Daily Fantasy Golf Course Primer: BMW Championship
The FedEx Cup playoffs is down to its penultimate event, as the top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings head to Conway Farms for a no-cut throwdown.
FedEx.
The field being limited helps us dig deeper into each individual golfer, but as for the course, we have just two recent years of data to look into: 2013 and 2015.
Still, that's enough to get a feel for the course and to pare down our list of golfers we may want to roster on FanDuel this week.
Course and Tournament Overview
Conway Farms is a shorter par 71, spanning just shy of 7,200 yards. It also graded out as one of the easier courses on tour in 2015, though that includes performances from 68 of some of the better golfers in the world -- or at least of the ones who play on the PGA Tour.
| Year | Difficulty Rank | Course | Par | Yds | Avg Score | Avg O/U Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 44 | Conway Farms GC | 71 | 7,198 | 69.489 | -1.511 |
| 2013 | 27 | Conway Farms GC | 71 | 7,149 | 70.811 | -0.189 |
Again, the field is really short, and there's no cut, so that lets you take some chances on lower-priced, less-certain options, but you won't want to be stuck with a Bryce Molder or Ben Martin, who were +11 in 2015 (Jason Day won it at -22).
Key Stats
Strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: putting (greens are bentgrass) are always good to monitor, but these are the most important stats for the course, based on the two years of data that we have to work with.
| Key Stats for the BMW Championship at Conway Farms |
|---|
| Birdie or Better Rate |
| Par 4 Scoring |
| Strokes Gained: Tee to Green |
| Greens in Regulation |
| Strokes Gained: Approach |
That's a pretty balanced list that includes making good on the numerous par 4s (and 8 of the 10 are between 440 and 500 yards).
The research suggests avoiding blowups in a competitive field is vital, but we should really target birdie makers as well. We need that upside to compete. Still, putting yourself into positions to make birdies, save pars, and avoid bogeys by getting greens in regulation isn't a bad start.
But as we've seen for a few weeks in a row, strokes gained: tee to green and approach are two of the most vital stats yet again this week for Conway Farms.
Course History Studs
Again, we're dealing with two years of results here, so take them all with a grain of salt, but of the guys who have played it both years, Jason Day definitely has the best form, winning in 2015 and coming in fourth in 2013.
None of the other 37 golfers to play it both years have even two top 10s.
Zach Johnson won in 2013 and came 13th in 2015.
Only one other players in the field has posted multiple top-25s: Jordan Spieth (16th in 2013 and 13th in 2015).
Daniel Berger (second) and Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy (tied for fourth) were the top five along with Day in 2015 among golfers in this week's field.
