DFS Golf Picks: The Masters Tournament
Make the most of the data, predictions, and insights from this article to help with your fantasy golf picks for the Masters Tournament, and check out our PGA Lineup Optimizer to make more educated player selections for your DFS lineups. Best of luck to you for this week and every week!
The Masters Tournament
Preview for the Masters: The Masters Tournament dates back to 1934 and is one of the oldest golf events on the PGA Tour. The best score ever at the Masters is by Dustin Johnson who shot a -20 just two years ago in 2020 to beat Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith by five strokes. Winners of the Masters over the last five years include Hideki Matsuyama in 2021, Dustin Johnson in 2020, Tiger Woods in 2019, Patrick Reed in 2018, and Sergio Garcia in 2017.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is 11.5M, the winner collects $2.07M and also earns himself 600 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: Augusta National Golf Club is 7,510 yards in length, is a par 72, and the greens are bentgrass and average almost 6,500 square feet. The winning score here over the last ten years ranges from -5 to -20, so how organizers set up the course plays a big factor, along with the weather conditions. Some core key stats to focus on this week are, in order, driving distance, strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained: tee to green, strokes gained: around the green, and strokes gained: approach.
The field: The field is of course extremely strong since this is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world and it’s the season’s first major, so everyone who has qualified and is capable of playing, is here this week. We will see roughly 91 players tee it up (depending mostly on Tiger Woods and his status), and the top 50 players plus ties after round 2 plus players within 10 strokes of the leader will move on to play round 3 on Saturday and round 4 on Sunday. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be an A+.
Three questions I have about the Masters Tournament:
- Will Tiger make his return? I’m sure that Tiger has had this event marked on his calendar for quite some time. He has been playing some practice rounds at Augusta and could make a huge return after his bad vehicle accident last year, but he may not fully commit until Wednesday or even Thursday morning potentially.
- Who has gained the most strokes total here since 2017? The ten players who have gained the most strokes total over the last five years at the Masters include Will Zalatoris (4 rounds), Dustin Johnson (14 rounds), Jon Rahm (20 rounds), Justin Rose (18 rounds), Cameron Smith (16 rounds), Russell Henley (8 rounds), Brooks Koepka (14 rounds), Hideki Matsuyama (20 rounds), Jordan Spieth (20 rounds), and Rory McIlroy (18 rounds).
- What is your top ten based on a custom model? I just created my first custom model of the week and my top ten include Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Joaquin Niemann, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, and Will Zalatoris.
DraftKings lineup construction strategy this week:
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 performances at the event over the last 5 years, and add in some tasty pieces of information, also.
The $10K+ Range
Scottie Scheffler (Salary: DraftKings – $11.0K) – With three wins in his last five starts, Scheffler is very deserving of being ranked #1 as the world’s top golfer. He has no weaknesses in his game, and it would be shocking if he didn’t have his best Masters’ finish to date as he just needs to get inside the top 17 to make that happen. The only drawback is his high salary number, but he seems worth it given his recent results and outstanding stats. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T18 and 2020 – T19.
Jon Rahm (Salary: DraftKings – $10.8K) – He has been within striking distance of winning this tournament over the last four years, and could get the job done this week if he gets his approach game back on track as he has collectively lost 9.10 strokes over his last two starts which is very unlike the former #1 ranked player on the planet. Rahm could be hungry to regain the top spot from Scheffler, and is overdue to win sooner rather than later. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T5, 2020 – T7, 2019 – T9, 2018 – T4, and 2017 – T27.
Justin Thomas (Salary: DraftKings – $10.3K) – Thomas has played well at the Masters throughout his career, and is always a threat to win any tournament he plays. He’s one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour, and when his putter is on, he typically has a top 10 finish. he has seven top 8’s in his last 11 starts and is a serious threat to put on the Green Jacket this week. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T21, 2020 – T4, 2019 – T12, 2018 – T17, and 2017 – T22.
The $9K Range
Cameron Smith (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – Smith is another player who has played extremely well at this event with three top 10’s over the last four years including a co-runner up just two years ago. He has two wins in his last five starts across the PGA Tour and European Tour including his gigantic PLAYERS Championship win in his most recent start. If his putter remains white-hot this week, then the sky is the limit. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T10, 2020 – T2, 2019 – T51, and 2018 – T5.
