Daily Fantasy Golf Tips
Take advantage of the data, predictions, and insights from this article to help with your fantasy golf picks for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, and try out our PGA Lineup Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS lineups. All the best this week!
The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
Recap from THE CJ CUP: It was looking as though Rickie Fowler was potentially going to sneak out his first win since the 2019 Phoenix Open, but he and others at the top after round 3 couldn’t hold off Rory McIlroy who shot a -6 in round 4 on Sunday to beat Collin Morikawa by a single stroke – congrats to Rory on his 20th PGA Tour win!
Preview for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: This year marks just the third year that this tournament has been live on the PGA Tour – the first installment in 2019 was at this very course in Japan, but due to the global pandemic, last year’s event was contested in California at the Sherwood Country Club. This tournament will be much like last week’s CJ CUP where the field is small and there is no cut line. Winners of the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP over the past two years include Patrick Cantlay in 2020 and Tiger Woods in 2019.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this year’s event is set at $9.95M, the winner receives $1.791M and also earns himself 500 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: The Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is just 7,041 yards in length, is a par 70, and the greens are bentgrass. The two winning scores at this tournament were -19 by Tiger Woods two years ago on this very track, and Patrick Cantlay had a -23 a year ago when the tournament was in sunny California. Expect the winning score to come in around -20 depending on weather conditions and how the organizers set the course up. Some of the core key stats to examine this week in order are driving distance, strokes gained: around the green, strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained: tee to green, and strokes gained: approach.
The field: We again have a field of just 78 players this week, and every one of them will get all four rounds in provided there are no withdraws. We won’t see nearly as much talent as we did last week at THE CJ CUP, but we still have impressive players here including Collin Morikawa, Japan’s pride and joy, Hideki Matsuyama, Olympic champ, Xander Schauffele, last season’s rookie of the year, Will Zalatoris, and other talented golfers, 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 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP this week:
1. Who’s game will translate to Japan? American golfer, Xander Schauffele, performed at a high level at the Olympics and won the gold medal – it will be interesting to see if another North American player reigns supreme this week, or if a Japanese player such as Hideki Matsuyama wins on home soil. Matsuyama was runner-up here in 2019, and I would love to see him win in front of the passionate Japanese fans this week.
2. Look for Japanese scrubs? There are a bunch of talented players from Japan in the field this week, and several of them come cheap in DFS formats, so it could be wise to team them up with the studs at the top. I’ll be doing research throughout the week to see which ones have course history and have been playing well on the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) recently, and look for maybe one or two of them that I can really hang my hat on.
3. Will THE CJ CUP golfers show fatigue? Many of the top golfers in the field this week competed last week in Las Vegas at THE CJ CUP – I don’t think there will be fatigue from the long travel and the big time difference, but it’s worth monitoring what players say in their interviews this week to see if any of them are feeling a tad worn down.
Lineup construction strategy this week: You can again get rather aggressive with your lineups this week since the field is small and there’s no cut line to fear. Stars and scrub lineups will be popular this week though, so be sure to look for lower-owned pivot plays to avoid lineup duplication as much as possible, especially in the larger GPPs. Take a look at how the projected ownership numbers are looking on Wednesday, leave at least $500 on the table for each lineup if you’re competing in the sizeable GPPs, and try to keep your total projected ownership number at or under 80% between all six golfers.
All the best in your quest 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 performances at the event over the last 5 years, and add in some tasty pieces of information, also.
The $10K+ Range
Collin Morikawa (Salary: DraftKings – $11.2K) – He looked fantastic at the Ryder Cup and he was even better last week at THE CJ CUP where he finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy thanks to his -10 in round 4. It looks as though his back issue has been solved, and it certainly showed last week where he gained strokes across the board except for a 0.23 loss with his around the green play. He has family ties to Japan – finished 4th at the Olympics in the country in July, and I believe he is the man to beat this week. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T50 and 2019 – T22.
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $11.0K) – He showed us his best in round 4 last week when he shot a -9 and settled for a T18 at THE CJ CUP, but he’s capable of so much more. He won the Olympic tournament back in the Summer, finished T5 at the Tour Championship in September, and if his putter is working better than last week where he only gained 0.03 on the greens, then he should have a top 5 this week. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T17 and 2019 – T10.
Hideki Matsuyama (Salary: DraftKings – $10.3K) – He came fairly close to winning here two years ago, but some guy named Tiger Woods beat him by three strokes – a runner-up was still impressive nonetheless for Matsuyama, and he should be considered a top threat to win this week. His stats look decent as of late, but his putter has been the issue as he lost 9.56 strokes on the greens last week and finished T59. This year’s Masters winner finished 4th at the Olympics, T2 at the WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational in August, and he had a T6 at the Fortinet Championship a month ago. As long as he’s an average putter this week, then he should be in contention to win in front of his home country fans. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T28 and 2019 – 2nd.
The $9K Range
Rickie Fowler (Salary: DraftKings – $9.8K) – I’m not too fond of the $9K range this week, and I might try to skip it altogether in my core lineup builds, but I found three golfers who intrigue me for this week. Fowler had been pretty bad before last week’s CJ CUP where he finished T3 thanks to gaining 5.52 strokes off the tee and through strong around the green play where he gained 2.23 strokes. He could revert back to poor play again this week, but there’s no cut line for him to worry about and he might stay hot for another week to achieve another solid finish. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T57.
