While I may not have had Rickie Fowler in my DFS PGA Playbook, I still managed to have a terrific week.  For those of you who played my cash lineup, you were rewarded for your loyalty.  Players such as Gary Woodland, Paul Casey, Jason Dufner, Graeme McDowell, and Brendan Steele all had nice Top 20 finishes with nice ownership levels.  We had some landmines to avoid like Russell Knox, Branden Grace and Brooks Koepka but overall a good week and it is time to move on and get ready for the WGC-Mexico Championship.

I’ll start with a reminder of how to handle playing in a WGC Draft Kings event for the new players out there.  This is a smaller field event with just 77 golfers and a smart move is to avoid playing cash games.  There is a limited number of players in the pool which means there will be more duplicate lineups.  If even one or two of your player’s falter, you will have a real tough time making the money.  I'll also be avoiding cash games because this is a new course to these players and there is no course history to help us determine the best players.  This is a no cut event which means you can take more risks with your golfers because no matter what, they’ll play all four days this weekend. 

The World Golf Championship has been moved from Doral which gives us the inaugural Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.  The first thing anyone talks about when discussing this course is the altitude.  It sits at 7,382 feet above sea level.  The PGA Tour plays the BMW Championship in Denver and that is at 5,280 feet above sea level while the European Tour plays their Nordea Masters in the Swiss Alps and is at 4,922 feet above sea level.  So this will be a new experience for these players.  Club de Golf Chapultepec measures out 7,300 yards but will play much shorter because of the altitude.  You might be worried that some of the bombers may not be able to control themselves in such conditions.  I have really focused my attention to the best ball strikers in the world with fantastic tee-to-green numbers.  Overall, the players should beat this course up but I’m going to ride players with accuracy more than distance. 

Another reminder, just because I did not put Dustin Johnson in my playbook, does not mean he is not a good play this weekend.  Dustin is the number one player in the world and is playing lights out golf right now but I am personally choosing to limit my exposure to him because of how much people love him and his cost.  You should feel welcome to play him if you believe he’ll continue his torrid pace.  The players in my playbook are the guys who I’ll be using in the majority of my lineups.  I may throw a guy like Dustin in one GPP but I won’t have much exposure to him overall.

And finally, let’s say hey to Paige!  As you can see, she’s excited after a successful week at the Honda Classic.  We can only hope to keep her this happy once again after the WGC-Mexico Championship.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!

DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:

PLAYERDRAFT KINGSBREAKDOWN
Jordan Spieth$11,500Greens are Poa which means Spieth is always in play. WON at Pebble on Poa. 5 straight Top 10s Worldwide (2 Wins)
Hideki Matsuyama$10,7002 Victories and Two 2nd Place Finishes this season already.  Leads TOUR in Par-5 Scoring. Another STUD when it comes to Tee-to-Green
Henrik Stenson$10,300The Right knee scares me a bit but Ball Striker/Tee to Green Guy. 2nd place in his last start in Dubai. 4 Top 5s at WGC Events.
Justin Rose$9,600Top 4 Finishes in 3 of his 1st 4 Starts of 2017. 5th in SG:TG, 11th in Scrambling & 3rd in Adjusted Scoring. Just checks all the boxes here
Jon Rahm$9,000I mean come on, T31, 1st, T16 & T5 to start his first full rookie season. He took a break after the crazy start and is fresh this week
Gary Woodland$8,400What's not to love right now? 2 Runner Ups, T5 & T6 this season. 2 Trips to the Barracuda - Won in 2013 & 2nd in 2016.
Jason Dufner$8,100Tee-to-Green Stud with Top 25s in his last 2 Starts. 5 Top 10s in 14 Stroke-Play WGC Events. He fits this place really well.
Brendan Steele$7,900The Barracuda played at a higher altitude (5/5 with 4 Top 10s). 9/9 Cuts Made this year (6 Top 20s). I'm going to keep riding him
Paul Casey$7,80019 Top 25s in 29 WGC Appearances for him. He finished T11 at the Honda last week, nice bounce back performace from him
Martin Kaymer$7,500Really in a groove right now. T4 at the Honda & T4 in Abu Dhabi.  2nd Place at the 2011 European Masters (At an higher Altitude)
Tommy Fleetwood$7,400Leads Euro Tour in GIR & 18th in Scoring Average. In 2017, won at Abu Dhabi and 12th last week at Maybank. 3 Top 20s at Euro Masters
Louis Oosthuizen$7,200Finished 10th or better every other week (9th, T41, 3rd, & T21). Great Ball Striker getting his form back.
Alexander Noren$7,200He won 4 times in 2016.  5/7 at the Euro Masters with 2 Wins (Including last year). 2 Top 25s to start 2017.
David Lipsky$7,100Nice PIVOT play down here. 2nd at Maybank Championship (6th Top 6 in the last 6 Months). Won 2014 Euro Masters at a higher altitude.
Bill Haas$7,000Top 20s in all 6 of his starts this season. T4 at the WGC-HSBC Champions. Leads TOUR in Scrambling & 4th in Adjusted Scoring
Thomas Pieters$6,800This kid is not afraid of the big stage with Top 25s in both of his WGC appearances. T2 at the Genesis 2 Weeks Ago (Riviera has similar grasses)
Scott Piercy$6,7006 Top 25s in 9 WGC Starts.  He's won at high altitude at the 2011 Barracuda. He can light up the score board which is good for DFSers
Jhonattan Vegas$6,600T4 at the Honda, T15 at the Genesis. Won at Glen Abbey with a similar lay out to Chapultepec. He'll be popular down here

DRAFT KINGS OPTIMALS:

DRAFT KINGS GPP #1PRICE
Jordan Spieth$11,500
Hideki Matsuyama$10,700
Martin Kaymer$7,500
Thomas Pieters$6,800
Scott Piercy$6,700
Jhonattan Vegas$6,600
  
DRAFT KINGS GPP #2PRICE
Justin Rose$9,600
Jon Rahm$9,000
Gary Woodland$8,400
Brendan Steele$7,900
Paul Casey$7,800
Louis Oosthuizen$7,200

ONE AND DONE PLAY:

PLAYERFINISH
SBS - Jimmy WalkerT9
Sony - Charles Howell IIIT8
Career - Bill HaasT17
Farmers - Brandt SnedekerT9
Waste - Brendan SteeleT16
Pebble - Phil Mickelson65th
Genesis - J.B HolmesT34
Honda - Graeme McDowellT14
Mexico - Alexander Noren?