DraftKings Daily Fantasy Golf Helper: WGC-Workday Championship
Daily fantasy golf requires a new approach for each and every event.
The course and field change week after week, making no two contests alike. That means you need to refine your approach for each PGA Tour event to try to find golfers who are primed to excel for your daily fantasy golf lineups.
Each week, we have a course primer, our daily fantasy golf projections and lineup builder can help you get started, but these golfers stand out specifically on DraftKings for the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship.
| Key Stats for the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession GC |
|---|
| Strokes Gained: Tee to Green |
| Strokes Gained: Approach |
| Birdies or Better Gained |
| Scrambling Gained |
| Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermuda) |
Let's get to the picks. For details on why these stats stand out this week, check out the course primer.
Stats are from Fantasy National Golf Club and are for golfers in the field over the last 50 rounds, unless otherwise noted.
High-Salaried Studs
Dustin Johnson (DraftKings Salary: $11,600 | FanDuel Sportsbook Win Odds: +600) - He's the best player. There is merit in fading just about anyone in golf, but after another top 10 last week, when he didn't even have a signature run up the leaderboard, cements Johnson as the top play on DraftKings week in and week out. He's shown he can contend in tough conditions like the BMW Championship or blitz the field and win by a million like he did at The Masters and the Northern Trust. The only case against DJ is that he's traditionally preferable on poa annua and we are moving to bermuda greens this week.
Justin Thomas ($10,500 | +1800) - On the other side of that coin is Thomas, who lives in Florida and much prefers bermudagrass. He imploded at Riviera with one of his worst performances with the putter in his career. He lost 5.8 strokes putting in just two rounds, missing the cut and ending up near dead last. That's a blip for Thomas, who has missed just one cut since last year's Genesis Invitational and hadn't been outside the top 20 in any event since August. He ranks 2nd in birdies or better gained, 3rd in strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: approach, 10th in scrambling gained, and 33rd putting on strokes gained: putting on bermuda. You really can't go wrong with any of the golfers in the top tier, but the salary drop for JT makes him the best value up here.
Mid-Salaried Options
Daniel Berger ($9,300 | +3100) - Berger's betting number seems elevated since it is unlikely he'll win back-to-back starts, but after bailing on the Genesis, concerns about a win hangover should be assuaged this week. Berger has quite clearly been one of the top handful of golfers in the world over the past year, picking up two wins in that span with loads of other opportunities. He is 5th in scrambling gained, 10th in birdies or better gained, 13th in both strokes gained: tee to green and strokes gained: approach, and 14th in putting on bermuda.
Webb Simpson ($9,100 | +2900) - Simpson is the top bermuda player in the field, ranking first in not just strokes gained: putting but also total strokes gained in courses over his last 50 rounds with bermuda greens. His floor is remarkably high whenever he tees it up even if he doesn't quite carry the same name value as the very top players. But Webb's T42 in Phoenix last time out was his worst finish since missing the cut at the Memorial in July. Just twice in that span has he finished worst than 17th.
Sungjae Im ($8,800 | +3300) - We brought up PGA National as a potential comparison in our course primer, and naturally the Honda Classic's defending champion would stand out as a top play on DraftKings this week. Sungjae finished the week at 6-under par and followed it up with a T3 at Bay Hill in even tougher conditions, showing he can stand up to a challenge. He ranks 10th in putting on bermuda, 16th in birdies or better gained, 19th in strokes gained: approach, and 20th in strokes gained: tee to green.
Matthew Fitzpatrick ($8,500 | +5000) - Fitz was in play last week and didn't disappoint until a frustrating Sunday that saw him putting for birdie over and over again only to come away with pars. No more apparent was that than the 72nd hole, where he flubbed a 5-footer for birdie that would have given him a solo 5th. His third-round 69 was one of the most impressive rounds of the tournament, and if Concession plays up to its difficult reputation, we can expect to see Fitzpatrick in the mix once again.
Low-Salaried Options
Harris English ($7,500 | +5500) - After finally breaking through with his win at the Tournament of Champions, English finished T32 at the Sony Open, had a disastrous week at Torrey Pines, and then couldn't quite get going at TPC Scottsdale. He actually gained strokes putting on both bermuda tracks, an encouraging sign heading back East where the Georgia native should be more comfortable. He ranks 6th in putting on bermuda, 9th in scrambling gained, 9th in birdies or better gained, and 27th in stroke gained: tee to green.
Ryan Palmer ($7,200 | +8000) - Palmer has played some of the best golf of his career over the past year, with six top 10s in the past 12 months. He ranks 11th in birdies or better gained, 12th in strokes gained: approach, and 18th in strokes gained: tee to green. He's played well in tough conditions as well, including a runner-up at the correlated Nicklaus design at Muirfield Village GC. Palmer also has a long and successful career at the other comp course, PGA National. He was T17 at the Honda Classic last year and T4 the year prior, and he's played the course 14 times over his career.
Shane Lowry ($7,000 | +7000) - Tough, windy conditions will play to Lowry's strengths this week, and the worse it gets for the course the better for him. He brings his best to the top-tier events, and Lowry ranks 17th in strokes gained: approach and scrambling gained, and 22nd in strokes gained: tee to green.
Bargain Basement
Lanto Griffin ($6,700 | +12000) - Griffin has maintained his solid form from the end of last season, most recently with a T7 at the Farmers and T26 at the Genesis. He ranks eighth in strokes gained: approach and ninth in putting on bermuda, and that short stick has been smoking hot of late regardless of grass type. He's gained 2.7 strokes or more putting in four of his last five measured events, and six of his last eight.
Thomas Detry ($6,600 | +15000) - Detry finished third at the 2015 NCAA Championships held at Concession, just a few strokes behind champion Bryson DeChambeau ($9,900 | +2000). The Belgian is a Champions Tour vet who has only three PGA starts to his name, but he has good long and short games, ranking inside the top 25 on the European Tour in strokes gained: off the tee and scrambling.
Mike Rodden is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Mike Rodden also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mike_rodden. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
