Daily Fantasy Golf Tips
Harness data and intel from this article to help with your fantasy golf picks for the Wyndham Championship, and try out our PGA Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS lineups. All the best this week!
The Wyndham Championship
Recap from last week: It was an exciting 3-man playoff last week at the WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational with Abraham Ancer prevailing after the second playoff hole to beat Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns with a clutch birdie on his 74th hole of the week – huge congrats to him as that was his first PGA Tour win in his career, and I couldn’t be happier for him and his family!
Preview for the Wyndham Championship: This event has been an annual staple on the PGA Tour since 1938 when it was named the Greater Greensboro Open, and we have seen it played on a few different courses over the decades, but the most prominent one has been Sedgefield Country Club, and it has been the mainstay since 2008. The PGA Tour heads from Memphis, Tennessee, to Greensboro, North Carolina, with a full field of 156 players who will be hungry to bank some more FedEx Cup points before heading into the playoffs next week. Winners at the Wyndham Championship over the past five years include Jim Herman in 2020, J.T. Poston in 2019, Brandt Snedeker in 2018, Henrik Stenson in 2017, and Si Woo Kim in 2016.
Get in the money more frequently in your PGA DFS contests by utilizing insightful golf analytics and tools.
Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at $6.4M, the winner receives $1.152M and also earns himself 500 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Sedgefield Country Club is 7,127 yards in length, is a par 70, and the greens are again Bermudagrass this week. The winning score at the Wyndham Championship over the past decade ranges from -14 to -22, so we should again see the winner with a final score within this 8 stroke range. Some of the core key stats to include in your custom models this week in order of importance are driving accuracy percentage, birdie or better percentage, strokes gained: putting (on Bermudagrass), strokes gained: tee-to-green, and strokes gained: around the green.
The field: We will be seeing a complete field this week with 156 players in action, and the top 65 players plus ties after round 2 will move on to play the weekend rounds. There aren’t a ton of big names teeing it up this week but we will see mainstay Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed will be here, red-hot Louis Oosthuizen is ready for another week of golf, Hideki Matsuyama is coming off a playoff loss last week, and is back at it again this week, and other talented players have made the trip to play, as well. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be a B-.
Three questions I have about the Wyndham Championship this week:
1. How will the bubble boys perform? Next week is the start of the playoffs, and now is the ideal time to be looking at who’s just inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup point list and who’s just outside – these should be good targets to pursue since they have the most motivation to make the 125 player list in order to play the first leg of the playoffs.
2. Will Simpson dominate again? You will hear it a lot this week – Webb and his wife named their one daughter Wyndham after this tournament, so the hometown guy should be on his A-game this week. He won in 2011, finished runner-up in 2019, and was a co-runner-up in 2018. He hasn’t had a great season by his standards, but I think we should see solid play from Simpson over the next few days.
3. Can Brandt Snedeker win for the third time at this tournament? Sneds has been impressive at this event with two wins since 2007 and he has four top 8’s since 2010. I didn’t choose him as a pick in the $7K range which is where he lands this week, but there’s a chance he pops this week and wins for the second time since 2018.
Lineup construction strategy this week: We are back to a full field with a cut line after two weeks of smaller fields with no cut lines, so you have to focus on getting 6/6 through to the weekend in your lineups. I’ll be mostly all about the hybrid lineups this week, and very focused on value picks who are relatively “safe” to make it to the weekend, plus have upside to finish top 25. As always, take a look at projected ownership percentages on Wednesday, leave a few hundred dollars on the table, and look at lower owned pivot plays to avoid the chalky players who will be popular selections.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in 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’s at the event over the last 5 years, and add in some tasty pieces of information and stats, also.
The $10K+ Range
Webb Simpson (Salary: DraftKings – $10.6K) – If you have been contemplating rolling out Simpson in your core lineups but have held back, then you have likely been waiting for this tournament. He has either finished 2nd or 3rd at this event over the last four years, he won here in 2011, has eight top 8 finishes since 2010, and all but one finish has been outside of the top 22 during this eleven-year span. He’s coming in hot this week too as he wrapped up last week with a 64 in his final round to finish T15, had a T19 at The Open Championship in his previous start, and has five top 10’s on the campaign. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T3, 2019 – 2nd, 2018 – T2, 2017 – T3, and 2016 – T72.
Louis Oosthuizen (Salary: DraftKings – $10.7K) – It was looking like another top 10 for Oosthuizen last week but he fell apart in round 4 to shoot a 74 and finish T17. Prior to that he had been in contention in several events, and has been one of the very best golfers since early February. His stats have been sparkling for several months now, as well, and he’s quite deserving of a win before this season wraps up in a month from now. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Hideki Matsuyama (Salary: DraftKings – $11.0K) – This year’s Masters champ seems to want a second win this season as he had a T4 at the Olympics, and is coming off a playoff loss last week where he gained over 10 strokes with his ball-striking and over 13 strokes tee-to-green. He has a pretty good track record at this venue, and I can see him keeping the momentum going to pad his FedEx Cup point total some more this week. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T11, and 2016 – T3.
