DFS Golf Picks and Tips: Ranking All 30 Golfers for the Tour Championship

Daily Fantasy Golf Tips

The FedEx Cup will be handed out on Sunday at the Tour Championship, with the top player taking home a cool $15M and there’s a total of $60M being paid out to the top 150 golfers in the standings! Justin Thomas had a huge win last week at the BMW Championship to take over the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings, moving former #1 Brooks Koepka down two spots to 3rd after he finished 24th. This week is all about the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, the last event of the 2018-2019 PGA Tour season.

East Lake Golf Club is average in difficulty as far as courses are concerned on the PGA Tour, the track is 7,346 yards in length, is a long par 70, and has Bermuda greens. The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings are playing this week, and every player will play all four rounds unless a player withdraws. The format this year is different than in other years where each player is assigned a starting score – the leader, Justin Thomas starts at -10 and scores go as low as even par for the bottom few players in the field. The key stats to focus on this week are Strokes Gained: Ball Striking, Par 4s Gained, Opportunities Gained, and Par 5s Gained.

Let’s get this party started, I rank players from 1st to 30th by taking starting scores into consideration for the Tour Championship – and I include player salaries for both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Ranking all 30 Golfers for the Tour Championship

1st. Justin Thomas (salaries: DraftKings – $15,500, FanDuel – $14,200) – Starts at -10 under par. Although he was simmering for a few weeks, he didn’t officially have a top 10 on Tour since February but broke out in a huge way last week by winning the BMW Championship. Has a stellar record at East Lake with a 7th, 2nd, and a 6th over the past three years. 

2nd. Rory McIlory (salaries: DraftKings – $10,600, FanDuel – $11,400) – Starts at -5 under par. Has been solid at East Lake with a win in 2016 and was 7th last year. Two-thirds of his finishes this season have been top 10’s.

3rd. Jon Rahm (salaries: DraftKings – $9,900, FanDuel – $10,700) – Starts at -4 under par. Has 7 straight top 11’s, and is coming off a 5th last week. Was 11th here last year, and 7th in 2017.

4th. Patrick Cantlay (salaries: DraftKings – $12,400, FanDuel – $12,300) – Starts at -8 under par. Earned a runner up finish last week and has been playing solid golf all season long really. Only has a 21st and a 20th at this tournament over the past two years, but will surely improve on those finishes this week.

5th. Brooks Koepka (salaries: DraftKings – $12,200, FanDuel – $12,100) – Starts at -7 under par. Was looking like he was going to take the FedEx Cup in style but his playoff finishes have been lackluster with just a 30th and a 24th last week. Was 6th here in 2017.

6th. Adam Scott (salaries: DraftKings – $8,200, FanDuel – $9,300) – Starts at -3 under par. Really like how he’s priced as he has a 5th and a 9th in the playoffs so far, and when he last played here in 2016 he took home an 8th.

7th. Xander Schauffele (salaries: DraftKings – $9,500, FanDuel – $10,500) – Starts at -4 under par. Won this tournament in 2017 and was 7th here last year. I would rank him higher if it wasn’t for his poor current form – his last top 10 finish was in June at the U.S. Open where he finished 3rd but since then his best finish was a 19th but that did come last week.

8th. Webb Simpson (salaries: DraftKings – $9,700, FanDuel – $10,300) – Starts at -4 under par. Simpson has been a mainstay on my lineups this whole season and although he just has a 24th and an 18th in the playoffs, he finished 4th here last year and is due for another top 10.

9th. Hideki Matsuyama (salaries: DraftKings – $9,300, FanDuel – $9,700) – Starts at -3 under par. Hit some turbulence but returned to form last week and secured a 3rd place finish. Was 4th here last year and 5th in 2016.

10th. Paul Casey (salaries: DraftKings – $7,500, FanDuel – $8,300) – Starts at -2 under par. Skipped the first playoff event but had a 24th last week. Over the last four years, he has an 11th, 5th, 4th, and a 5th so the East Lake track fits his game well.

11th. Justin Rose (salaries: DraftKings – $6,900, FanDuel – $9,000) – Starts at -2 under par. Last season’s FedEx Cup winner started the playoffs with a 10th but had a disappointing 52nd last week. Has a great record at East Lake with a 4th last year, a 10th in 2017, and a 2nd in 2015.

12th. Brandt Snedeker (salaries: DraftKings – $7,300, FanDuel – $7,900) – Starts at -2 under par. Is sizzling in the playoffs with a 5th and a 6th, but hasn’t played at East Lake since 2016 when he finished 17th. His stats don’t fare well for this course but the way he’s been playing he should hold his own this week.

13th. Patrick Reed (salaries: DraftKings – $10,200, FanDuel – $10,900) – Starts at -6 under par. After winning the first leg of the playoffs at The Northern Trust he had a 19th last week. Has a very poor record at East Lake – since 2015 he’s finished anywhere from 13th to 28th and just the 13th was inside the top 23. Not quite sure what to expect with Reed this week.

