WEEKEND OPTIMALS UPDATED!!! 7:00pm ET
What a week at the Travelers! You couldn’t have asked for a more dramatic ending and you have to love the emotion from Jordan Spieth after that incredible bunker shot. I hope your screens were as green as mine on Sunday. My only regret was Kyle Stanley’s lackluster performance over the weekend but overall a very nice week. Let’s hope to keep the positive vibes rolling into the Quicken Loans National.
There is a lot for me to celebrate as the PGA Tour heads to our Nation’s Capital for the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac. First, this event takes place in my neck of the woods (less than 20 miles from my home) and I’ve had the pleasure of covering and attending this event multiple times on different courses. Second, this event marks my second anniversary of my first fantasy golf article for Fantasy Alarm and I’ll admit, pretty shocked to be still doing it. Thank you to all my loyal readers over these past two years.
Ok, let’s get into the breakdown of TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm. I get a kick out of that course name because for myself and locals, it’s just Avenel, the former host of the annual Kemper Open until 2006. The course underwent a major renovation in late 2008 and reopened in April of 2009. In November 2015, the 7th and 16th greens were renovated to flatten contours and provide additional hole locations in anticipation of hosting the Quicken Loans once again. Additionally, small improvements were made to a number of holes, including creating bent grass chipping and collection areas around the 3rd, 4th, and 18th greens, widening the 5th and 6th fairways, and flattening the front portion of the 13th green to create addition hole locations.
The course is a par 70 and measures out to 7,139 yards. Par 70 means that there are two extra par 4s compared to the par 72 courses we see on the PGA Tour. This track hosted a Web.com Tour event in 2012 and 2013, and doesn’t look too different from former host courses for this tournament like Congressional and Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (RTJ). When you look through the past leaderboards, the big bombers always seem to make their way up top by the end of the weekend but it is not the be all and end all. We also want to target straight shooting, ball striker types which are generally found at the top of the Strokes Gained: Tee-To-Green stat category. Proximity will be vital with the limited scoring opportunities. This is not a scorers’ course, we will be looking for players who succeed in U.S. Open type conditions, thick rough and narrow fairways.
I will be out at TPC Potomac for at least one of the days this weekend, and if you are planning on attending, let me know!
Good Luck!
UPDATED AT 7:00pm ET - DRAFT KINGS WEEKEND OPTIMALS:
GPP #1
Patrick Reed $9800
Kyle Stanley $8800
Danny Lee $8500
Kevin Streelman $8200
Martin Laird $7500
Ricky Barnes $7100
GPP #2
Marc Leishman $9600
David Lingmerth $9200
Kevin Streelman $8200
Keegan Bradley $7900
Sung Kang $7600
Kyle Reifers $7000
DFS PGA PLAYBOOK:
PLAYER | DRAFT KINGS | FANDUEL | BREAKDOWN |
Patrick Reed | $11,100 | $9,800 | Dude has heated up since his T14 at the Zurich. 7 Straight Cuts Made with 6 Top 25s. Finished T5 last week. |
Justin Thomas | $10,900 | $8,500 | This is a gut call after last week's big disappointment. He's got the game to run this track and walk away with a Top 5 finish. |
Marc Leishman | $9,800 | $8,500 | The Great Consistency has really priced him up but 3 Top 20s in last 6 weeks. 10th in SG:TG & 6th in Adjusted Scoring. |
Bill Haas | $9,500 | $8,400 | T12-T25-T5 in his Last 3 Starts. He ranks 8th in GIR, 7th in Scrambling, & 3rd in Bogey Avoidance. Won in 2013 at Congressional |