The $9K Range
Si Woo Kim (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – Kim was downright brutal last week at the WGC losing more than 17 strokes with his approach game and almost 17 strokes total to finish in 65th place. He tends to play well on the courses he likes though, and he seems to like Sedgefield as he won here five years ago, was T3 a year ago, and had a T5 in 2019. He hasn’t had a great season overall, but did win The American Express in January, and has other top 10’s including a T9 at THE PLAYERS Championship and a T9 at the Memorial Tournament which both feature elite fields. There are a bunch of risks involved with Kim on any given week, but he’s a supreme popper, as well. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T3, 2019 – T5, 2018 – Cut, 2016 – Won.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – Harman has four top 10’s this season, a ton of teen finishes, a bunch of top 20’s, and a pile of top 30’s too. He has been in the mix to win a few tournaments including at THE PLAYERS Championship in perhaps the strongest field of the season where he finished T3. He’s a good reliable option who boasts upside, the only concern this week is that he’s almost $10K on DK, so you have to make a judgment call as to whether you’re fine with paying a high price for him or not. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T27, 2019 – T6, and 2016 – Cut.
Russell Henley (Salary: DraftKings – $9.4K) – Henley has sort of had an up and down campaign where he gets on a heater then goes on a cold streak. He did have three straight top 19’s including a T13 at the U.S. Open before missing the cut at The Open Championship, he has three top 4’s this season, and other good finishes too, plus he’s one of the best approach players that the PGA Tour has to offer and that’s always an important stat to pay close attention to. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T9, 2019 – T31, 2018 – Cut, and 2016 – T46.
The $8K Range
Seamus Power (Salary: DraftKings – $8.5K) – Power has been on an incredible run since mid-May with six straight top 19’s including winning the Barbasol Championship in his most recent start, and he has three other top 9’s during that stretch, as well. His stats have been very strong during this stretch and has gained in approach in eight straight starts that have had shot tracking technology in place. He hasn’t been overly impressive at this event, but his best finish in four starts did come last year when he finished T27, and I certainly think there’s room for improvement this year with his game in better shape than ever before – he’s the best mid-tier value play on the board this week. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T27, 2019 – T60, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – 83rd.
Gary Woodland (Salary: DraftKings – $8.7K) – He has been a bit hard to figure out this season with his injury troubles bothering him and it looked like he was turning the corner with a bunch of high finishes including a T5 at the Wells Fargo Championship, then he went on to miss three of four cuts, and more recently has a T11 and a T7. He’s a tad risky this week, but the upside is certainly there. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Charl Schwartzel (Salary: DraftKings – $8.1K) – He has only missed one cut in his last twelve events if you count the Zurich Classic, he’s coming off a runner-up performance at the 3M Open, and had a T3 six starts ago at the Byron Nelson. His stats look good and when he gains strokes with his putter he typically finishes inside the top 20 since his approach play and ball-striking overall are quite good. He hasn’t played this tournament that much in recent years outside of missing the cut here a year ago, but did have a T3 six years ago and a T14 nine years ago. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut.
The $7K Range
Jhonattan Vegas (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – In DFS you want to ride the hot players until they go cold, so it’s looking like another good week to go with Vegas as he has a couple of runner-up showings over his last five starts, and five top 16’s in his last seven tournaments played. He’s an excellent ball-striker these days and even when his putter is extremely terrible, he’s still making cut lines. His record at this event has been choppy with four missed cuts in five starts, but did have a T8 in 2014 and I can see him doing something similar this week. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Cut and 2018 – Cut.
Mito Pereira (Salary: DraftKings – $7.9K) – The three-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this season has also been making noise on the PGA Tour and at the Olympics with three top 6’s in his last four starts including a T4 at the Olympics, and his stats have been very solid across the board. He looks to be the real deal, and I like what he has to offer this week, especially at his price point. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: None.
Hank Lebioda (Salary: DraftKings – $7.6K) – I have been on the Lebioda train for a couple of months now and he has been coming through as he has three top 8’s in his last four starts, has finished inside the top 31 in six of his last eight starts, and he likely would have done it in his most recent start at the 3M Open but had to withdraw due to a pressing family situation. Assuming everything is good in his personal life now, he’s certainly an ideal play this week as the finishes have been fantastic and the stats look very promising too. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T42 and 2019 – T78.
The $6K Range
Jim Herman (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – He came out flying last week at the WGC and was tied for 2nd after round 1, but the wheels fell off on the weekend and he settled for a T46. Prior to last week though, he had four straight top 28’s and everything was looking good from a statistical perspective. He won here last year, and has two other top 18’s in three starts since 2013 – he’s my favorite value play this week. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – Won.
Roger Sloan (Salary: DraftKings – $6.7K) – I’m looking for cut makers with upside in the $6K range and Sloan is pretty good at both as he has only missed a single cut in his last nine starts and is coming off a T6. He’s a player that won’t have solid stats across the board, but when one part of his game isn’t working then another is, and it works for him. He has a pretty decent record here over the last two years, and he should net another top 40 again this year. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T31 and 2019 – T39.
Scott Stallings (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – I had to dig around for my third $6K player this week but finally landed on Stallings who has made four straight cuts, and has played weekend golf in eight of his last 10 events played. He has finishes that are similar to Sloan’s over the last two years, and should have another one that resembles them this week. Wyndham Championship finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T42, 2019 – T31, 2018 – Cut, 2017 – Cut, and 2016 – Cut.
Results of the 15 players I picked for last week’s WGC-FedEx St.Jude Classic
The 10K+ Range
- Collin Morikawa – T26
- Brooks Koepka – T54
- Jordan Spieth – T12
The $9K Range
- Louis Oosthuizen – T17
- Scottie Scheffler – T14
- Daniel Berger – T5
The $8K Range
- Matt Fitzpatrick – T57
- Shane Lowry – T23
- Abraham Ancer – Won
The $7K Range
- Harris English – 4th
- Brian Harman – T36
- Jason Kokrak – T34
The $6K Range
- Cameron Champ – T31
- Cam Davis – 60th
- Sam Burns – T2
