It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago, I was dissecting The Open Championship at Royal Troon and now here we are breaking down the PGA Championship. The last time the PGA Championship was held outside the month of August was in 1971 and it was played in February. It feels wrong but I’ll get over it because we’ve got a Millionaire Maker on DraftKings this week. Let’s take a closer look at Baltusrol Golf Club.
There have been five national championships, including the 1915 U.S. Open on these grounds before 1922 when A.W. Tillinghast started his “Dual Courses” project. The course has a Scottish links style to it with blind tee and approach shots around the track. The Lower course has hosted four U.S. Opens (two of which Jack Nicklaus won), two U.S. Amateurs, a U.S. Women’s Open and now its second PGA Championship.
The only other time that Baltusrol hosted the PGA Championship was in 2005 when Phil Mickelson took home the Wanamaker Trophy with a score on 4-under. If you remember, he went wire-to-wire with shares of the 18 and 54-hole leads but he really seized control in the second round when he shot a 65.
The course measures out to 7,428 yards and is a Par 70 (34-36). The course finishes with two par 5s, the longer being number 17, and it stretches out 649 yards. This hole was eagled only once during the 2005 PGA Championship by Kenny Perry when he holed out from 80 yards. The Lower course is 36 yards longer than it was in 2005.
The air will be heavy in New Jersey over the weekend which will keep the ball in the air longer and could bring the rough more into play. Distance is definitely an advantage on this course but being able to keep your drives in the fairway will be just as important. Mickelson ranked fifth from last in distance off the tee in 2005 but T37 in fairways hit. He also finished T8 in scoring opportunities. You will see a lot of Total Driving, Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green and Greens in Regulation in my playbook this week.
Of the four golf majors this season, this has got to be the softest pricing yet on DraftKings. I was basically able to get whoever I wanted in my lineups without a problem. You can easily get two top dogs like Dustin Johnson and McIlory or DJ and Stenson without having to sacrifice too much. I have made lineups with two studs leading the way, other lineups with nothing but 9 & 8K players and both have felt really good to me.
It does make me sad to know that after this week, the money really dries up in the Daily Fantasy Golf world. The four majors will be over with and we go back to our routine small pot GPPs until the Masters rolls around again in April of 2017. I hope some of you continue to play weekly even when football season rolls around, but I know that’s just a pipe dream. Trust me, I love Fantasy Football too.
I’ll finish with my favorite part of every article, Paige! First, a congratulations to her on making the cut in her second Ladies European Tour event at the Scottish Open. She has really worked hard all season and it is starting to pay off. It is the last major of the season and Paige agrees that it is time to go big or go home!
Good luck to everyone …
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
PLAYER | ACES | DRAFTKINGS | BREAKDOWN |
Dustin Johnson | $6,200 | $11,600 | Not much more you can say about this guy, He is locked in and I'm going to keep riding him until he falls apart. |
Rory McIlory | $6,150 | $11,400 | Won PGA Champ in 2012 & 2014. Won the Irish Open & 4 other Top 5s since May. Leads TOUR in SG:Off The Tee. |
Henrik Stenson | $5,800 | $10,500 | Recording Setting win at Royal Troon. BMW International Open Title. Will be CRAZY HIGH owned, you have been warned |
Justin Rose | $5,750 | $9,800 | Looks like back issue is behind him. T22 at Royal Troon. He's a nice fit for Baltusrol. 40th in Total Driving & 22nd in GIR |
Adam Scott | $5,750 | $9,600 | Still the best swing in golf. Not playing bad but just not capitalizing on birdie chances. 1st in SGTG & 6th in Proximity. |
Sergio Garcia | $5,150 | $9,400 | Won Byron Nelson followed by 3 Straight T5s including 2 Majors. 18th - Total Driving, 3rd - GIR & 6th - Adjusted Scoring |
Bubba Watson | $5,700 | $9,000 | Should be lower owned with a game that fits nicely here. Hasn't played well recently but 20 straight cuts made. GPP! |
Matt Kuchar | $5,450 | $8,600 | 6 Top 10s in Last 8 Starts. Top 25s in 4 of his last 5 Starts in the PGA Champ. Doesn't have the distance but ACCURACY! |
