The Masters 2024 Breakdown, Key Skills, and DFS Picks
The 2024 Masters DFS Picks for Each Price Range
One of my favorite times of the year is coming to a close, but as usual, it always ends with one of the best sporting events in the world: The Masters. This time of year, we have Opening Day for MLB, March Madness, The Masters, and warmer weather starting to creep back into our lives. But without further ado, let's dive into the first Major Championship of the golf year by discussing the ever-iconic Augusta National.
- Field: 89 Players
- Cut: Top 50 and Ties after 36 Holes
- First Tee: Thursday, April 6
- Defending Champion: Jon Rahm
Augusta National Golf Course, home to The Masters, spans 7,475 yards as a par 72. Renowned for its beauty and challenges, it features undulating fairways, lightning-fast greens, and strategic hazards. Recent modifications, like lengthening iconic holes, ensure a challenging yet fair experience for players and spectators. In DFS for The Masters, the focus shifts towards pinpointing skills essential for navigating Augusta National's challenging course, such as:
- Driving Accuracy and Distance: Augusta National's narrow fairways and strategically placed hazards demand precision off the tee. Professional golfers who can consistently find the fairway while gaining distance have an advantage, as it sets up more manageable approach shots.
- Approach Play: Augusta's lightning-fast greens are notoriously difficult to navigate, requiring precise approach shots to find scoring opportunities. Players who excel in approach play, particularly in proximity to the hole from various distances, tend to fare well.
- Short Game: The ability to navigate Augusta's complex green complexes and tight lies around the greens is vital. Strong chipping, pitching, bunker play, and confidence putting on Augusta's undulating greens are essential for success.
- Course Experience: Familiarity with Augusta National's layout and the unique challenges it presents is invaluable. Previous appearances at The Masters offer players insights into strategic nuances, ideal positioning, and how to handle the tournament's pressure and atmosphere, all of which contribute to improved performance.
While strokes gained data provides valuable insights into player performance, success at The Masters ultimately hinges on a combination of skill, strategy, and mental strength tailored to the unique challenges of Augusta National Golf Course. Below are my best plays from each pricing range on DraftKings as well as why I like them.
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$10K and Up: $10,200 - Brooks Koepka (Proj Ownership: 13%)
I know what some of you might think: ‘I can’t believe this idiot didn’t pick Scheffler as his top pick above $10K’. My response to that is, if you needed to find an article that tells you to play the best golfer in the world currently, you chose the wrong article. Obviously, you play Scottie, but if you want to try and find a way to get different up top, shift to Koepka. He has played this event 8 times, making the cut 6 times. A 5-time major champion who led this event after 54 holes last year, has shown time and time again to be an issue in Major events no matter what kind of form he has coming into the events. He wants this major perhaps more than any other, especially after his 3rd PGA Championship victory last year. Being on the LIV tour, many people might not know how good Koepka has been recently, which bodes well for those of us who have followed him closely. As a long and fairly accurate driver off the tee, Koepka is able to find himself in favorable positions for most of his second shots, a key factor at Augusta. He also tends to be an above-average putter, which can help him find success here. If we ignore his injury-riddled play in the ‘21 and ‘22 Masters, Koepka has finished top 25 in each of his last 5 appearances at Augusta. He knows this course well and is capable of fighting for the top position of this leaderboard across the whole tournament. Projected to be the fourth most owned golfer (of 5) in this range, I will gladly have plenty of exposure to Brooks as he looks for his first Green Jacket.
