PGA DFS: The Honda Classic Open
Al White (coachwhiteDFS) is back to bring you the winning plays for the Honda Classic Open
PGA DFS Weekly w/ Mark & Al
Al and Mark break down the Honda Classic
PGA DFS – Honda Classic Preview (FanDuel)
FanDuel recently updated their PGA DFS offering, so players are trying to figure out the new format and optimize their lineups accordingly. Basically, they’ve taken away their split rosters, and made their PGA product very similar to DraftKings’ product. FanDuel Golf Scoring System: Eagle = 7 points Birdie = 3.1 points Par = 0.5 point Bogey = -1 point Double bogey (or worse) = -3 points Streak bonus = 0.6 points per hole under par Bounce back (birdie or better after making bogey or worse) = 0.3 points 5+ Birdies in a round = 4 points Bogey-free round = 5 points. 1st place = 20 points 2nd-5th place = 12 points 6th-10th place = 8 points 11th-25th place = 5 points Tournament Stop The Honda Classic is held at the Championship course at PGA National, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It’s notoriously one of the hardest courses on Tour, where par is a good score. The course is a par-72, but the tournament officials set it up as a par-70, making scoring much more difficult. The course is full of bunkers, water hazards, and tricky bermuda greens. The wind blows nonstop, making elite ball-strikers our main target. PGA National features the Bear Trap, a 3-hole stretch (15-16-17) full of water hazards that completely changes the tournament every year. Players can make birdies, pars, bogeys, doubles, triples, and even the occasional quadruple bogey during this stretch. We can categorize this course as a less-than-driver course, so players who contend will be gaining strokes on approach shots, around the green, and putting. I don’t often look at stat splits, but I will be targeting players who excel on bermuda greens, in Florida, and in the wind. I’ll be out there this week, so let me know if you have any specific questions you’d like answered! In terms of stats I feel are important, SG:Approach, SG:Around-the-Green, and par-4 scoring. Correlating courses that I’ll take a small look at this week are Colonial, TPC Sawgrass, and Waialea. This week’s field is headlined by Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, and a ton of the other top European Tour players. If I had to pick one of these guys to win this week, it would be Justin Thomas. Recent Tournament History Here are the leaderboards from the past three installments of the Genesis Open: Current Form Review Each week, we’ll look backward at the last three tournaments on the PGA and European Tours. Here are the leaderboards from the past three events: the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and last week’s Genesis Open. Statistical Report Strokes Gained Approach (SG:APP): Ball-striking, especially with irons, is going to be a major key for players this week. PGA National is a ball-striker’s paradise, where iron play will be key. The greens are small targets, and scrambling will be a challenge. The players are going to need to back a bundle of birdies this week to offset the bogeys and double bogeys that are lurking. In terms of recent play, the players to target in strokes gained approach are Chesson Hadley, Scott Piercy, Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, Ollie Schniederjans, and Alexander Noren. Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee (SG:OTT): Every week, off-the-tee play is a main target. Guys who can hit it long and straight have a huge advantage over the rest of the field. It makes courses shorter, and allows them to hit approach shots from shorter distances, setting up birdies. PGA National is more of an accuracy course, but that’s still reflected in some of the names near the top of SG:OTT. The best off-the-tee players are Ryan Palmer, Gary Woodland, Harold Varner III, Lucas Glover, Jason Dufner, and Charles Howell III. Birdie or Better % (BoB%): There are really not many weeks where we aren’t going to target birdie or better percentage, because that’s what fantasy golf scoring is all about. This event should lend itself to higher scores, so players who can steal the most points for birdies will be ahead of the pack. The best players in this field in recent birdie or better percentage are Jason Dufner, Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, Patton Kizzire, Kevin Kisner, Russell Henley, and Ollie Schniederjans. Par-4 Scoring (P4): PGA National plays as a par-70, meaning we have two additional par-4s on the course. That means par-4 scoring will have an added emphasis, especially longer par-4 scoring average. Both par-5s play easy for everyone in the field, so par-4 scoring will be the major differentiator. Some of the best par-4 scorers in this field are Jason Dufner, Ryan Palmer, Rickie Fowler, Hudson Swafford, Justin Thomas, Kevin Kisner, Gary Woodland, Scott Piercy, and Ollie Schniederjans. Studs *In order of my rankings Justin Thomas ($12,100) – Ranking JT first might be a contrarian angle, but I like the way his game is trending. He lives in Palm Beach Gardens, so this is a home game. Thomas posted a top-10 at Riviera last week, snapping a bit of a slump to begin 2018. He comes to PGA National where he’s missed two cuts, but he did finish 3rd in 2016. Thomas is an elite scorer, and tends to play well on long par-4s. I’m in on JT as the top stud this week. Rickie Fowler ($12,300) – Fowler will definitely be popular this week, given his name recognition and the fact that he’s the defending champion. Like Justin Thomas, he lives locally, and plays here often. Fowler started off very strong this season, finishing 2nd at the OHL Classic, winning the Hero World Challenge, and finishing 11th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (where he led after 54-holes). My only concern is that Fowler has been riding a really hot putter, and that’s not very sustainable. Tommy Fleetwood ($11,300) – Fleetwood should be a great fit for PGA National, but I’m a little wary because this is his first trip. He’s a dynamic ball-striker who plays well in the wind,