GOLF

Daily Fantasy Golf Course Primer: The Masters

Study up on Augusta National before you build your FanDuel lineups for the Masters.

It's here. It's finally here.

Last year's Masters feels like a decade ago -- but also a month ago at the same time. This event just has that mystique about it, and we're only a handful of hours away from the 82nd edition of the Masters.

But you probably don't need me to linger on the past. So let's dig into Augusta National and see what edges we may be able to find when it comes to building our DFS lineups for the Masters.

Course and Tournament Info

The Masters is unique in many ways, the first of which includes a smaller field than we're used to -- even for the Masters. At most, the 82nd Masters will field 87 golfers, fewest since 1997. As for the cut, the top 50 golfers (plus ties) make it through, as well as any golfer within 10 shots of the lead after 36 holes.

This means that a higher percentage of golfers than usual will make it through the cut than normal (last year, 53 of 93 golfers played the weekend at Augusta, 57%). With 50 (plus ties) among 87 (at most), we're looking at close to 60% of the field making it through. You can't afford to have golfers miss the cut.

Of course, Augusta National is no pushover course.

Year Difficulty Rank Course Par Yards Avg Score Avg O/U Par
2017 2 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 73.887 1.887
2016 3 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 74.421 2.421
2015 14 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 72.536 0.536
2014 2 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 73.946 1.946
2013 4 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 73.412 1.412
2012 8 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 73.500 1.500
2011 15 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 72.426 0.426
2010 3 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 73.293 1.293
2009 15 Augusta National GC 72 7,435 72.606 0.606
2008 11 Augusta National GC 72 7,445 73.773 1.773


The par 72 runs 7,400-plus yards and generally plays longer, making it one of the longest courses on the PGA Tour each season. Not only that, but Augusta National is simply one of the toughest tests around, and putting on the super fast bentgrass greens means you need to be able to do everything well to contend.

Given all of that, what stats stand out when we're looking to find strong plays on FanDuel?

Key Stats

Frankly, you can't have any holes in your game if you're trying to contend for the green jacket, but these stats stand out as must-haves for your golfers at Augusta National.

Key Stats for the Masters at Augusta National
Strokes Gained: Approach
Driving Distance
Par 5 Scoring
Greens in Regulation
Strokes Gained: Putting


It's not really a secret that this is a second-shot course, meaning strokes gained: approach should be at or near the top of the list for our research this week.

According to FantasyGolfMetrics, golfers making the top 25 here since 2003 have had an average driving distance of 283.2 yards, shorter than the normal top-25 average of 290.2. However, those missing the cut have averaged a 273.7-yard distance off the tee since 2003 at Augusta, a 9.5-yard differential. The lack of rough (in favor of pine straw) favors distance over accuracy.

The only holes that play under par are the par 5s: the 572-yard 2nd, the 567-yard 8th, the 509-yard 13th, and the 528-yard 15th. Taking advantage of par 5s is vital to breaking par.

Greens in regulation and scrambling also come into play, given how difficult the greens are. Missing GIRs will only put golfers farther behind with the difficult greens.

Weekly putting is pretty much always going to correlate to success, and a golfer's putting can be highly variable week to week. Still, this isn't the week to neglect putting ability entirely.

Course history can be misleading -- as it doesn't account for then-current form among other variables -- but playing Augusta in the past is pretty important. There hasn't been a first-time winner since 1979.

Course History Studs

With such a storied event, a lot of golfers in this field have some history at Augusta. These players are qualified for the 2018 Masters and have a win here since 2000.

Player Year Winning Masters
Sergio Garcia 2017
Danny Willett 2016
Jordan Spieth 2015
Bubba Watson 2012 & 2014
Adam Scott 2013
Charl Schwartzel 2011
Phil Mickelson 2004, 2006, & 2010
Angel Cabrera 2009
Trevor Immelman 2008
Zach Johnson 2007
Tiger Woods 1997, 2001, 2002, & 2005
Mike Weir 2003
Vijay Singh 2000


If we narrow the scope a bit and look at the past 12 years, thanks to data from SmartGolfBets, these golfers have played Augusta at least half of those years (sorted by top-25 finish percentage and years competing).

