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FanDuel PGA Lineup Advice: RSM Classic (2020)

FanDuel PGA Lineup Advice: RSM Classic (2020)

The PGA Tour heads down the road a few hours from Augusta and invades Sea Island, Georgia this week for the RSM Classic. The contests on FanDuel may not be as lucrative as they were last week for the Masters, but there are still some nice contests that can increase our bankrolls.

FanDuel has nine golfers priced at $11,000 or above for the RSM Classic. FanDuel provides DFS players with a salary cap of $60,000 to select six golfers for an average roster spot of $10,000. Webb Simpson is the only golfer in the 12K range at $12,000. Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are close behind at $11,800 and $11,700, respectively. Sungjae Im ($11,600) and Jason Day ($11,500) round out FanDuel’s top-five highest priced golfers.

Remember to have 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. Any golfer is capable of winning (e.g. Brian Gay winning the Houston Open after missing 12 of his last 14 cuts). Likewise, even the best golfers can miss the cut (e.g. two of the 3 highest priced golfers missed the cut at the Houston Open). Whether you win or lose, golf is one of the most entertaining fantasy sports to follow because you get four days of action. Good luck and, most importantly, have fun!

Tournament Notes

  • Note: Even though this tournament is played in 2020, it is considered part of the 2021 PGA Season. It is part of the wraparound season (Fall swing). This can get confusing when looking at course history or past events. The years referenced in this article will refer to the actual year the event was played as opposed to the PGA season it was a part of.
  • The tournament is played on two different courses at Sea Island Golf Club on Saint Simons Island in Georgia. Everyone will play Thursday or Friday at the Seaside course and at the Plantation course. Both courses are two of the easiest on Tour, though scoring at the Plantation course typically is lower. The weekend will be played on the Seaside course.
  • The Plantation course is a par-72 course measuring 7,058 yards. The Seaside course is a par-70 measuring 7,005 yards.
  • A full-field of 156 players are scheduled to tee it up this week with the top-65 (and ties) making the cut and playing the weekend.
  • Distance is not as important this week as ball-striking and approach game will be more of a focus. The greens at both courses are Bermuda.
  • Past champions that are scheduled to play this week include Tyler Duncan (2019 season), Charles Howell (2018 season), Austin Cook (2017 season), Mackenzie Hughes (2016 season), Kevin Kisner (2015 season), Robert Streb (2014 season), Chris Kirk (2013 season), and Ben Crane (2011 season).
  • The average score the last five years has been 20-under par.

Course Fit & Key Statistics

Recent Form
The golfers that rate out the best in my customized recent form model (in ranked order) are Talor Gooch, Russell Henley, Sebastian Munoz, Webb Simpson, Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im, Peter Malnati, Sepp Straka, Brian Harman, and Ian Poulter. Brian Harman and Louis Oosthuizen lead this field with 11 straight made cuts on the PGA Tour. Sebastian Munoz is close behind with 10. Sungjae Im, Russell Henley, and Webb Simpson all have nine straight.

Course History
I tend to place emphasis on baseline talent and recent form, but there is a lot to be said for golfers that enjoy playing at certain courses. Some courses just line up better for some golfers. Comfortability with the way a golf course plays can give a golfer confidence going into the week. The ten golfers that rate out the best in my course history model include Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Henrik Norlander, David Hearn, Ryan Armour, Austin Cook, Zach Johnson, Brian Harman, Charles Howell, and Lucas Glover.

Putting on Bermuda
The fairways are easier to hit and the greens-in-regulation percentage is much higher than Tour average, so this tournament often becomes a putting contest. In my customized model for putting on Bermuda grass (both long and short term), the best putters are Patton Kizzire, Denny McCarthy, J.T. Poston, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Webb Simpson, Andrew Putnam, Kevin Kisner, Peter Malnati, Beau Hossler, and Brendon Todd.

Approach Game
Even though the GIR percentage is much higher here at the RSM than at most PGA Tour events doesn’t mean that everyone is going to hit it close to the flagstick. However, the golfers that consistently are strong with the approach game should be able to dial it in even more because they should be hitting fairways and having good lies for their second shots. The golfers with the best approach games in this field, according to my customized model, are Russell Henley, Webb Simpson, Chez Reavie, Emiliano Grillo, Joel Dahmen, Tom Hoge, Doc Redman, Scott Stallings, Harold Varner, and Keegan Bradley.

Official World Golf Ranking
All the statistics and course history are good to know but sports (in particular, DFS golf) oftentimes comes down to betting on talent and playing the best overall players. Sure, salary is involved but fitting as many of the world’s best golfers in your lineups increases your chances for success. According to the OWGR, the best ten golfers in this field (in ranked order) are Webb Simpson (No. 6), Tyrrell Hatton (No. 10), Tommy Fleetwood (No. 16), Sungjae Im (No. 18), Louis Oosthuizen (No. 20), Matthew Fitzpatrick (no. 21), Jason Kokrak (No. 25), Justin Rose (No. 28), Shane Lowry (No. 30), and Matt Kuchar (No. 32).

Favorite $11,000+ Plays

Webb Simpson ($12,000)
The last three times he was priced in the 11K range, Simpson has scored at least 111 FanDuel points. Last year, he was the favorite here and he lost in a playoff. In other words, he typically pays off his salary. Webb tends to only play courses that he likes, and he has finished second and third in the last two years. He just was T10 at the Masters, which was not supposed to be a course that suited him. He is the number six ranked golfer in the world for a reason. The only weakness in his game is his distance off-the-tee, which doesn’t matter this week. I will be locking him in all my lineups this week.

