PGA DFS Picks
Harness the insights from this article to accentuate your fantasy golf picks for the PGA Championship, and check out our PGA Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS lineups. Best of luck this week!
The PGA Championship
Recap from last week: Last week was a bit unpredictable as the PGA Tour was at a course never seen before. It was a wet and wild week down in Texas, especially given K.H. Lee won for his first time on the PGA Tour, so congrats to him on an amazing win that saw him reach -25 to win by three strokes over Sam Burns. Extra credit to him too as he had to close out his win after a lengthy rain delay late in the final round.
Preview for the PGA Championship: Another major golf tournament is here this week with the highly anticipated arrival of the PGA Championship on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. This course was last played for this tournament nine years ago in 2012 when a much younger Rory McIlroy won by a whopping 8 strokes over David Lynn with a score of -13. This course will be the longest ever at a major championship, almost 7,900 yards! Jason Day has the best score at the PGA Championship – that came in 2015 when he shot a -20 when the venue was at Whistling Straits – Straits Course in Kohler, Wisconsin. This course is a long, challenging one – the winning score could easily be in the single digits, unless another player goes off the way that Rory did in 2012. The past five winners of this event include Collin Morikawa in 2020, Brooks Koepka won in both 2019 and 2018, Justin Thomas in 2017, and Jimmy Walker in 2016.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at $11.0M, the winner receives $1.98M and also earns himself 600 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is considered to be the most difficult in the USA, it stretches way out to 7,876 yards, is a par 72, and the greens are paspalum. The winning score at this tournament over the past ten years ranges from -8 to -20 with ten different courses played. Some of the key stats that you should be focused on for your player selections this week are driving distance, strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained: approach, bogey avoidance, and putting on Bermuda/paspalum.
The field: We will see a full field of players this week, 156 golfers in all, and the top 70 players plus ties after round 2 will move on to play round 3 on Saturday and round 4 on Sunday. The vast majority of the world’s top golfers are in action this week, including the planet’s top-ranked player, Dustin Johnson, after pulling out of last week’s event due to knee soreness. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+, of course.
Lineup construction strategy this week: We have a big, strong, and deep field this week, so lineup construction can be whatever you want it to be. As of now, I’m planning on going with balanced builds for my core lineups, but I’m taking a strong look at stars and scrub configurations as well since win equity is extra important this week given that most majors are won by stars and superstars. As a reminder, keep an eye on player ownership as the week unfolds, and leave a few hundred dollars on the table to better your chances to have unique lineups.
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 and stats, as well.
The $10K+ Range
Rory McIlroy (Salary: DraftKings – $11.5K) – Rory won two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship, his third win at that tournament and his first in a year and a half, overall. He now comes to a place that he kicked some serious butt at nine years ago to win the PGA Championship by eight strokes. He has six top 10’s in 13 starts this season, and when Rory gets hot he can really go nuclear, so he’s an interesting selection this week. My only concern with him is that he missed the cut at both The Masters and THE PLAYERS Championship, so he does carry some risk this week, but the reward is likely more than worth it. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T33, 2019 – T8, 2018 – T50, 2017 – T22, and 2016 – Cut.
Jordan Spieth (Salary: DraftKings – $10.1K) – Spieth just continues to play excellent golf and put up top 10’s – he now has six of those in his last eight starts including his win at the Texas Open a month and a half ago and his T3 at The Masters. This event must be circled eight times on his calendar every year as he’s after that elusive career grand slam and could lock it down this week with the way he’s playing right now. If his putter is on point this week, then expect him to be right in contention late on Sunday afternoon. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T70, 2019 – T3, 2018 – T12, 2017 – T28, and 2016 – T13.
Bryson DeChambeau (Salary: DraftKings – $10.2K) – If the players are competing on a big boy course this week then I want some big ball hitters on my lineups. DeChambeau is the longest hitter on the PGA Tour, and that length should come in very handy this week on the longest course a major has ever seen. He won the Arnold Palmer in March, was victorious at the U.S. Open last year, had a T3 at THE PLAYERS, and half of his finishes this season are top 9’s. He was in the mix to win the PGA Championship last year, and I think we will see a similar situation again this week. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T4, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – T33.
The $9K Range
Collin Morikawa (Salary: DraftKings – $9.8K) – One PGA Championship played in his career, one PGA Championship win, not too shabby. He won the WGC-Workday Championship just four stroke-play events ago, has four top 7’s in his last seven events played outside of the match-play tournaments, and his incredible game is tailored to win frequently. If his putting and around the green play is half decent this week, then look for him to be in the mix throughout the week as everything else from a statistical perspective is spectacular. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Won.
Viktor Hovland (Salary: DraftKings – $9.3K) – Hovland is a great high-end value pick for this week as he has seven top 6’s on the season between the PGA Tour and the European Tour, and he’s coming off of back-to-back T3’s where he gained almost 13 strokes total in both of them. He won the Mayakoba Golf Classic late last year, and I won’t be surprised if we are talking about Viktor being a major champion in the next year or two. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T33.
Patrick Reed (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – Reed won at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year, and since then he has three top 9’s in his last seven starts including a T8 at The Masters. His stats aren’t super impressive when you look at them, but he’s a grinder who just knows how to get it done, and putts with the best of them on a regular basis. T8, T10, T13, T13, and T19 – that’s what he’s done over his last five majors played. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T13, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – T2, and 2016 – T13.
