters Tournament
Recap from last week: Jordan Spieth was spot on last week to win his first PGA Tour event since 2017, and in his home state of Texas – huge congrats to him on his impressive victory! He now heads to a tournament that he’s had huge success at including winning in 2016, and he has went back-to-back more than one time in his career to win, so don’t write him off this week when it comes to Dustin Johnson putting a green jacket on him, after all, is said and done. Last week was enjoyable, but I think that most people were looking ahead to this week for the 2021 edition of The Masters.
Preview for The Masters Tournament: Golf world rejoice, we are back for the second Masters in the last five months – how spoiled are we?! The PGA Tour settles on August, Georgia, for the most prestigious and well-known golf tournament in the world. This event started way back in 1934 and has a rich history with most of the best players in golf history winning it at least once – Jack Nicklaus has the most Masters wins with six, Tiger Woods has won it five times, Arnold Palmer has four green jackets, Phil Mickelson has won it three times, Sam Snead also has three green jackets as does Gary Player, Nick Faldo, and you can put Jimmy Demaret in the same category – Ben Hogan and Bubba Watson have each won twice as well. As a proud Canadian, I’ll never forget watching Mike Weir win back in 2003 – it was absolutely massive for the game of golf in Canada both short and long-term also. Not only did Dustin Johnson win last year, but he also set a tournament record with a video game score of -20 to win by a whopping five strokes over Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith. The past five winners of this event include the aforementioned Dustin Johnson in 2020, Tiger Woods had an emotional win in 2019, Patrick Reed was the 2018 champ, Sergio Garcia was victorious in 2017, and Danny Willett was the best that 2016 saw.
Take down more of your PGA DFS contests: Increase your odds for improved finishes in DFS golf contests by leveraging insightful data tools and analytics.
Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at $11.5M, the winner receives $2.07M and also earns himself 600 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: The Masters has always been played at the Augusta National Golf Club, the course measures out at 7,475 yards, is a par 72, and the greens are bentgrass. The winning score over the past decade at this event ranges from -5 to -20, so it’s hard to say what the winning score will be this year, but from what I’m hearing, the greens are running super-fast, so scoring will be a lot tougher than what we saw last November for the 2020 edition when the course was soft from lots of rainfall. Some of the key stats to pay close attention to this week for your custom models include past history at this tournament, strokes gained: tee-to-green, birdies or better gained, driving distance, and strokes gained: total.
The field: The field is set at just 89 players this week, and we will see the top 50 players plus ties have the honor of playing rounds 3 and 4 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The field is obviously extremely strong with the vast majority of the world’s best players in action this week, but the bottom of the field is also very weak as anyone who wins the Masters has a lifetime invitation to play it, so we will see Fred Couples, Mike Weir, Vijay Singh, Sandy Lyle, and other older gentlemen who are past winners make an appearance. No Tiger Woods this year, but I’m thinking he will still be a big storyline, even without him there. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+.
Lineup construction strategy this week: Over 56% of the field will make the cut, so you can get aggressive with your lineups as you not only need six-player lineups for the weekend to contend in contests, but you need likely all six players in the top 10 to have a chance of winning the million-dollar top prize in the $4M Fantasy Golf Millionaire contest on DraftKings. I suggest going with balanced builds, look very closely at past success on this track as player results are consistent from year to year, and leave a bunch of money on the table if you want unique lineups – especially in the contest I just mentioned here as there will be an insane 473,065 entries in it if it completely fills. You could conceivably pick six golfers from the $7K range, do quite well, and have a high likelihood of unique configurations as most competing lineups use up every penny or only leave $100 on the table, so keep that mind – being different this week in the big GPP’s is good.
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
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $11.0K) – Big relief for Rahm and his fantasy owners this week as his wife gave birth to a baby boy this past Saturday, and he will be good to go for The Masters with minimal risk of a withdraw. We might even see him play inspired golf for his little one. He has seven top 9’s this season in eleven starts, including the WGC match play event, and has a T7, a T9, and a T4 at The Masters over the past three years. If his around the green play and putting is there this week, we could very well be seeing Rahm win his first major tournament and slip into a silky, green jacket, as everything else in his game is ridiculously strong. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T7, 2019 – T9, 2018 – T4, and 2017 – T27.
