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. This week the tour heads to Dublin, Ohio, for the Memorial Tournament. Jack Nicklaus’s event has drawn another fantastic field for the 2018 edition. Let’s get to it.
The Tournament: The Memorial
Average Winning Score: -10
Average Cut: +2
Yardage: 7,400 yards
Par: 72
Skills emphasized: One of the toughest courses on tour, Muirfield Village demands golfers that hit it well off the tee, or position themselves appropriately (look for good drive percentage and total driving) and an excellent second shot/iron game (strokes gained approaches and proximity). Other than Anirban Lahiri, the top five from last year generally fit that bill.
Top-5 finishers last year:
Jason Dufner
Rickie Fowler
Anirban Lahiri
Justin Thomas
Matt Kuchar
Bubba Watson
Recap of last week’s picks:
A tough week as two both golfers coming off of wins in their previous starts (Wise and Simpson), failed to make the cut. Jordan Spieth underperformed as well, but Rory Sabbatini put in another good showing to save face and round out our picks.
The Favorite:
Justin Rose (Odds: 12/1, DraftKings $10,600, FanDuel $12,600) Webb Simpson and Aaron Wise reminded us last week that a letdown often follows a win. Why not expect the same from Rose? Because this week he has a chance to claim the No. 1 ranking in the world. It would be an incredible feat for the 37-year-old Englishman, but he’s arguably been golf’s most consistent player over the last 52 weeks. A win this week would lift him to No. 1 for the first time in his career. Need more statistics to help you buy in? Rose has averaged over 113 DraftKings points over his last six starts and has averaged a top-15 finish in terms of DK points over the same span. He leads this field in strokes gained tee-to-green over his last six starts and ranks 11th in total driving. Finally, he finished second here in 2015, his last appearance at the Memorial. I’m all in.
Going Streaking: Players entering this week in the great form
1. Branden Grace (Odds: 45/1, DraftKings $8,800, FanDuel $11,600) After a third-place finish at Trinity Forest, Grace flew across the pond and placed fifth at the BMW PGA Championship. The South African has made 17 straight cuts this year and seems to be trending in the right direction. He hasn’t played this course since 2014, when he missed the cut, but I don’t put much stock in that. He’s a more experienced and likely better golfer today. As for the stats, he’s 34th in good drive percentage, 40th in total driving, and 47th in strokes gained tee-to-green. Look for Grace to continue that made-cut streak this week and earn a third straight top 10.
2. Emiliano Grillo (Odds: 40/1, DraftKings $8,400, FanDuel $10,400) It’s only a matter of time for this young pro from Argentina. He’s been on the first page of the leaderboard in so many starts this season, earning six top 10s while making every cut along the way. He’s ranked 18th in total driving, 16th in good drive percentage and 17th in approaches. And it all comes with a reasonably-priced salary, which gives me all the more confidence to plug him in my lineups this week.
3. Kevin Na (Odds: 100/1, DraftKings $7,600, FanDuel $9,500) Na was the only golfer with a realistic shot to stay close to Rose on Sunday at Colonial. Na played two superb rounds and two marginal rounds, but certainly shot the scores to win. Still, he was able to finish fourth, good for his second straight top 10. He’ll look for three in a row on a course where he finished second in 2014 and 13th in ‘15. Statistically speaking, Na isn’t a great course fit, but his ability to scramble around the greens and save par from terrible positions compensates for his deficiencies off the tee.
4. Kevin Tway (Odds: 125/1 DraftKings $7,100, FanDuel $8,600) Son of former PGA Tour Champion Bob Tway, Kevin has finally broken through this season and is riding a run of two straight top 10s. He’s also gaining more than a half a stroke tee-to-green over his last six starts. He’s averaging 67 DK points during that stretch, good for a 10x return based on his current price. Muirfield demands a solid overall game along with the ability to take advantage of the par 5s. It’s a good setup for Tway.
Mulligans: Players who need a reset and expect to play well this week
Jordan Spieth (Odds: 16/1 DraftKings $9,800, FanDuel-$11,800) At this point, Spieth might want a mulligan on the entire season. He has no wins, but five top 10s in 13 starts is a bit encouraging. Putting inside 5 feet continues to be a huge issue. He’s also making fewer long putts than in previous seasons. The rest of his game is good enough to lift him into the top 30-40 every week, but until he gains some confidence with the flatstick, his winning upside is not there.
Lastly, A check on Tiger
Tiger Woods (Odds: 40/1, DraftKings $9,400, FanDuel $11,300) It’s remarkable to think about where Tiger was a year ago, and where he is now, as Michael Bamberger wrote this week. Fresh off a two-week break, Woods returns to an event he once dominated, with five career wins. In his last start, Tiger reminded us that he still can go low after an early-morning 64 at TPC Sawgrass. If he’s able to keep the ball in play and hit consistent approach shots? He could definitely win this week. His putting still looks a little spotty, but it’s Tiger so I believe he’ll get it squared away soon enough. The win is coming, and it may be this week.
Where to play this fantasy Golf this week:
DraftKings:
1. $5 Buy-in contest called the “Drive the Green,” with a top prize of $100,00 and a prize pool of $500,000.
2. $44 Buy-in contest call the “Club Twirl,” with a top prize of $100,000 and a prize pool of $400,000.
3. $444 Buy-in contest called the “Pressure Putt” with a top prize of $100,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $450,0000
FanDuel:
1. $9 Buy-in contest called the “Golden Eagle,” with a top prize of $25,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $100,000.
2. $333 Buy-in contest called the “Monster” with a top prize of $10,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of $50,000.
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!
Jason Rouslin is 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 at 8 p.m. ET!