Kevin Chappell | $9,300 | $8,000 | 4 Top 25s since the Masters with a WIN at the Valero. Good Ball Striker with Distance off the Tee. |
Brendan Steele | $8,900 | $8,800 | Top 20 Machine - T14 at TPC River Highlands was his 8th of 2017. Doesn't have a weakness in the bag. 13th in Bogey Avoidance. |
Billy Horschel | $8,800 | $6,900 | Winner at the Byron Nelson & T4 at the St. Jude. U.S. Open Stumble shouldn't scare you away. 12th in GIR on Tour |
David Lingmerth | $8,500 | $7,200 | He won at TPC Potomac in 2012 on the Web.com. He's on fire making 7 straight cuts with 4 Top 26 Finishes. |
Danny Lee | $8,200 | $7,800 | 3 Top 10s in his Last 5 Starts including a T3 at the Travelers. Don't love the price increase but I'm still riding him |
David Hearn | $8,100 | $6,300 | Coming in after back to back Top 10s where he ranked Top 25 in Total Driving, Greens in Reg, & Scrambling |
Jimmy Walker | $7,800 | $8,300 | 5 Top 25s in his last 9 Starts (since announcing his Lyme Disease). U.S. Open is his only missed since January |
Kyle Stanley | $7,600 | $7,000 | I'm Betting on the Rebound here. He's 3rd on Tour in Total Driving, 2nd in Greens Hit & 11th in Adjusted Scoring. |
Si Woo Kim | $7,500 | $7,300 | He's rested since his T13 at Erin Hills. He has all the tools to win anytime out but very inconsistent. BOOM or BUST |
Kevin Streelman | $7,400 | $6,300 | Improved Putting gave him finishes of T18, T13, & T8 in his last 3 Starts. He's always been a good SG:TG Player |
John Huh | $6,900 | $5,300 | Excels on tougher tracks with T9 at Copperhead & T22 at TPC San Antonio. Leads the Tour in Scrambling. |
Sung Kang | $6,800 | $6,400 | T6 at TPC Potomac in 2013 on Web.com Tour. 13/16 Cuts Made w/6 Top 25s this season (6 Straight Coming In) |
Matt Jones | $6,700 | $5,900 | 5 Top 25s in his 9 Made Cuts This Season including a T18 in his last start. 11th in Scrambling & 46th in Adjusted Scoring |
Troy Merritt | $6,700 | $5,300 | Flier option coming off his T8 at the Travelers last week. Competed at TPC Potomac in 2012 & 2013 on Web.com Tour |
DRAFT KINGS OPTIMAL:
DRAFT KINGS CASH | PRICE |
Marc Leishman | $9,800 |
Brendan Steele | $8,900 |
David Lingmerth | $8,500 |
Danny Lee | $8,200 |
Kyle Stanley | $7,600 |
Sung Kang | $6,800 |
DRAFT KINGS GPP | PRICE |
Justin Thomas | $10,900 |
Danny Lee | $8,200 |
Jimmy Walker | $7,800 |
Kyle Stanley | $7,600 |
Si Woo Kim | $7,500 |
Kevin Streelman | $7,400 |
FANDUEL OPTIMAL:
FANDUEL CASH | PRICE |
Brendan Steele | $8,800 |
Marc Leishman | $8,500 |
Bill Haas | $8,400 |
Danny Lee | $7,800 |
David Lingmerth | $7,200 |
Sung Kang | $6,400 |
Kevin Streelman | $6,300 |
David Hearn | $6,300 |
FANDUEL GPP | PRICE |
Patrick Reed | $9,800 |
Justin Thomas | $9,700 |
Brendan Steele | $8,800 |
March Leishman | $8,500 |
Sung Kang | $6,400 |
Matt Jones | $5,900 |
John Huh | $5,300 |
Troy Merritt | $5,300 |
ONE & DONE PLAY:
ONE AND DONE PLAY | FINISH |
SBS - Jimmy Walker | T9 |
Sony - Charles Howell III | T8 |
Career - Bill Haas | T17 |
Farmers - Brandt Snedeker | T9 |
Waste - Brendan Steele | T16 |
Pebble - Phil Mickelson | 65th |
Genesis - J.B Holmes | T34 |
Honda - Graeme McDowell | T14 |
Mexico - Alexander Noren | T55 |
Valspar - Ryan Moore | T18 |
Palmer - Zach Johnson | T66 |
Match - Sergio Garcia | Out of Sweet 16 |
Puerto - David Hearn | T17 |
Shell - Lee Westwood | MC |
Masters - Justin Rose | 2nd |
RBC - Kevin Kisner | T11 |
Valero - Charley Hoffman | T40 |
Wells Fargo - Adam Scott | T36 |
Players - Martin Kaymer | T69 |
Nelson - Dustin Johnson | T13 |
D & D - Pat Perez | MC |
Memorial - Emiliano Grillo | T40 |
St. Jude - Russell Henley | MC |
U.S. Open - Jason Day | MC |
Travelers - Kyle Stanley | T57 |
Quicken - Justin Thomas | ??? |