Will Zalatoris (Salary: DraftKings – $9.2K) – He has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has come close several times including last year’s 2nd at the Masters – he would be in very rare company if his first victory is a major. Zalatoris is a ball-striking ninja who could make more noise this week if he has a decent short game since that’s his biggest weakness so far in his young career. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – 2nd.
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $9.6K) – Schauffele has two top 3’s here over the last three years including a runner-up three years ago – he likes small field events and this is one of them he licks his chops for. He’s a solid ball-striker but has been mostly average with his short game lately, but like most ball-strikers, if his chipping and putting are on this week, then he could have another top 3 finish. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T3, 2020 – T17, 2019 – T2, and 2018 – T50.
The $8K Range
Sam Burns (Salary: DraftKings – $8.6K) – Burns is coming off the win at the Valspar Championship where his approach play and short game were spot on, and he had a T9 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational three starts ago. He’s making his Masters debut, so it’s hard to expect a top 10, but his stellar approach play, and putting could lead to a huge finish. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: None.
Shane Lowry (Salary: DraftKings – $8.8K) – Lowry is a solid ball-striker and putter, which makes him dangerous almost every time he tees it up. Outside of the match play event, he has seven straight top 24’s including a 2nd at The Honda Classic where he gained 11.19 strokes ball-striking. He should crack the top 20 this year given his nice progression at Augusta, and has the upside to sneak inside the top 10. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T21, 2020 – T25, 2019 – Cut, and 2017 – Cut.
Tyrrell Hatton (Salary: DraftKings – $8.0K) – He doesn’t have the greatest record at the Masters, but did pull off a T18 here last year and has been on fire lately with five top 9’s in his last eight starts across the PGA Tour and European Tour. He plays a fairly balanced game, and his putter can go bananas as he has gained over 18 strokes over his last four starts. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T18, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T56, 2018 – T44, and 2017 – Cut.
The $7K Range
Russell Henley (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – The Georgia native hasn’t played here in four years but has two straight top 15’s and three straight top 21’s going back to 2015. Henley has eight straight top 33’s if you exclude match play including a 2nd at the Sony Open and a T7 at the Houston Open last November. I really like the way he lines up this week, and will be a core mid-tier play for my lineups. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2018 – T15 and 2017 – T11.
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $7.6K) – Conners has two consecutive top 10’s at the Masters, and could certainly make it three straight this week with the way his outstanding ball-striking is on a consistent basis – he gained 9.02 on approach last year which is unreal given the field strength. He took down Dustin Johnson two starts ago to finish 3rd at the match play event, and should have another strong appearance at Augusta this year. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T8, 2020 – T10, and 2019 – T46.
Paul Casey (Salary: DraftKings – $7.6K) – He had an outstanding appearance at THE PLAYERS Championship two starts ago finishing 3rd thanks to gaining 7.05 strokes on approach and 4.89 on the greens. He has had a few great finishes at the Masters throughout his career, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finishes top 20 this week. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T26, 2020 – T38, 2019 – Cut, 2018 – T15, and 2017 – T6.
The $6K Range
Gary Woodland (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – Woodland is hot with three top 8’s in his last five starts including two T5’s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Honda Classic on the back of great approach play and a good short game. He hasn’t had a breakthrough at Augusta just yet, but is a safe bet to make the cut and has an attractive upside. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T40, 2020 – Cut, 2019 – T32, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – Cut.
Brian Harman (Salary: DraftKings – $6.8K) – He’s a Georgia native which I like, and finished T12 here last year. He isn’t currently playing the best golf of his career right now, but did have a T5 at the Valspar Championship two starts ago and had a T3 at The American Express seven starts ago. I’m going to try to avoid having multiple players in the $6K range for each lineup, but will ride or die with Harman in multiple configurations. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T12 and 2018 – T44.
Kevin Na (Salary: DraftKings – $6.8K) – He comes with risk but does have two straight top 13’s at this event and has only missed the cut once here over his last eight starts at the Masters. He had a 9th at the match play in his most recent start, and if his main weapon aka his flat stick is firing this week, then he has the potential to add another top 15 for the third consecutive year. Masters Tournament finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T12, 2020 – T13, 2019 – T46, and 2017 – Cut.