14th. Tony Finau (salaries: DraftKings – $8,800, FanDuel – $9,500) – Starts at -3 under par. Is coming into East Lake hot after a 4th last week and was 30th in week one of the playoffs. The bomber was 15th here last year and was 7th in 2017.

15th. Kevin Kisner (salaries: DraftKings – $6,600, FanDuel – $8,000) – Starts at -2 under par. Has had a very good playoff run with a 12th two weeks ago and was 9th last week. The last time he competed in the Tour Championship he had a 3rd in 2017.

16th. Dustin Johnson (salaries: DraftKings – $8,400, FanDuel – $10,100) – Starts at -3 under par. Hasn’t finished top 10 since May at the PGA Championship, but his record at East Lake speaks for itself with a 3rd, 17th, 6th, and a 5th over the past four years.

17th. Tommy Fleetwood (salaries: DraftKings – $7,700, FanDuel – $8,200) – Starts at -1 under par. Came into the playoffs cooking but had a 43rd two weeks ago and was 11th last week. In his only appearance at East Lake, he had an 11th last year.

18th. Rickie Fowler (salaries: DraftKings – $8,600, FanDuel – $8,600) – Starts at -2 under par. Missed the cut two weeks ago in playoff event number one, but rebounded with an 11th last week. Was 7th at East Lake last year.

19th. Louis Oosthuizen (salaries: DraftKings – $5,700, FanDuel – $7,500) – Starts at even par. Has four straight top 20’s and his playoff finishes are 11th and 6th. If he had a more favorable starting position he could do some real damage this week.

20th. Lucas Glover (salaries: DraftKings – $5,200, FanDuel – $7,000) – Starts at even par. Coming off a 7th last week and was 43rd in the first playoff even two weeks ago.

21st. Jason Kokrak (salaries: DraftKings – $5,300, FanDuel – $7,000) – Starts at even par. Is doing quite well in the playoffs with a 19th and a 12th so far, and will hope his East Lake debut goes well too.

22nd. Gary Woodland (salaries: DraftKings – $8,000, FanDuel – $8,800) – Starts at -3 under par. Since his U.S. Open win, he has been pretty awful, possibly because he’s more focused on his family life and new twin babies which arrived earlier this month. Has finished anywhere from 10th to 19th here over the past three years.

23rd. Abraham Ancer (salaries: DraftKings – $7,100, FanDuel – $8,400) – Starts at -4 under par. Pulled down a 2nd to start the playoffs, and added a 28th last week. No experience at East Lake but sits in a good opening position at -4 under par.

24th. Sungjae Im (salaries: DraftKings – $5,900, FanDuel – $7,200) – Starts at -1 under par. Is making his 34th appearance this season, the most of any player. Has been quite consistent since the Canadian Open, and was 11th last week. Is all but assured to win rookie of the year with 7 top 10’s, and 15 top 25’s.

25th. Corey Conners (salaries: DraftKings – $6,100, FanDuel – $7,400) – Starts at -1 under par. Is trending well over his past four starts with a 27th, 22nd, 21st, and was 7th last week to earn a spot in this week’s final event. The relatively young Canadian appears to have a bright future in golf, especially considering he’s the top player in the greens in regulation stat.

26th. Marc Leishman (salaries: DraftKings – $6,300, FanDuel – $7,300) – Starts at -1 under par. Coming off a 19th last week and was 3rd at the WGC event late last month. Only has a 21st and a 24th here over the past couple of years.

27th. Matt Kuchar (salaries: DraftKings – $9,100, FanDuel – $8,700) – Starts at -4 under par. Has been falling apart over the past month and a half, and only has a missed cut and a 52nd in two playoff events. Does have two 10th’s and a 15th over the past four years at East Lake though so his course history may come in handy this week.

28th. Bryson DeChambeau (salaries: DraftKings – $5,500, FanDuel – $7,600) – Starts at even par. Has lost his mojo since finishing 2nd at the 3M Open in July. Was 48th last week and had a 24th two weeks ago in his two playoff starts, and was 19th here last year in his East Lake debut.

29th. Charles Howell III (salaries: DraftKings – $5,000, FanDuel – $7,000) – Starts at even par. Despite having 5 top 10’s this season, he only has one recent one with a 6th last month. Was 37th last week and missed the cut at The Northern Trust.

30th. Chez Reavie (salaries: DraftKings – $5,100, FanDuel – $7,100) –  Starts at -1 under par. Won the Travelers Championship in June but his best finish since then is a 27th.

May your last week of the PGA Tour season be a good one, and I hope that luck is on your side and wish you, your lineups, and finishes the best of luck! See you for the 2019-2020 PGA Tour season which starts next month!