The Power Fade – PGA DFS
By: Mark Farris
Tournament: THE PLAYERS Championship
Course: TPC Sawgrass (Par 72 – 7,093 Yards)
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Defending Champions:
2019: Rory McIlroy (-16) 2nd – Jim Furyk
2018: Webb Simpson (-18) 2nd – Schauffele/Schwartzel/Walker
2017: Si Woo Kim (-10) 2nd – Oosthuizen/Poulter
NOTE: No matter what the format of my article, I am ALWAYS available on Slack Chat! You can discuss your ideas/issues with everyone in the #pga-dfs channel or you can DM me on there if you have an idea you really want to keep to yourself.
Remember the Rules of playing DFS:
• You will probably lose more weeks than you win.
• Play Single-Entry (S/E), S/E Double-Ups and 50/50s as a hedge against the GPPs you want/like to play.
• If you play GPPs, look for Single-Entry contests first. After that, play the ones that allow five (5) entries or less. The only exception I have to my rule is that I play the $1 WTA each week that allows 20 entries. I don’t always play the maximum but I use it to help me set the 10-20 lineups I like to set each week. I am NOT a Mega-Multi Entry player!
• In PGA-DFS, DO NOT get overly excited by your position after Round 1 (Thursday).
Course Background
We are moving to what is being called the “5th Major” at the TPC-Sawgrass.
The pricing on DK this week is a lot softer than normal in my opinion. Over the years that I have played PGA DFS, this isn’t uncommon. When you get to “Majors”, the DFS companies tend to make it easier for those “fair-weather” players to have an opportunity to make a “stud” lineup with names they know. THE $7000-$9000 range is STACKED!!!
The Players is an important tournament as indicated by its name. “The Players” view this as “their” Championship and not one particularly tied to a country or organization (PGA Championship). Even The Masters is a form of “organization” and its similarity with The Players is that it’s always on the same course.
Greens: Bermuda & Small (in Tour terms)
Rough: Bermuda
Water: Plentiful
This is not a long course for a Par 72 and “Bombers” can still take advantage by clubbing down and avoiding bad positions and hazards due to more control.
FABOG = “Favorites At Bottom of Group” (assuming not included before that)
Group 1: $8,100 and Up:
My Play: Jon Rahm
Top Picks: Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, & Bryson DeChambeau
FABOG: Sungjae Im, Patrick Reed & Tony Finau
Sneaky: Hideki Matsuyama
Avoid: Jason Day (don’t trust the back)
HOW IN GOD’S NAME I MISSED RORY MCILROY IS BEYOND ME!!! My apologies as an analyst. Given his recent performances and history, he is a TOP pick. I only pick Rahm as “My Play” because I have a gut feeling he wins and getting both in a lineup together may not be physically possible (at least not to the point that you vomit over the other 4).
Group 2: $7,100 – $8,000
My Play: Matthew Fitzpatrick (liked his finish last week)
Top Picks: Morikawa, Lowry & Kuchar
FABOG: Ian Poulter & Rafa Cabrera Bello
Sneaky: Daniel Berger (I love the way he is playing now and you don’t see or hear much about it – $7200 is a steal!! HE WILL MAKE THE CUT!!)
If you have a question on a specific guy, hit me up on Slack chat or Twitter (@Farris1967) and I will try to give you some advice.
Group 3: $6,600 – $7,000
My Plays: Talor Gooch & Adam Hadwin
Top Picks: Christiaan Bezuidenhout & Max Homa
FABOG: Patrick Rodgers & Ryan Palmer
Sneaky: Cameron Tringale & J. B. Holmes (if he’s healthy)
$6,500 and Below
My Play: J. T. Poston
Sneaky: Charley Hoffman
You don’t need to speculate much down here unless you want as 3 guys over $8,500. There are plenty of quality players in the $7,500 to $9,500 range for a balanced lineup.
Projected Winner: Jon Rahm
Tertiary Winner: Bryson DeChambeau
Longshot (below $7.5K): Daniel Berger
JOIN Slack Chat! The FullTimeArmy is here to help!
Remember, it’s called GOLF because all of the other 4-letter words were taken! The variance is frustrating and Alex and I are just trying to help you through the ROUGH!