DraftKings has only six golfers priced at $9,500 or above this week. Brooks Koepka is the favorite this week with Vegas odds of 7-to-1 and an $11,900 price tag. Hideki Matsuyama ($11,100) is the only other golfer in the 11k range. Jason Day ($10,900), Bryson DeChambeau ($10,500), and Patrick Reed ($10,000) round out the golfers with five-figure salaries. DraftKings provides you with $50,000 to select six golfers for an average roster spot of $8,333. Even though I think any of these golfers could conceivably win this week, the majority of my lineups will be loaded with 9k and 7k golfers. As I write this article early in the week, I plan on largely fading much of the 8k and 10k range this week.

All of the tips and information that I mention in this article are plays that I will be considering for my own lineups. In fact, most of the plays mentioned are based upon an extensive customized model that is based on a number of statistics and results. However, that doesn’t mean that I will end up with all of the guys that I mention. This article is written early in the week and additional news, research, and roster construction could lead me to different plays. Remember to check the news and social media reports leading up to the first golfer teeing off. Though golf is more difficult to get injury news, you might be able to pick up a nugget or two that helps with roster construction – especially when dealing with possible withdrawals.

Remember that golf is very difficult but DFS golf is even tougher. Though the best golfers will perform best during the course of a golf season, from week-to-week, major variance can occur. Any golfer is capable of winning an event (e.g. Nate Lashley winning after being the 4th alternate). But on the flip side, the best golfers are all capable of missing the cut (e.g. the world’s number two golfer, Dustin Johnson, as well as the PGA’s last two winners Gary Woodland and Chez Reavie).

Work at having a solid process week in and week out as opposed to getting bogged down by recency bias or the ups-and-downs of the weekly golf grind. Use all the information available to you to make the best decision possible for your lineup. Good luck and, most importantly, have fun! Whether you win or lose, golf is one of the most entertaining fantasy sports to follow because you get four days of action.

Check out our DraftKings Sportsbook review and promo codes

TOURNAMENT NOTES

For the first time since 1969, the PGA Tour will have an event in Minnesota. The 3M Open has been held at this same course for many years but it was a Champions Tour event. Same course, same name, but different event. The TPC Twin Cities is an Arnold Palmer designed course located in Blaine, MN (just outside of Minneapolis).

156 players are scheduled to tee it up this week with the top 70 (and ties) making the cut. The MDF (secondary cut) is in effect this week. This means that the top 70 (and ties) will also make it to Sunday.

The Champions Tour played this as a Par 72 around 7,100 yards. This week’s event is a Par 71 measuring around 7,400 yards.

The weather forecast looks shaky all week with rain possible on Thursday and Friday. This is something to monitor.

Water comes into play on 15 holes on the course.

The fairways are generous (about 40 yards wide) and the rough is not very penal.

The bentgrass greens are average size with a speed at 12 on the stimpmeter.

The four Par 3s average about 215 yards.

There are eleven Par 4’s with five of them at least 450 yards long.

The three Par 5’s are all pretty long. Eagles may not be bountiful but there should be a lot of birdies.

This field is not very strong (similar to last year) as only five of the world’s top-25 golfers are teeing it up this week.

Kenny Perry won here last year as the course hosted the Champions Tour for the last time. He fired a course record 60 en route to winning with a score of 21-under par. In the last 10 years, the average winning score here for the Champions Tour was 19-under par. David Frost had the best score with a 25-under par in 2010.

COURSE FIT & KEY STATISTICS

Overall Statistics
My customized overall stat model measures all key stats (driving, approach, short game, putting, etc…) from both a short-and-long-form standpoint. The best golfers, in terms of stats, for my customized model this week (in ranked order) are Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Kevin Streelman, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann, Viktor Hovland, Adam Hadwin, Ryan Moore, and Keegan Bradley.

Scoring Ability
This course has seen some best scores on the Champions Tour and if that crosses over this week, you’ll want to have golfers that can go low. When looking at golfers who score best (birdie or better and fantasy scoring) both from a short-term and long-term perspective, the following are the top-10 golfers: Hideki Matsuyama, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day, Rory Sabbatini, Wyndham Clark, Sungae Im, Adam Hadwin, Talor Gooch, Danny Lee, and Brooks Koepka.

Driving Distance
The bombers may have an advantage this week as the course measures more than 7,400 yards and has generous fairways with less than penal rough. If you are looking for a tiebreaker then you might want to consider the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. The following are the top-10 longest hitters, in terms of average, on the Tour: Cameron Champ (317.1), Luke List (313.8), Tony Finau (311.5), Wyndham Clark (311.3), Seth Reeves (310.9), Trey Mullinax (309.0), Brooks Koepka (308.7), Cameron Davis (307.6), Sam Burns (307.0), and Phil Mickelson (306.7).

