Welcome to the Fantasy Six Pack! If this is your first time joining us, here 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 where last week I cracked the top 10 in two contests and earned more than $3,000!
Recap of Last Week:
Justin Thomas decided on Sunday to try a new strategy: “Driver everywhere.” It worked. He tied the course record with a 63 to finish inside the top 10. Tiger Woods and Louis Oosthuizen played well, while Marc Leishman struggled. Onward.
The Tournament: Honda Classic
Course: PGA National Golf Club
Average Winning Score: -9
Average Cut: +1
Yardage: 7100
Par: 71
Last year’s top finishers
Justin Thomas
Luke List
Alex Noren
Tommy Fleetwood
Webb Simpson
Ben An
Skills emphasized: We have 11 years of data on PGA National, so it helps paint a full picture of what it takes to win. All facets of a player’s game will matter, but strokes gained on the approaches reigns supreme.
The Favorite:
Justin Thomas (Odds: 5/1, DraftKings $11,900, FanDuel $13,000) It’s hard to not keep JT in this spot, as he’s the defending champion, and his recent form indicates he’s close to winning again. This week there’s a pretty sharp drop off in talent after JT — you could make a case for Rickie Fowler and maybe a couple of others, but if you are looking to roster a stud in your lineup, look no further than JT. He leads the Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green and approaches. The perfect winning combination.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in great form
Cameron Smith (Odds 20/1, DraftKings $9,500 FanDuel $10,700) The young Aussie continues to perform in big events, as he notched another top-10 last week in Mexico. A Sunday 70, where he didn’t play his best, kept him out of the top five. He’s had three top 10s in the last 4 starts, so this is an impressive run. Smith may not be able to beat JT this week, but his upside is there.
Russell Knox (Odds: 66/1, DraftKings $7,800, FanDuel $9,700) Over the past few years I’ve noticed Knox seems to play his best at certain tracks, but he also needs good form going in. He’s missed the cut here each of the last two years and wasn’t in great form then, either, but before that, he rattled off finishes of 26, 3 and 2 while playing some of the best golf of his career. Now, entering this week, he’s on a run of five straight cuts with three top 20s. He’s a reasonable salary on DraftKings and a little more of a reach on FanDuel.
Jim Furyk (Odds: 100-1, Draftings $7,000, FanDuel $9,200) There’s a resurgence of “older” golfers on tour has happening this season, and I’m not saying Furyk is as good a bet right now as Matt Kuchar, Charles Howell III or Phil Mickelson, but it’s clear that Furyk has found his game again. He was injured for the better part of last year but started playing better late in the year. He’s made his last two cuts, and in those starts he put up 63.5 and 78 DraftKings points while gaining strokes everywhere other than putting.
“Out of Bounds” Play of the Week: A golfer who isn’t well-known — yet.
Lucas Bjerregaard (Odds: 200/1, DraftKings $6,500, FanDuel $8,000) The 51st-ranked golfer in the world is priced down with guys ranked in the 300s. Bjerregaard plays most of his golf on the European tour, but the Dane has earned a couple of sponsors exemptions in the U.S. He’s also hovering near a Masters Invitation, as soon the top 50 in the OWGR will automatically qualify. He putted horrifically last week — losing almost 3 strokes on average per round! — but if he cleans that up he should pay off at this price.
Mulligans: A player who has struggled but expects to play better
Sungjae Im (Odds: 75/1, DraftKings $7,300, FanDuel $9,200) The 20-year-old from Korea has endured an up-and-down rookie season, and he’s now missed two straight cuts. But after taking last week off, I like him to come back rejuvenated. His salary is in the value range again, and last year on the Web.com tour after missing two straight cuts, he finished 8th in his next event. So, he can find his form quickly. It might happen again this week.
Where to play 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.
That’s it for this week, folks! As always, check my bio below if you’d like to get in touch.
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 golf show at 9 PM Wednesdays
