5 DFS Lineup Construction Tips for PGA

DFS Golf Strategy

Competing in PGA daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests is much different than the other sports because you aren’t just picking players for only one day – you are looking four days out as tournaments go four rounds – golf isn’t a team sport it’s man versus man format and your players are only guaranteed two or three days of play depending on the tournament – unless a withdrawal happens of course. You can pay attention to projected fantasy points for each player on DFS stats websites but they are typically much less accurate than other sports as anything really can happen with any golfer in any given tournament – one bad hole can easily cost a golfer his week.

I’ve been competing in PGA DFS contests for five years now, and have learned a few lessons along the way with many ups and downs, getting good luck and bad luck, and winning and losing many contests. I want to share some of my knowledge and experience here by outlining five lineup construction tips that will hopefully help you starting next week at the World Golf Championships – Dell Technologies Match Play.

1. Recent Performance is Huge

You want golfers in your lineups that are on their A-game, and playing at a high level RIGHT NOW! When a golfer is performing well week in and week out at all different types of courses, their confidence is high and they are getting used to cashing some nice prize money cheques. Golfers like many other athletes tend to go on hot and cold streaks, and you got to strike when the iron is hot. For me, the current form is the most important factor I look at when building lineups.

2. Past Year’s Results Matter

A great statistic to look at is how players have scored and finished at past year’s tournaments – so for example if you are building lineups for The Masters tournament, look to see which players have consistently done well at Augusta National, and look for patterns as well, one being if a player has earned the right to play in this prestigious tournament for the past four years and he has finished 55th, 43rd, 36th, and 21st, it might be an indicator that the golfer is getting more and more comfortable on that track and is trending in the right direction towards an even better finish this year. Also, be sure to look to see how the golfer has performed in those past years leading up to The Masters tournament, because using the example above – if that particular golfer missed the cut in three tournaments in a row last year heading into The Masters but finished 21st, and now this year he has been placing in the ’20s and ’30s over the past few tournaments then he might be poised for an even better finish this year. 

3. You Want Your Golfers Playing Four Rounds

The main goal in DFS is to always maximize the number of fantasy points that your lineup earns so with that being said, when it comes to golf contests, you want your players to earn fantasy points for all four rounds – so picking golfers who make the cut on a regular basis is very important, especially for tournaments where the course is “gettable” and birdies and eagles are commonplace. There are a few tournaments every year (e.g. the World Golf Championships) where every golfer is guaranteed to play all four rounds and earn a paycheck, but a typical tournament only lets golfers play two rounds and earn the right to play on the weekend by successfully making the cut. Many tournaments now also have the MDF (made cut/did not finish) rule where if more than 78 golfers make the 36 hole cut – the field is again trimmed down after Saturday’s round where only the top 70 players and ties get to play on Sunday. Be sure to check the specific rules for each golf tournament before finalizing your lineups.

4. Drill Down Into Key Stat Categories

There are all sorts of stats in golf including greens in regulation, strokes gained: putting, scrambling, par 5 scoring, sand saves, driving distance, and many other relevant ones. When you read golf analyst content for any given tournament you may see a section where certain stats tend to be the most important on that golf course – so if you see that greens in regulation, sand saves, and driving distance really rank highly, then looking at players who rank well in those three categories can serve your lineups well. Every stat matters on every course though, so don’t get too hung up on the key stats for a golf course, and don’t overthink your players and lineups as it can get overwhelming and the results certainly aren’t always better.

5. Keep an Eye on Injuries and Withdraws

There is nothing worse when you are all geared up for another week of PGA action and you are looking over your lineups when contests are live and you see that you have a golfer that has withdrawn on your main lineup(s) – it really stings, especially if you put in lots of research and lineup construction time. Be sure to check for last minute withdraws so that you don’t get burnt and waste all your time and money. Also, injuries play a factor, so if a golfer has a known injury heading into a tournament and it has affected their past tournaments, then you may want to err on the side of caution and not have exposure to that player until his injury is well behind him. Winning PGA DFS contests is challenging enough without having players who are less than 100% health-wise, so ensure your lineups are healthy and players don’t withdraw right before they are supposed to tee it up. If a player withdraws after they have already started their round there is nothing you can do about that, and if there was no warning that was a possibility then just chalk it up as bad luck and move on. Try not to get overly emotional when playing PGA DFS either as it can affect not only your experience on your favorite daily fantasy site but also your life as well if you bet significant money.

Competing in PGA DFS contests is a lot of fun, especially when you follow along in real-time and are profitable come Sunday evening, but it all starts with constructing quality lineups. The tips above will help you along your journey, and with a tad bit of luck, you will win more contests and enjoy some entertaining weeks too. Good luck, and go get em’!