RECENT FORM

Hideki Matsuyama ($10,200)
He ranks second in fantasy scoring and third in SG: Total in the last 24 rounds of players in this week’s field. He has made 24 straight PGA cuts, which isn’t just the most of golfers in this field but of anyone on the entire PGA Tour. His T13 last week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic gave him his fifth straight top-25 finish.

Rory Sabbatini ($9,500) 
Sabbatini is playing like the other Rory right now with 13 straight made cuts on the PGA Tour, including three top-six finishes in his last five events. He finished T3 this past week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Only Brooks Koepka has gained more total strokes in the last 24 rounds in this field than Sabbatini. Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama are the only golfers to score more fantasy points in the last 24 rounds than Sabbatini. He is definitely on a roll right now.

Joaquin Niemann ($9,300) 
The world’s former number one ranked amateur is starting to heat up as he has two straight top-five finishes. Overall, he made five straight cuts with his worst finish being T31. He is sixth in total strokes gained in the last 24 rounds of the players in this week’s field.

Kevin Streelman ($8,900)
He has made the cut in seven straight events, which includes three top-six finishes. In the last 24 rounds, he is fourth in the field in SG: Total. He has gained strokes on approach and from tee-to-green in each of his last seven events.

FAVORITE $10,000+ PLAYS

Bryson DeChambeau ($10,500)
I would not be surprised if any of the golfers in this top tier won this week. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we have a leader board full of low priced guys having career days like we did last week. I do not plan on having too much exposure to these top guys, though Patrick Reed will find his way into a couple of my top lineups as a FOMO play. He can get hot at any tournament, regardless of form. As for DeChambeau, he is capable of winning and winning big as he showed in 2018 winning four tournaments in the span of 11 events. He won back-to-back FedEx Cup events and finished in the top 20 in all four of those events. He has struggled mightily in 2019 since back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Tournament of Champions and the Sony at the start of January. I like his T8 last time out at the Travelers after showing some signs of life at the U.S. Open and the Memorial before that. There is also an interesting fact about Bryson’s previous five PGA Tour wins (first pointed out by DraftKing Playbook’s Pat Mayo). Four of his five wins have come on bentgrass (this week’s event is on bentgrass) and have had a winning score of at least 15-under (this week’s event is expected to be a shootout). His stats aren’t going to jump out at you because of his underwhelming 2019 but he is trending in the right direction. In the last 12 rounds played, he is sixth in SG: TOT and seventh in fantasy scoring against the field.

FAVORITE $9,000 PLAYS

Rory Sabbatini ($9,500)
One of these days the Rory train is going to derail. He is a streaky player and seems like he shouldn’t be playing this good still. But he is. Certainly, there is the chance that he could come back to earth this week, but I am going to risk it for another week. His price is elevated but it is justifiable in this field. Not only has he made 13 straight cuts, but he is finishing high, as well. He has five top-10 finishes in his last eight events (including the Zurich Classic team event). In his last 24 rounds, he is ranked second in SG: TOT and third in fantasy scoring relative to this week’s field. He is ranked as the fourth best player this week in my customized model.

Joaquin Niemann ($9,300)
Back-to-back T5 finishes make the former world’s top amateur an intriguing play this week. I have been playing him a lot since he burst on the PGA scene last year, which means I have been disappointed much of 2019 but he does seem to have found his groove lately. He is a good ball-striker and actually has some length off the tee. He is an inconsistent putter, which added to some of his 2019 struggles. He has gained at least three strokes putting in his last two events, so he might have figured out that part of his game. If he can continue to produce on the greens then I wouldn’t be surprised if he hoists the trophy at the end of the week.

Sungjae Im ($9,100)
I am never truly comfortable rostering Im, but he can score in bunches and if this turns into a Web.com type event, then I might like him on some of my GPP lineups. After all, he was the leading money winner last year on the Web.com Tour. He has 12 top-25 finishes this year on the PGA Tour, including six top-10 finishes. He has finished T21 each of the last two weeks and T7 at the RBC Canadian Open prior to those. He can be streaky so this play isn’t for the faint of heart but if you are trying to rack up some points in a GPP, he might be a good option. In his last 50 rounds played, the rookie ranks eighth in this field for fantasy scoring and ninth in SG: TOT. It gets even better if you only consider the last 12 rounds. During that stretch, not only did Im go T21, T21, and T7 but only Hideki Matsuyama has scored more fantasy points in this field than Im has.

FAVORITE $8,000 PLAYS

Kevin Streelman ($8,900)
I do not like this range much at all. I prefer the 9k and 7k players this week. However, Streelman is the main exception (though he might as well be a 9k player). In the last 24 rounds, he is fourth in this field for total strokes gained. He has really been dialed in with his ball striking, gaining at least 2.9 strokes from tee-to-green in each of his last seven events. He is priced up quite a bit but, in this field. He has made seven straight cuts, including three top-six finishes.