The $8K Range
Louis Oosthuizen (Salary: DraftKings – $8.0K) – Oosthuizen is on a nice stretch of play right now with four top 11’s in his last seven starts including the runner-up finish at the Zurich Classic with teammate Charl Schwartzel. He’s coming off a T8 at the Valspar Championship earlier this month where he gained just over 5 strokes in the approach category. He has been in the mix to win at majors including coming so close to winning the 2017 PGA Championship, so big-time events don’t scare him off. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T33, 2019 – T60, 2017 – T2, and 2016 – T22.
Will Zalatoris (Salary: DraftKings – $8.8K) – Is Zalatoris trying to tell us that he wants his first PGA Tour win to be at a major?! He was runner-up at The Masters and had a T6 at the U.S. Open last year, not too bad for his last two majors played, plus he had a T21 at THE PLAYERS in what’s likely the best field of any golf tournament in the world. He likely would have won the AT&T Byron Nelson last week, but he, unfortunately, lost over 4 strokes putting which totally ruined his ball-striking where he gained almost 11 strokes. This kid is going to win a lot in his career, and some of those wins will likely be major championships – his time is coming, don’t miss out. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Cameron Smith (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – The last time we saw Smith he was all smiles as he and Marc Leishman won the Zurich Classic. Prior to that, he had a T4, a T9, a T10, a T11, and a T19, so it’s safe to say he’s on a roll right now. He also had three top 11’s earlier this season including his runner-up at The Masters in November and a T4 at the ZOZO Championship. He hasn’t been all that great at PGA Championships over the years, but I smell a breakthrough this year for at least a top 20 with upside. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T43, 2019 – T64, 2018 – T56, and 2017 – Cut.
The $7K Range
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $7.6K) – Conners has a fluid stroke and is one of the very best approach players in the world, bar none. He has seven top 10’s this season in 19 starts and four of those have come in his last seven starts including his T7 at THE PLAYERS, and his T8 at The Masters. His putter is starting to show some signs of life now, and he typically has a top 10 or 20 when he gains strokes in that department. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut and 2019 – T64.
Sam Burns (Salary: DraftKings – $7.5K) – Burns is burning up the PGA Tour at the moment with a win two starts ago at the Valspar Championship and he was runner-up last week at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He and his partner were also 4th at the Zurich Classic, so he is loving life right now and his long game should play well this week on this big track. Salary numbers came out before he had his runner-up last week, so you’re getting extra value built-in as he really should be in the $8K range in my opinion based on his recent results. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T29.
Paul Casey (Salary: DraftKings – $7.7K) – Casey has been a strong competitor at the PGA Championship in his career, and came close to winning his first major just last year at this event. He has cooled a bit since his six top 12’s in a row not too long ago when he won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and finished T5 at THE PLAYERS, but he still has two top 26’s in his last three events played. I can see him being a popular play this week given his consistency, upside, and pricing – keep an eye on his projected ownership but don’t let a high number scare you off from owning him in several lineups. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T2, 2019 – T29, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – T13, and 2016 – T10.
The $6K Range
Stewart Cink (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – If I told you that you could own a player in the $6K range who has two wins on the season and hits a long ball, might that be something you’re interested in?! Cink may be closing in on being 50 years old, but he sure isn’t playing like it as he won the RBC Heritage a month ago and he won the Safeway Open last September. He was T12 at The Masters, T19 at the Honda Classic, and is coming off a T37 at the Wells Fargo Championship. If he isn’t the best $6K range player this week then I don’t know who is. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2018 – T4.
Ryan Palmer (Salary: DraftKings – $6.7K) – I expected better from Palmer last week as he holds the course record at TPC Craig Ranch with a 61, but he has said he doesn’t play as well as he should at local Texas courses with the crowds and bleachers around. He does have four top 17’s in his last seven events played, three top 4’s on the season, and has only missed a single cut in 14 tournaments played. If you want some stability in your lineups as the last man in, then look to Palmer to deliver that. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T43, 2019 – Cut, and 2016 – T42.
Charl Schwartzel (Salary: DraftKings – $6.8K) – I was getting ready to write of Schwartzel as a legit PGA Tour player, but he’s coming off a T3 last week in Texas, had a runner-up finish with Oosthuizen at the Zurich Classic, and has three other top 26’s during this five-event stretch, as well. He’s doing it with impressive ball-striking which I love seeing, and I think he’s a relatively safe bet to finish top 30 this week. PGA Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T58, 2018 – T42, 2017 – T48, and 2016 – T42.
Results of the 15 players I picked for last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson
The 10K+ Range
- Jordan Spieth – T9
- Bryson DeChambeau – T55
- Hideki Matsuyama – T39
The $9K Range
- Ryan Palmer – T47
- Scottie Scheffler – T47
- Matthew Fitzpatrick – Cut
The $8K Range
- Charl Schwartzel – T3
- Keith Mitchell – T26
- Thomas Pieters – Cut
The $7K Range
- Vincent Whaley – T26
- Alex Noren – T21
- Brandt Snedeker – T17
The $6K Range
- Kyoung-Hoon Lee – Won
- Michael Gligic – T47
- Brice Garnett – T47