$9K Range: $9,900 - Xander Schaufele (Proj Ownership: 23%)
This was a difficult choice between Xander and Hideki, which is why I included Hideki as an honorable mention below. That extra 1% of projected ownership was just enough to push me to Xander in this range. Mr. Consistency always seems to find his way to the top of leaderboards but can’t seem to break through with a Major win. Across 26 Major appearances, he has cut in 23 of them with 11 top-10s and 19 top-25s. At this price, a top-10 would be needed to make sense of using him with this high of ownership. However, through 6 Masters appearances, he has only missed the cut one time (2022), and he has appeared in the top-25 in 4 of 5 made cuts (T50 - T2 - T17 - T3 - CUT - T10). Overall, Schaufele’s game fits Augusta very well based on his average stats as he is above tour average in Driving Distance, Driving Accuracy, Approach, and Around the Green. The results have been consistent this calendar year with only 2 finishes outside of the top-10 across 8 events in 2024. I feel like this is an opportunity to take Xander before he has his Major breakthrough and finally wins. Even if he fails to win, I fully expect him to be near the top of the leaderboard come the end of Sunday.
Honorable Mention: $9,000 - Hideki Matsuyama (Proj Ownership: 24%)
$8K Range: $8,000 - Shane Lowry (Proj Ownership: 15%)
Lowry comes into the Masters in a weird form that can be looked at in many ways. Thursday to Saturday, he is one of the best in tournaments. He has been at or near the top of leaderboards in multiple tournaments recently, but then Sunday comes. Since the start of 2024, Lowry has been an average putter in the first three rounds of tournaments. Unfortunately, on Sunday, he becomes a horrendous putter, coming in at 205th out of 214 qualified players. During these Sunday rounds he is averaging -0.61 SG: PUTT/Round. He is a former Major Champion and has had some promising results here in the past (T25-T21-T3-T16). I’ll gladly get plenty of exposure to someone who can score plenty of DFS points and is only one field average putting Sunday away from another top-5 here at Augusta.
Honorable Mention: $8,700 - Justin Thomas (Proj Ownership: 6%)
$7K Range: $7,100 - Adam Scott (Proj Ownership: 9%)
A former Masters winner that is coming in playing some of his best golf in recent memory that is priced all the way down at $7,100. With ownership projected to be less than 10%, how could you not be excited about Adam Scott at Augusta? He has played the Masters 22 times and only missed the cut twice (both over a decade ago). With one win, 5 top-10s, and 10 top-25s Scott knows this course and how to navigate it. He has failed to crack the top-10 since 2017, but many would argue that he played some of the worst golf during that stretch since he was an amateur. A strong putter with above-average driving distance and around the green/ approach game, Scott still boasts all the skills necessary to compete here. At this price and ownership, I will be overweight to the field with Scott this week. I fully expect him to continue playing very solid golf and finish top-15.
$6K Range: $6,400 - Taylor Moore (Proj Ownership: 5%)
Taylor Moore is a pick based on a few things: the man makes cuts and can rack up points above his placement finish. His last missed cut was in July of 2023 when he missed the cut at The Open Championship. His best finishes during this time are a T2, T12, and solo 5th place. At this price, position points are a major bonus, but we really want to see him score a lot of DFS points. Average 73 points per DraftKings points, Moore provides average scoring compared to the players priced around him. So why would he stick out more to me? He has experience here (only one start, but that’s still important) and is playing solid golf right now. After finishing top-15 in his last two tournaments played where his around-the-green game and SG:APP has been largely above field average, Moore has to feel more comfortable coming to Augusta than he did last year. Through three rounds he was actually T20 sitting at -1, but he shot +6 in round four causing him to drop to T39 for the tournament. These results should be extremely encouraging, given how much his game has improved from this time last year. If Taylor Moore can find his way into the top-20, he will be an absolute steal at $6,400 and only 5% ownership. I have no reason to believe this isn’t a realistic result for him, but even if he doesn’t finish that high he should score plenty of points to outpace his finishing place.
Joe Riggs
With 13+ years as a ballplayer, my love for baseball extends beyond the diamond. After launching my own sports podcast/social platform, to blend my playing experience with sports knowledge, I decided to chase my other dream of becoming a doctor. Now, with FantasyData, I get to reignite my passion for sports writing. As an avid Colts and Cubs fan, my journey—from little league triumphs to fantasy championships—ties me to the sports world. Whether cheering for my teams or writing insightful articles, my love for sports, coupled with a desire to create a vibrant sports community, will shine through.