Emiliano Grillo (Salary: DraftKings – $9.1K) – He wouldn’t likely be on my list had he not shot an insane -11 last week in round 4 to help him finish T18 at THE CJ CUP. He played a complete game last week in Las Vegas – his only blemish was that he lost 1.51 strokes on the greens, but did gain 3.13 with his ball-striking and 5.25 tee to green. He does have three straight top 47’s now, and he should have another top 20 finish this week if he’s balanced once again throughout his bag. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T30.
Joaquin Niemann (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – I had higher hopes for Niemann last week, but his putter was cold in losing 4.46 on the greens and he finished T45 – he gained strokes across the major stat categories otherwise though. He finished 10th at the Olympics and has finished no worse than T47 over his last seven events – his T17 at the WGC-FedEx St.Jude Invitational in August showed again that he can compete well against elite competition. He finished T33 here two years ago, but I certainly see him doing much better this week and anything less than a top 20 would be a disappointment for the young Chilean player. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T17 and 2019 – T33.
The $8K Range
Jhonattan Vegas (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – I was confident in saying that Vegas was under-priced last week for THE CJ CUP at just $6.3K, and he ended up finishing T14 which made him an excellent value play. He hasn’t lost strokes ball-striking since THE PLAYERS Championship in March, and he has been quite solid throughout his bag, as well. He has six top 16’s over his last eleven starts including two T2’s during that span, and while you won’t get as much of a discount on him this week, Vegas is still a pretty good mid-value play in my books. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: None.
C.T. Pan (Salary: DraftKings – $8.8K) – I really like what Pan has been up to lately with four top 29’s in his last five starts including a 3rd at the Olympics, a T6 at the Fortinet Championship last month, and he’s coming off a T11 at the Sanderson Farms Championship earlier this month where he gained strokes across the board. He does have some course experience to draw from as he played here two years ago, and if he keeps his consistent play alive, then he should put up another top 15 finish again this week. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T59.
Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Salary: DraftKings – $8.7K) – With five top 25’s over his last eight tournaments played, Lee makes for an interesting play this week. He was fairly solid last week in Vegas to finish T25 thanks to gaining 4.17 strokes in approach, and he keeps finishing well because of his good ball-striking and decent putting where he has gained in the latter stat category four times in his last five starts. He can help your balanced and hybrid lineups this week, roll him out there with confidence. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: None.
The $7K Range
Tom Hoge (Salary: DraftKings – $7.0K) – He keeps finishing well because of his good approach play where he has gained at least 3.15 strokes over his last four tournaments played, and he has finished top 49 in five out of his last six events including a T4 at THE NORTHERN TRUST, a T14 at the Shriners Children’s Open two weeks ago, and he had a T32 last week at THE CJ CUP. He has been playing as good or better than all of the other $7K players as of late, and is tied for the cheapest one too at $7K flat, so he makes for a decent play in any kind of lineup build. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T47.
Harry Higgs (Salary: DraftKings – $7.4K) – He had his best finish last week since finishing T4 at the PGA Championship in May with a T9 at THE CJ CUP via gaining 4.02 on approach and 5.98 with the flat stick on the greens. He has finished in the top 38 in five out of his last six tournaments played including a T16 at THE NORTHERN TRUST in the first leg of the playoffs, and if his long irons and putter remain hot this week – expect another excellent finish. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T54.
Matt Jones (Salary: DraftKings – $7.2K) – I couldn’t find another $7K golfer that I was over the moon about, but settled on Jones who has three straight top 38’s including T38’s both last week at THE CJ CUP and at the BMW Championship which is the second leg of the playoffs. He plays a fairly average golf game, so you can’t really expect elite finishes, although he did win The Honda Classic in March where he was outstanding in all major stat categories including gaining 14.30 strokes tee to green. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: None.
The $6K Range
Andrew Putnam (Salary: DraftKings – $6.7K) – The scrubs range isn’t so nice-looking this week, but Putnam stands out a bit as he finished runner-up at the Barracuda Championship in August, he had a T30 at the Fortinet Championship a month ago, and in his most recent start, he had a T11 at the Shriners Children’s Open where he gained 6.32 strokes with his approach play and 3.93 on the greens. He had three top 7’s in five starts earlier this year, so he does offer some pop potential, and that’s always a good thing to have on your side when you’re looking at $6K players. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T59.
Sung Kang (Salary: DraftKings – $6.3K) – Kang is my favorite $6K player this week as he has three top 32’s in his last five starts and finished top 20 here two years ago. I don’t like how he has been getting the job done lately as he has been relying heavily on his putter, but he has gained moderately in strokes on approach in five straight starts also, so that’s certainly a positive, as well. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2019 – T17.
Satoshi Kodaira (Salary: DraftKings – $6.4K) – I wanted to include a decent Japanese golfer in this range – I’m most comfortable with Kodaira and he does have five top 36’s in his last ten starts including four top 20’s. He hasn’t been outstanding lately, but he’s now on native soil – he should bring his A-game this week and did finish T37 here two years ago when he was in worse form than he is now, so a top 25 is certainly a possibility for him this week. ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP finishes over the last five years: 2020 – T35 and 2019 – T37.