Zach Johnson | $5,300 | $8,400 | 4 Straight Top 20s (T12 at the Open). May not have the distance but Iron Accuracy makes up for it. T17 in 2005 at Baltusrol. |
Louis Oosthuizen | $5,300 | $8,300 | Completely Contrarian Play Here. NO ONE is talking about him but has the game to POP any week. Throw him in GPPs. |
Branden Grace | $5,450 | $8,000 | Falling out of DFS favor especially after T72 at The Open. DON'T GIVE UP ON HIM! Great Ball Striker - 13th in SGTG. |
Martin Kaymer | $5,350 | $7,900 | Finishing T36 at Royal Troon will make him lesser owned. 11 straight cuts made worldwide (4 Top 10s & 2 Top 20s) |
J.B. Holmes | $5,000 | $7,700 | T4 at the Masters & T4 at The Open. Big Bomber that's ranked 5th in Birdies or Better. He will be VERY popular! |
Jim Furyk | $5,100 | $7,600 | Made last 6 Cuts, 8/8 Cuts Made at PGA Champ since 08' (34th in 2005 at Baltusrol). Steady & You Know What You Get |
Charl Schwartzel | $5,150 | $7,300 | Just ALWAYS in the Mix. Top 25s in 11 of 14 starts in 2016 (including last 6). 9th in SGTG & Adjusted Scoring. Great Value |
Justin Thomas | $5,050 | $7,200 | Just a great value especially on DraftKings. Power ability off the tee & his fearless nature makes for a nice GPP play |
Jason Dufner | $4,900 | $7,100 | 5 Top 10s this season (T8 at Oakmont). 3 Top 5s in the PGA Champ (Win at Oak Hill). T23 in Total Driving & T8 in GIR. |
Brandon Stone | $4,100 | $6,900 | South African played at the University of Texas. 6 Top 10s this year on the Euro Tour. Nice Under the Radar GPP Play. |
Gary Woodland | $4,750 | $6,700 | Playing well right now: 2nd at Barracuda & T12 at Royal Troon. BIG HITTER; 21st in GIR, 14th in SGTG & 22nd in Adjusted |
Tyrell Hatton | $4,350 | $6,600 | 4th on European Tour in Scoring Average. 4 Top 10s in last 2 Months including 2nd at Scottish Open & T5 at The Open. |
George Coetzee | $4,100 | $6,200 | T7 Last Year at Whistling Straits. T32 Last Week at RBC with a Closing Round 63. He can really muscle the ball out there. |
Andy Sullivan | $4,850 | $6,100 | 6 Straight Top 25s, Top 12s in his last 3; Including T12 at Troon. Inside Top 25 on European Tour in GIR & Scoring Average. |
Francesco Molinari | $4,700 | $6,100 | 7/7 in Cuts Made at PGA Championship (T10 Best Finish at Hazeltine in 2009). 12/15 Cuts Made This Season (3 Top 10s) |
Younghan Song | $3,200 | $5,900 | Won the SMBC Singapore Open (ahead of Jordan Spieth). 9 Top 25s on Multiple Circuits. Nice Cheap GPP Flier |
DRAFTKINGS OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
Sergio Garcia | $9,400 |
Matt Kuchar | $8,600 |
Zach Johnson | $8,400 |
Martin Kaymer | $7,900 |
Jim Furyk | $7,600 |
Charl Schwartzel | $7,300 |
DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
Dustin Johnson | $11,600 |
Rory McIlory | $11,400 |
Branden Grace | $8,000 |
Gary Woodland | $6,700 |
Andy Sullivan | $6,100 |
Younghan Song | $5,900 |
FANTASY ACES OPTIMAL LINEUPS:
ACES CASH | PRICE |
Matt Kuchar | $5,450 |
Charl Schwartzel | $5,150 |
Jason Dufner | $4,900 |
Andy Sullivan | $4,850 |
Gary Woodland | $4,750 |
Francesco Molinari | $4,700 |
ACES GPP | PRICE |
Dustin Johnson | $6,150 |
Bubba Watson | $5,700 |
Branden Grace | $5,450 |
Martin Kaymer | $5,350 |
George Coetzee | $4,100 |
Younghan Song | $3,200 |
ONE-AND-DONE OPTIMAL:
ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
Hyaundai: Patrick Reed | 2nd - $688,000 |
Sony: Harris English | T56 - $12,818 |
CareerBuilder: Bill Haas | T9 - $162,400 |
Farmers: Nick Watney | Missed Cut |
Phoenix: Ryan Moore | T11 - $149,500 |
Pebble: J.B. Holmes | T11 - $143,500 |
Northern Trust: K.J. Choi | T5 - $258,400 |
Honda: Luke Donald | T61 - $13,115 |
WGC-Cadillac: Dustin Johnson | T14 - $120,000 |
Valspar: Kevin Na | T22 - $52,959.09 |
Arnold Palmer: Francisco Molinari | T9 - $170,100 |
Puerto Rico: Scott Brown | T5 - $109,500 |
Shell Open: Charley Hoffman | T33 - $36,720.00 |
The Masters: Phil Mickelson | Missed Cut |
RBC Heritage: Matt Kuchar | T9 - $147,500 |
Valero: Billy Horschel | T4 - $233,740 |
Zurich: Justin Rose | Missed Cut |
Wells Fargo: Gary Woodland | T24 - $62,232.50 |
Players: Sergio Garcia | T54 - $24,150 |
Byron Nelson: Ryan Palmer | Missed Cut |
Colonial: Chris Kirk | T15 - $117,250 |
Memorial: Hideki Matsuyama | Missed Cut |
St. Jude: Retief Goosen | T12 - $125,550 |
U.S. Open: Adam Scott | T18 - $120,978 |
Quicken Loans: Jim Furyk | T21 - $64,773.75 |
Bridgestone: Zach Johnson | T10 - $167,750 |
British Open: Martin Kaymer | T36 - $42,900 |
RBC: William McGirt | T59 - $13,039 |
PGA Champ: Rory McIlory | ??? |