Masters History 2006-2017 Events Best Finish Made Cut% Top 25s Top 25%
Angel Cabrera 12 1 83% 8 67%
Phil Mickelson 12 1 83% 8 67%
Adam Scott 12 1 92% 7 58%
Henrik Stenson 12 14 67% 6 50%
Sergio Garcia 12 1 75% 4 33%
Trevor Immelman 12 1 58% 4 33%
Zach Johnson 12 1 58% 3 25%
Vijay Singh 12 8 67% 3 25%
Mike Weir 12 11 50% 3 25%
Larry Mize 12 30 42% 0 0%
Fred Couples 11 3 73% 7 64%
Bernhard Langer 11 8 27% 3 27%
Mark O'Meara 11 22 9% 1 9%
Ian Woosnam 11 44 9% 0 0%
Justin Rose 10 2 100% 9 90%
Jose Maria Olazabal 10 3 40% 1 10%
Martin Kaymer 10 16 50% 1 10%
Tiger Woods 9 2 100% 8 89%
Rory McIlroy 9 4 89% 7 78%
Paul Casey 9 4 78% 6 67%
Louis Oosthuizen 9 2 56% 4 44%
Bubba Watson 9 1 89% 3 33%
Matt Kuchar 8 3 100% 6 75%
Charl Schwartzel 8 1 75% 3 38%
Dustin Johnson 7 4 86% 3 43%
Rickie Fowler 7 5 86% 3 43%
Ryan Moore 7 9 71% 3 43%
Jason Dufner 7 20 71% 2 29%
Jason Day 6 2 100% 5 83%
Hideki Matsuyama 6 5 83% 3 50%
Francesco Molinari 6 19 67% 1 17%
Webb Simpson 6 28 50% 0 0%


You can do with that what you will. If we narrow the scope to the past five iterations of the Masters, these golfers have played here at least four times (sorted the same way).

Masters History 2013-2017EventsBest FinishMade Cut%Top 25sTop 25%
Justin Rose52100%5100%
Rory McIlroy54100%5100%
Jason Day53100%480%
Matt Kuchar54100%480%
Henrik Stenson51480%480%
Adam Scott51100%360%
Sergio Garcia5180%360%
Angel Cabrera5260%360%
Rickie Fowler5580%360%
Bernhard Langer5860%360%
Louis Oosthuizen51580%360%
Phil Mickelson5260%240%
Charl Schwartzel5360%240%
Ryan Moore5960%240%
Bubba Watson5180%120%
Zach Johnson5940%120%
Martin Kaymer51680%120%
Branden Grace51840%120%
Jason Dufner52060%120%
Mark O'Meara52220%120%
Webb Simpson52840%00%
Vijay Singh53760%00%
Mike Weir54420%00%
Trevor Immelman55020%00%
Larry Mize55160%00%
Ian Woosnam51000%00%
Jordan Spieth41100%4100%
Dustin Johnson4475%375%
Hideki Matsuyama4575%375%
Fred Couples41375%375%
Jimmy Walker48100%250%
Russell Henley41175%250%
Marc Leishman4450%125%
Patrick Reed42250%125%
Jose Maria Olazabal43450%00%


A few standouts include a pair of Brits in Justin Rose (2nd, 10th, 2nd the past three years) and Paul Casey (6th, 4th, and 6th). Rory McIlroy has five straight top-25 finishes and four straight top 10s: (8th, 4th, 10th, 7th).

Jordan Spieth's form reads 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 11th at Augusta, and he trailed the lead by just two strokes after 54 holes a year ago.

Matt Kuchar has four top-eight finishes over the past six years and five top-25 finishes in that span. Dustin Johnson's past four finishes are 13th, cut, 6th, and 4th.

Hideki Matsuyama has finished 5th, 7th, and 11th since a missed cut four years ago.