Justin Thomas (Salary: DraftKings – $10.6K) – Aside from his poor play at the match play event, Thomas is coming off the win at The PLAYERS Championship, he has four other top 10’s this season, and has four other top 15’s. His finishes at The Masters keep improving year-over-year too, so everything could come together this year for JT to win his first of what could be multiple green jackets. He’s my pick to win this week, I think the stars align for him come Sunday evening. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T4, 2019 – T12, 2018 – T17, 2017 – T22, and 2016 – T39.
Dustin Johnson (Salary: DraftKings – $11.5K) – Johnson withdrawing from the Valero Texas Open last week I think is a good thing so he can best prepare for his Masters championship defense this week. He has been off his game over his last three starts including match play, finishing no higher than T28 during that stretch, but I almost think that all he’s had on his mind since winning The Masters last year, is repeating this year. He has dominated at this event over his last five starts here, finishing no worse than T10, and he was co-runner-up in 2019. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Won, 2019 – T2, 2018 – T10, and 2016 – T4.
The $9K Range
Patrick Cantlay (Salary: DraftKings – $9.8K) – I’m very focused on solid tee-to-green players this week, and it so happens that Cantlay is tied for 5th in the important stat category so far this season. He has a win this season, a 2nd, a 3rd, an 8th, and three other top 17’s. He did miss the cut at The PLAYERS, but I think that just makes him more driven to perform this week at Augusta. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T17, 2019 – T9, and 2018 – Cut.
Jordan Spieth (Salary: DraftKings – $9.4K) – Well he did it last week, Spieth’s first win since The Open Championship in July 2017. The problem now as you might imagine, is that Spieth’s ownership this week is going to be likely 30+% since he just won, he has won The Masters before and should actually have two green jackets but messed up his big opportunity five years ago late in round 4, plus his $9.4K price tag is lower than it should be with that fresh win under his belt. He has four top 4’s in his last six stroke-play events and everything is clicking at a high level right now. He has four top 3’s in seven Masters appearances and six of them are top 21’s. It’s fine to have Spieth in several lineups this week, just be sure to look for lower-owned players to go with him, and leave at least $500 on the table if you want unique configurations and have aspirations of winning GPP’s outright. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T46, 2019 – T21, 2018 – T3, 2017 – T11, and 2016 – T2.
Patrick Reed (Salary: DraftKings – $9.3K) – I love investing in players who can really grind, and Reed certainly fits the mold in many regards. He won the Farmers Insurance Open just over two months ago, has three top 10’s on the season including at The Masters last year, and has four other top 22’s on the campaign. He won here three years ago and could threaten to win his second green jacket this week. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T10, 2019 – T36, 2018 – Won, 2017 – Cut, and 2016 – T49.
The $8K Range
Sungjae Im (Salary: DraftKings – $8.6K) – What an incredible Masters debut for Im last year coming in T2 thanks to his opening round of 66. He is one of the most reliable players on the PGA Tour as he has only missed one cut in 17 starts this season, has three top 10’s and several other top 25 finishes. Im’s approach game hasn’t been good as of late and normally that concerns me with players, but his other stats are looking good, so I have confidence that he will have another solid finish this year at The Masters – just don’t expect another top 5 result. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T2.
Daniel Berger (Salary: DraftKings – $8.5K) – I think that Berger is extra motivated to do well this year at The Masters since he was snubbed last year in an event he should have been at – his credentials were certainly better than lots of others who played. He won three stroke-play events ago at Pebble Beach, 40% of his finishes this season are top 10’s, in the cuts he’s made, his worst finish is a T35, and he has a decent Masters history in his three appearances with one top 10 five years ago. His game is solid all the way around, he sort of reminds me of a younger Webb Simpson, but he’s much better than the former U.S. Open winner off-the-tee and more solid in the other stat categories also. I also like that he finished T9 at The PLAYERS in his last stroke-play event too – gaining over 9 strokes tee-to-green and gained almost 9 strokes total. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2018 – T32, 2017 – T27, and 2016 – T10.