Russell Henley ($11,400)
DataGolf has him ranked as the 18th best player – not just in this field, but in the world. He has missed the last two cuts here, but he also wasn’t playing well. When he had three straight top-10 finishes in 2015, 2016, and 2017, he came in with good form (at least a T15 in one of his two previous events). He’s an elite ball-striker than can get hot with his putter. He has played the weekend in nine of his last 10 events, which have included five top-10 finishes. His T4 at the ZOZO and T3 at the CJ Cup demonstrate what he is capable of doing, especially since those were stacked fields.

Harris English ($11,000)
The Sea Island resident has not fared well here in the past but has been playing really good golf. He would have won the NORTHERN TRUST back in late August if not for DJ demolishing the field in a record-setting performance. He came back strong to finish T4 at the U.S. Open. He has a solid all-around game but really excels around the green and with the flat stick. He is ranked as the 12th best golfer in the world, according to DataGolf.

Favorite $10,000 Plays

Sebastian Munoz ($10,700)
I am still not used to Munoz being priced up here, but he keeps producing against stacked fields. His T19 as a first-timer at the Masters last week is another example of this. He has top-20 finishes in each of his last seven events that were FedExCup playoffs, majors, or no-cut invitationals. This field isn’t as strong so he might be ready to break out and contend for a win. Making me even more excited to play him this week is the fact that he finished third here last year.

Kevin Kisner ($10,500)
Kisner missed the cut here last year but has three top-10 finishes in the last five years, including a win in 2017. This is a course that suits his eye. He doesn’t seem to be a guy that has a lot of upside but can pop at certain courses and this is one of them. He has four top-five finishes during this calendar year, including twice back in August, so he does have some upside.

Mackenzie Hughes ($10,000)
In his last 16 events, he has finished in the top-15 in half of them. In just his last four starts, he has a T7 at the Houston Open and a T3 at the Corales Puntacana. Hughes is struggling a little off-the-tee, which will be minimized this week. However, he is elite with the flat stick which will come in handy this week as we expect to see this turn into a putting contest. His results here the last three years have not been good but that is probably because he hasn’t been playing well leading up to this event. However, he did win the RSM in 2017. Other than Munoz, Kisner, and Hughes, I also plan on playing Matthew Fitzpatrick ($10,900), Jason Kokrak ($10,400), and Brian Harman ($10,100) from this 10K range.

Favorite $9,000 Plays

Denny McCarthy ($9,800)
McCarthy was T8 here last and is playing even better coming into this year’s event. He also changed up his swing coach recently and has been striking the ball better. He is another golfer that is close, and I want to be on him when he breaks through. McCarthy is arguably the best putter in the world, so his improvements in the ball-striking area is encouraging. He has three top-10 finishes in his last eight starts. Overall, he has made the cut in 10 of his last 11 starts.

Doc Redman ($9,800)
In the last 24 rounds, is ninth in the field in total strokes gained and fantasy scoring. He is an elite ball-striker that is close to breaking through. He has top-five finishes in three of his last seven starts. The only question with him is an inconsistent putter. He is not a bad putter, but rather just up-and-down. If he is rolling it right, then he can find himself on the Sunday leaderboard. He was T23 here last year in his first attempt.

Sam Burns ($9,300)
In the last 24 rounds played, he is eighth in this field in total strokes gained and 10th in fantasy scoring. He is another player that can really get hot with the putter and if this is the week, then watch out. He is ranked first in ball-striking, first off-the-tee, and third from tee-to-green in the last 24 rounds so a good putting performance could put him over the top. Burns was T7 his last time out in Houston, giving him his second top-10 finish in his last five starts. Other 9K golfers that I will be considering include Dylan Frittelli ($9,900), CT Pan ($9,900), Ian Poulter ($9,900), Talor Gooch ($9,800), Austin Cook ($9,600), and Sepp Straka ($9,400).

Favorite $8,000 Plays

Harold Varner ($8,800)
He is money with his irons but is inconsistent with the flat stick. He is not a bad putter, but rather just inconsistent. One of these days he is going to put it all together. His T15 at the Houston Open was his third top-15 finish in his last six events. In this field, he is fifth in total strokes gained and eighth in fantasy scoring over the last 24 rounds played.

Peter Malnati ($8,100)
He is too cheap for his recent form but priced appropriately for his course history. He has missed the cut here in each of the last four years. However, he has never come into this event playing as well as he is right now. In this case, I am going to side with his recent form and his incredibly low price. He has made the cut in five of his last six events. Four of those resulted in top-25 finishes, including a T5 at the Shriners and a T2 at the Sanderson Farms. In the last 24 rounds played, he is fourth in the field for total strokes gained and fifth in fantasy scoring. In addition to Varner and Malnati, other 8K golfers I like are Kristoffer Ventura ($8,900), Wyndham Clark ($8,800), Maverick McNealy ($8,700), Cameron Davis ($8,700), Russell Knox ($8,500), Michael Gligic ($8,300), and Scott Piercy ($8,000).

Favorite $7,000 Plays

James Hahn ($7,800)
Last week our two 7K recommendations finished T19 (Munoz) and T29 (Langer), which really helped out our lineups. We are hoping to keep it going again this week. Hahn struggled a little bit his last time out but still made the cut at the Houston Open. This is all we need from our 7K guys, however, Hahn has shown upside recently. In the three events leading up to the Houston Open, he had three straight top-10 finishes. I like where he is at with his game and he has the ability to get hot with his putter, as well. Other 7K golfers I like include James Hahn ($7,8, Cameron Percy ($7,600), David Hearn ($7,300), John Huh ($7,000), and Hank Lebioda ($7,000).

Jamy Bechler is a regular contributor to FantasyPros for NBA, NFL, and PGA. You can send him questions and 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 a leadership consultant, 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 recommended in this article.

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