Welcome to the Fantasy Six Pack, where 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). As a reminder, 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. On Monday, players like Adam Scott and Keegan Bradley played their way into the U.S. Open at sectional qualifying events. Check out some other golfers that were able to qualify in this golf.com blog. Before we rush into next week, where DraftKings will once again be offering a “Millionaire Maker” contest, we turn our attention to the FedEx St. Jude Classic, which for the past two years has been Daniel Berger’s playground.
The Tournament: FedEx St. Jude Classic
Average Winning Score: -10
Average Cut: +1
Yardage: 7,200 yards
Par: 70
Skills emphasized: It’s always important to go back and check out how the top finishers accomplished their feat. When I did our research for this week, it came as no surprise that SG: OTT was very prevalent amongst top finishers, as well as bogey avoidance. More of a “grind it out” type of week, it’s no secret that this is track suits, Daniel Berger. Come to check out this free article that goes into more detail on the course & what players may be a great fit! Click here.
Top-5 finishers last year:
Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka
Charl Schwartzel
Kevin Chappell
Chez Reavie
Recap of last week’s picks
Our least confident pick (Na) was the only one from our list to miss the cut, and everyone outside of Kevin Tway cracked the top 25. This week, a winner will emerge from one of these six.
The Favorite(s):
The “Mash Brothers”: Dustin Johnson (Odds: 7/1 DraftKings, $11,700, FanDuel $12,900), Brooks Kopeka (Odds: 9/1, DraftKings $11,100, FanDuel $12,400) In the “The Mighty Ducks 2,” the “Bash Brothers” were known for their physical prowess on the ice and their close friendship. (Who can forget?) So it goes with Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka, great buddies who hit the ball a mile. Both have odds better than 10-1, and both come into TPC Southwind in good form. Koepka is fresh off a runner-up finish at Colonial, while DJ cracked the top 10 at Memorial. As for course fit, DJ is a previous winner at this event and Koepka has a runner-up. It’s going to be hard to pass on these golfers, but if you have to pick one or the other, try this: Heads, Dustin; tails Brooks.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in the great form
1. Daniel Berger (Odds: 22/1, DraftKings $10,000 FanDuel $11,800) Berger has quietly made seven straight cuts, with two top-20 finishes along the way. But in case you forgot: he’s the two-time defending champion of this event. Apparently, there’s something about this course, and tournament, that suits him. Three-peats aren’t easy – in fact, they might be the second-hardest thing to do in golf behind winning multiple majors in a row. But he’s got a shot this week.
2. Byeong-Hun An (Odds: 30/1, DraftKings $9,200, FanDuel $10,400) Bennie! The South Korean is putting together a career-best season. Bryson DeChambeau denied him a breakthrough Tour win last week, and it’ll be interesting to see how An rebounds from the near-miss. He’s ranked 14th in strokes gained off the tee and has gained 1.22 strokes per round from tee-to-green over his last six starts, one of the five best in this field over that stretch. It will be his first trip to TPC Southwind, but I’m not concerned about that.
3. Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Odds: 50/1, DraftKings $8,400, FanDuel $9,600) This fun, charismatic golfer form Thailand is on the verge of obtaining full-time PGA Tour status. He’s roughly one more top-25 finish away. He’s known for his magic with the flatstick but he’s also inside the top 50 in strokes gained off the tee. He’s also made 24 out of his last 25 cuts, with 16 top 25s. That’s serious consistency. Look for Aphibarnrat to secure his card this week, and possibly play his way into the top 10 come Sunday afternoon.
4. Ben Crane (Odds: 100/1, DraftKings $7,400, FanDuel) Playing on a minor medical exemption, Crane has had a good string of starts finishing 11th a few weeks back, followed up by a 53rd and then eighth two weeks ago at the Fort Worth Invitational. He’s also a previous St. Jude winner (2013) and has made four straight cuts in this event. He’s 24th in bogey avoidance and 33rd in good drive percentage this season. He should be able to bank some much-needed FedEx points at a course where he’s comfortable.
Wesley Bryan (Odds: 200/1 DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $8,300) Submitted three good rounds and one stinker last week at the Memorial. Now he heads to Memphis and faces a much weaker field. This course may be perfect for him if he can just keep it in play off the tee. This is a par 70, so his lack of length of the tee shouldn’t hurt too much. While Bryan isn’t necessarily “streaking,” he has made two straight cuts. This feels like a good spot to give him a shot.
Mulligans: Players who need a reset and expect to play well this week
James Hahn (Odds: 150/1, DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $8,300) Five straight missed cuts from a golfer who made more than 75% of his cuts last year. But there’s hope. He shot five-under on Friday at the Memorial to miss the cut by just one shot. Sometimes it just takes one round to end a slump and start anew. He cracked the top 10 in this event in 2014. Maybe he banks another one this week.
Where to play this fantasy Golf this week
DraftKings: 1. $4 Buy-in contest called the “Fore,” with a top prize of $25,000 and a prize pool of $275,000.
2. $33 Buy-in contest call the “Dogleg,” with a top prize of $100,000 and a prize pool of $375,000.
3. $444 Buy-in contest called the “Pressure Putt,” with a top prize of $50,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $400,0000.
FanDuel: 1. $7.77 Buy-in contest called the “Eagle,” with a top prize of $15,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $77,777.
2. $333 Buy-in contest called the “Monster,” with a top prize of $10,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $20,000.
3. $.60 Buy-in contest called the “Lob Wedge” with a top prize of $600 and a guaranteed prize pool of $8,000.
These are just some of the many contests between the two sites. For a full breakdown of all contests and offerings check out the links in my bio. Good luck this week, and we will see you next week when the stakes are high!
Jason Rouslin is the founder of tourlevelfantasy.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.