Cameron Smith (Salary: DraftKings – $8.2K) – Smith was most impressive at last year’s Masters by tying Im for 2nd and shooting 67 to 69 in all four rounds, so he certainly has his consistency down on this track. Before match play two weeks ago, Smith had a T4 and three straight top 17’s at elite events, he has three top 10’s in 11 starts outside of match-play, and a total of eight top 25’s overall. The last time he was net positive in all of the major stat categories he finished top 5 at The Genesis International – if he finds a way to do it again this week then I can see a third top 10 coming his way in the last four years. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T2, 2019 – T51, 2018 – T5, and 2016 – T55.
The $7K Range
Paul Casey (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – I really don’t get why Casey isn’t at least $8.5K this week as before match play he had six straight top 12’s with a win on the European Tour and a T5 at The PLAYERS. I can see him being one of the five most owned players this week due to his low price tag, so in the lineups you use him in, be sure to leave extra money on the table and/or have at least one or two low owned players, or risk facing duplication hell. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020- T38, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T15, 2017 – T6, and 2016 – T4.
Abraham Ancer (Salary: DraftKings – $7.4K) – Ancer is good off-the-tee, and great with his tee-to-green game, approach, and ball striking. He’s also quite consistent as well with four straight top 23’s including match play, has several teen finishes, two top 5’s, and was just outside the top 10 here five months ago in his first Masters appearance. I think he’s a great mid-tier option that can help to stabilize your lineups, and I won’t be surprised if he finishes top 10 this week. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T13.
Will Zalatoris (Salary: DraftKings – $7.3K) – Zalatoris just keeps showing us every time he plays that he has the potential to become something special. He was T6 in his second major tournament start at the U.S. Open and had a T21 at The PLAYERS which is the strongest/deepest field of any tournament in the world. Over his last 29 starts between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour, he has fifteen top 10’s, and just needs to get a bit more consistent with his putter and green-side wedges to be a regular threat to win as he’s incredible with his off-the-tee, approach, and ball striking play. I’m very excited to see what Will-Z does in his third major start on the PGA Tour – if he has another top 10 then he’s certainly a star in the making. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: None.
The $6K Range
Jason Kokrak (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – Pricing is super-soft this week – we are used to seeing it this way for majors and stacked fields, and Kokrak is another good example of this. He’s under $7K and prior to the match play he had three straight top 9’s in all strong field events, and has been gaining strokes like crazy in all of the major categories. He won a big field event last Fall, half of his finishes this season are top 30’s and he was T17 in last year’s U.S. Open which I like seeing. He did miss the cut here last year in his first look, but I saw that playing in The Masters was always a dream of his and he actually had never played the course until he qualified for the tournament. I think this year he will be less intimidated and in awe of the event and play it like it’s just another one on the schedule, albeit with a slightly faster heart rate. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $6.8K) – Harman aka “little cock bite” narrowly missed out on the final four two weeks ago at the match play to finish 5th, was T3 at The PLAYERS, and has only missed one cut in 14 starts this season, all while piling up loads of 20’s and 30’s for finishes. You can point to strong putting for how he achieved his recent high finishes, but he’s also doing quite well in the other stat categories too thank you very much. He’s from Georgia also, so I think he’s been gearing up his game for this week in particular, and I anticipate he’s going to take full advantage of his opportunity with a top 25 result and more than pay off his low salary number. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2018 – T44.
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – Conners is one of the best players in the world when it comes to striking the golf ball, and when his putter is working he usually has a top 10 or a top 20, at worst. I have no concern at all that he wasn’t very good at the match-play event because he still had good ball-striking, his problem was around the green and his putting – no biggie, plus he’s coming off a T14 at the Texas Open where his best rounds were on the weekend. He had a T10 here five months ago, and I like his game better now too – not to say he will have another top 10 this year, but everything checks out for him to succeed at Augusta. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T10 and 2019 – T46.
Results of the 15 players I picked for last week’s Valero Texas Open
The 10K+ Range
- Jordan Spieth – Won
- Tony Finau – Cut
- Scottie Scheffler – T54
The $9K Range
- Corey Conners – T14
- Brendan Steele – 77th
- Abraham Ancer – T23
The $8K Range
- Chris Kirk – T6
- Zach Johnson – Cut
- Lanto Griffin – T34
The $7K Range
- Harold Varner III – Cut
- Jhonattan Vegas – Cut
- Branden Grace – T23
The $6K Range
- Roger Sloan – Cut
- Kevin Chappell – Cut
- Nate Lashley – Cut
