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:

PLAYERDRAFT KINGSFANDUELBREAKDOWN
Patrick Reed$11,100$9,800Dude 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$8,500This 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$8,500The 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$8,400T12-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$8,0004 Top 25s since the Masters with a WIN at the Valero.  Good Ball Striker with Distance off the Tee.  
Brendan Steele$8,900$8,800Top 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$6,900Winner 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$7,200He 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$7,8003 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$6,300Coming in after back to back Top 10s where he ranked Top 25 in Total Driving, Greens in Reg, & Scrambling
Jimmy Walker$7,800$8,3005 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$7,000I'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$7,300He'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$6,300Improved 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$5,300Excels on tougher tracks with T9 at Copperhead & T22 at TPC San Antonio. Leads the Tour in Scrambling.
Sung Kang$6,800$6,400T6 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$5,9005 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$5,300Flier 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 CASHPRICE
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 GPPPRICE
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 CASHPRICE
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 GPPPRICE
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 PLAYFINISH
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 NorenT55
Valspar - Ryan MooreT18
Palmer - Zach JohnsonT66
Match - Sergio GarciaOut of Sweet 16
Puerto - David HearnT17
Shell - Lee WestwoodMC
Masters - Justin Rose2nd
RBC - Kevin KisnerT11
Valero - Charley HoffmanT40
Wells Fargo - Adam ScottT36
Players - Martin KaymerT69
Nelson - Dustin JohnsonT13
D & D - Pat PerezMC
Memorial - Emiliano GrilloT40
St. Jude - Russell HenleyMC
U.S. Open - Jason DayMC
Travelers - Kyle StanleyT57
Quicken - Justin Thomas???