Welcome to the Fantasy Six Pack! If this is your first time joining us, we highlight six golfers to use in two popular fantasy golf platforms, DraftKings and FanDuel. On each, you must select six golfers for your lineup under a specific salary cap. (DraftKings $50,000, FanDuel $60,000) A little about me: I’m a golf nut with a 1.3 handicap and a nose for analytics — according to Rotogrinders, I’m one of the top daily fantasy golf players and ranked inside the top 25 of all players. Come check out all of my analysis at Awesemo.com, where I was able to put it to great use last week while earning myself more than $15,000 in profit, highlighted by a $12,000 win in FanDuel’s $9 buy-in contest. Ka-ching!
Recap of last week:
Winner, winner! For the second straight week, we highlighted the eventual tournament-winner in this article. Can we make it a turkey this week? Let’s get to it.
The Tournament: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Courses: Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, Spyglass Hill
Average Winning Score: -17
Average Cut: -2
Yardage: 6,900
Par: 72
Skills emphasized: Only two rounds each year are measured regarding strokes gained, but strokes gained on approaches reigns supreme, so we’ll emphasize it.
Last year’s top finishers
Ted Potter
Dustin Johnson
Chez Reavie
Jason Day
Phil Mickelson
The Favorite:
Dustin Johnson (Odds: 6/1, DraftKings $11,400, FanDuel $12,400) In my years playing DFS golf, I’ve learned a few things about specific players. One lesson: when DJ gets rolling, just stay on him until he falls down a set of stairs. (I’m still angry about Augusta a couple years back!) Statistically speaking, Johnson’s game doesn’t line up for this event, since the courses don’t emphasize driving. But he’s rung up four top 5s in 5 years, and he won last week in Saudi Arabia. No reason not to play him this week.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in the great form
Shane Lowry (Odds: 40/1, DraftKings $8,800, FanDuel $10,000) The Irishmen won in Abu Dhabi last month and he prides himself on being able to hold up in tough conditions. The elements could be ripe out there this week, and given that he also enters off of a win, this is a perfect spot to play Lowry.
Sungjae Im (Odds: 50/1, DraftKings $8,400, FanDuel $9,300) The 20-year-old Korean is hitting his stride on the PGA Tour making five straight cuts, with his best finish coming last week where he had his first top 10. He’s had three other top 20’s but was able to secure his best finish on tour. Now he looks to continue that strong form in California where he’ll be able to use his elite ball striking to get near the top of the leaderboard again this week.
Chesson Hadley (Odds: 100/1, DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $9,300) After a blazing start last year, Hadley has cooled off. He was on the rise at the Desert Classic but missed the cut after his putter cooled midway through Round 2. But last week he looked better while finishing 20th. He’s got a pair of top 10s here (2014, 2015) and finished 35th last year, so the course fit is there. I also like him for the price.
Mulligans: A player who has struggled but expects to play better
Patrick Cantlay (Odds: 20/1, DraftKings $9,800, FanDuel $11,000) Did you think I’d go a whole article without talking about two of my favorite players, Cantlay and Jordan Spieth (Odds: 28/1, DraftKings $9,400, FanDuel $10,800), when they’re both in the field? Spieth took last week off after finishing 35th at the Farmers, and despite his recent struggles, I still believe. Cantlay also rested after the Farmers, where he missed just his third cut in two years. In each of his previous two MCs, he’s rebounded with a top-10 finish. I like his chances again this week.
Where to play this fantasy golf this week
DraftKings:
1. $5 buy-in called “Tee To Green,” with a top prize of $50,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $300,000.
2. $333 buy-in called “Club Pro,” with a top prize of $50,000, and a guaranteed prize pool of $150,000.
3. $33 buy-in called “Dogleg,” with a top prize of $25,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $150,000.
FanDuel:
1. $7 buy-in called “Eagle,” with a top prize of $10,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000.
2. $333 buy-in called “Monster,” with a top prize of $10,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $20,000.
Jason Rouslin is the lead golf analyst for Awesemo.com. He has been playing golf for the last 20 years, betting on golf for the last five and writing about golf for the last two. Connect with him on twitter @dfsgolfer23 or check him out on the @rotogrinders live golf show on Tuesday’s @ 8 PM and on the live @Awesemo_Com betting show at 11:30 AM!