Adam Hadwin ($8,100)
This was the biggest surprise once I ran my model and saw that Hadwin was ranked eighth. It’s not that he is a bad player, but he wasn’t on my radar initially. I have played him a lot in the past – mainly in cash games or single-entry contests. He has been a little bit more inconsistent than normal as of late. The only real knock against him is that he isn’t a big hitter and he missed his last cut (Travelers). Prior to that, he finished T6 at the Canadian Open. Statistically, he rates out in the top-10 for overall game in this field. He also is 12th in the last 24 rounds in terms of fantasy scoring. I am not against Scott Piercy, Colin Morikawa, Charles Howell III, or Nate Lashley who are all also near Hadwin in price, but my model prefers Hadwin quite a bit. My model doesn’t have as many biases as I do so I tend to lean on it unless I have a good reason not to. As noted earlier, I like the 9k and 7k range better but Hadwin is essentially a 7k play.

FAVORITE $7,000 PLAYS

Peter Malnati ($7,800)
He has made the cut in 12 of his last 13 events. He shot a disappointing 74 this past Sunday to finish T29 after shooting in the 60s each of the first three rounds at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. In the last 24 rounds, he is ranked 17th in the field for SG: TOT. I also like Nick Watney and Collin Morikawa in this pricing area, as well.

Cameron Tringale ($7,700) 
He came into last week showing some signs that his golf game was trending up. He responded with a T5. He will garner a lot more ownership this week, so he isn’t as good of a play this week as he was last week, but I still like him at this price point. I like that he has made the weekend in seven of his last eight events (if you count his T5 at the Zurich Classic team event). Counting his performance at the Zurich Classic, he has three top-11 finishes in his last seven events. In the last 12 rounds played, he ranks fifth in SG: TOT and eighth in fantasy scoring.

Sam Burns ($7,300)
Another bomber that might really like this course if it plays favorably to the longer hitters. He has made the cut in 11 of his last 13 events. The only two events he didn’t play the weekend was at the Memorial when he withdrew because of injury and his MC at the Zurich Classic team event. He only finished T42 last week and his overall finishes haven’t been great recently, but he is making the cut. For a guy at this price point, that is what you are hoping for. His best finish in his last 13 events was a T9 at the RBC Heritage. One of the positives with Burns is that he consistently scores better than his finishing position. He is ranked fourth in this field for fantasy scoring over the span of the last 24 rounds.

Doc Redman ($7,200)
He got into the field late last week and I first found out about him very late Wednesday night after I had most of my lineups done. I didn’t add him to any of my single-entry lineups, but I entered some additional GPP lineups to get some exposure to him. Never did I expect a runner-up finish from him, but he did help me win some money, including a 10th place finish in the 150-entry mini max contest at 2% owned. This served as a reminder to me that even if I like my core group of players, I should always be open to new information, if it makes sense. Tinkering for tinkering sake doesn’t make sense but when I found out that the course was more likely to play like a Web.com event with lots of scoring and that he was actually in the event, I went with him. All that to say, I like him again this week. He has played two PGA events in 2019, finishing second last week and T19 at the Wells Fargo. It is an extremely small sample size but if you look at the last eight rounds played for any golfer in this field, only Hideki Matsuyama has scored more fantasy points and only Nate Lashley and Joaquin Niemann have gained more total strokes. I am willing to take the chance again, especially at this price point in a bad field.

Wyndham Clark ($7,100)
Clark is a big hitter that can score in bunches if he gets on a hot streak. He is trending in the right direction with a T17 and T15 in the last two weeks. This course could catch his eye. Big hitter. Only Hideki Matsuyama has scored more fantasy points than Clark in the last eight rounds of golf played.

FAVORITE $6,000 PLAYS

Josh Teater ($6,500)
Hank Lebioda and Troy Merritt rate out better in my model. I will be playing Lebioda some this week (as I do every week that he is priced low). However, I think if I am going to dip my toe in the deep water this week, then I might as well go really deep. Teater is very interesting and provides significantly more salary relief than Lebioda. He has made four cuts in a row. That is amazing for anyone priced down here. He finished T35 last week, but he shot in the 60s on all but Saturday. He lost more than three strokes putting after gaining strokes putting in his previous three events. He’s been hitting the ball pretty well and putting it pretty well, in general. I don’t see him breaking out for a win, but I could easily see another top-35 finish from him. Who knows, maybe we get another T17 as he showed at the Charles Schwab.

Try Daily Fantasy Golf at DraftKings now

Jamy Bechler is a regular contributor to FantasyPros for NBA, NFL, and PGA. You can follow him on his DFS twitter @WinningDFS101. When he is not playing DFS, Jamy is an author, host of the “Success is a Choice” podcast, and is a leadership trainer, working with businesses and teams across the country (including the NBA). Even though he offers his advice on players and contests, after additional information and consideration, he may end up using different players and strategies than what he recommends.