2015 Fantasy GolfChris Garosi

Daily Fantasy Golf Strategy: The Barclays

It’s the first stop of the FedEx Cup playoffs at The Barclays on the Bethpage Black Course. The season is winding down, but we still have games to play!

Our friends at DraftKings continue to roll out some fantastic contests. And I’m here to help you win some dough.

It’s a great week to check out DraftKings as they have some top notch contests.

Come on over and take a look.

Tour Stop

The Tour heads to Farmingdale, New York and Bethpage State Park on the Bethpage Black course. Bethpage Black is a 7,468 yard par 71 course built by A.W. Tillinghast and opened in 1936. The greens are seeded with bentgrass.

It’s a public course that you can play any time you want. Bethpage Black has hosted the Barclays previously in 2012 as well as the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens (where it rained all week long).

Tillinghast also designed other courses used by the PGA including Winged Foot Golf Club (hosted 2006 U.S. Open and 2004 U.S. Open), Baltrusrol Golf Club (hosted 2005 and 2016 PGA Championships), and Ridgewood Country Club (hosted 2008, 2010 and 2014 Barclays).

There is also some data that shows correlation with the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines so we’ll also look at recent results from that event.

The weather looks like it won’t be an issue this week. We have high temperatures in the low 80s, no rain and wind that looks like it should be manageable, but will need to be watched.

As always, continue to check up until lineup lock on Thursday.

Scorecard breakdown: It’s a par 71 course for The Barclays (it was par 70 for the U.S. Open) so we have three par 5s, four par 3s and 11 par 4s.

Field

It’s a smaller field than a standard tournament at 125 golfers, but the cut rules are the same.

The full field can be found here.

Also, thanks to GolfOdds.com for the odds this week. If you’d like to see a second set of odds, check out the Betting Zone’s odds here – just click on this week’s tournament on the left hand pane.

Past Tournament Results

The event has switched venues each year so the past tournament results aren’t terribly useful this week. I will provide the results from the 2012 Barclays which was held here along with this year’s PGA Championship and the 2014 Barclays which was on another Tillinghast course.

Statistical Review

Let’s take a look at the statistical angles in for this week’s tournament.

Par 4 Efficiency 450-500 yards (P4E450-500) – Four of the par 4s are between 450 and 500 yards and two more are listed at 501 and 502 yards respectively so we want golfers who can handle longer par 4s.

Par 3 Efficiency 200-225 yards (P3E200-225) – We have two par 3s between 200 and 225 yards and another at 230 so we’ll lump those three together and look at solid scorers on the longer par 3s.

Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (SG:AGG) – Length off the tee isn’t necessarily important for me this week, but the ability to hit that second shot into the green is where it’s at. We’ll use SG:AGG to help find those second shot artists.

And each week, we’ll look at Strokes Gained: Putting (SG:P) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG:T2G) with a focus on current SG:T2G stats this week.

DraftKings Expert Picks

We have all of the top golfers in the field (well almost all of them) so we’re going to have to pick some nits on these higher priced options. You can make an argument for almost any of the elite players in the field.

Jason Day | $12,400 – Number one player in the world so is there a reason to fade him? Well, he’s not accurate off the tee (190th in DA), but the rest of the profile is elite. He hasn’t missed a cut since the Farmers Insurance Open in early 2016. He finished T24 here in 2012, T2 in 2014 (Ridgewood) and a win at the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open. He also finished in second at the PGA Championship (Baltusrol).

Dustin Johnson | $11,900 – Johnson is my top ranked player when looking at stats only as DA is the only concern (153rd this year). However, he missed the cut at the PGA Championship this year so is there reason to fade DJ? That missed cut interrupted a run of six top 10 finishes including back to back wins. However, he did finish T3 at the 2012 edition of the Barclays at Bethpage. He also finished T3 at this year’s Farmers. I don’t see any reason to be terribly concerned.

Henrik Stenson | $11,700 – The Swede brought home the silver for his countrymen at the Olympics and now has four top fives in his last seven events. He doesn’t have enough rounds to qualify for PGA stats rankings, but if he did he’d be in my top five. Oh, he also finished T7 at the PGA Championships this year. He’ll be popular this week and for good reason.

Rory McIlroy | $11,600 – Rory and Spieth. Spieth and Rory. Rory or Spieth? Speith or Rory? Both have “disappointed” to some degree this year, but that has more to do with our expectations for them than their actual performance. McIlroy has four top five finishes in his last six events though he missed the cut in those other two events. And those two events were majors – the U.S. Open and British Open.

If I’m taking a chance on one of Rory or McIlory, it’s probably Rory as I think his length is the tiebreaker between the two. He finished T24 at the 2012 Barclays and T22 in 2014 (Ridgewood). His putter has been wonky this year (96th in SG:P), but he was seen with a new Scotty Cameron putter early this week.  The rest of the profile is excellent for the fifth rated player in my model (second in SG:T2G, 96th in SG:P, first in P4E:450-500, 79th in P3E:200-225, 32nd in GIR, 71st in SG:AGG, and 78th in DA).

Jordan Spieth | $11,000 – So, fade Jordan? I think so and here is why. Since his win at the DEAN & DELUCA, he’s managed just two top 15s in his last five events (T3 at the Bridgestone; T13 at the PGA).  I generally shy away from Spieth on longer courses and this week is no different as he’s just 20th in my model (18th in SG:T2G, fourth in SG:P, 16th in P4E:450-500, first in P3E:200-225, 164th in GIR, 102nd in SG:AGG, and 128th in DA).

Justin Rose | $10,300 – Another fade for me this week is Rose off his gold medal and the surrounding circus. Beyond all of the pomp and circumstance, he doesn’t actually look like a great fit (sixth in SG:T2G, 102nd in SG:P, 121st in P4E:450-500, 36th in P3E:200-225, 36th in GIR, 48th in SG:AGG, 149th in DA). The Brit’s form was a bit bumpy coming into the Olympics as well – T19, MC, T46, T22 and T22 with both T22s at majors along with the MC. 

Brooks Koepka | $10,100 – So, it seems Koepka is healthy now and that’s good news for everyone including DFSers. He withdrew from the Bridgestone, but his other five events surrounded that event was second, T2, T13, T4, T9. The stats profile is good outside of his Driving Accuracy (25th in SG:T2G, tenth in SG:P, 29th inP4E:450-500. 145th in P3E:200-225, 50th in GIR, 68th in SG:AGG, and 113th in DA). The American bomber finished T4 at the PGA Championship this year at Baltusrol.

Hideki Matsuyama | $9,900 – I might start calling Hideki the Japanese Graham DeLaet as I was always seem to miss on whether to roster him or not. Hideki missed three cuts out of four tournaments in the last couple of months…and then? Back to back top five finishes. So, which Hideki shows up? e’s still in my top 10 statistically (fourth in SG:T2G, 142nd in SG:P, 72nd in P4E:450-500, 36th in P3E:200-225, 18th in GIR, second in SG:AGG, and 75th in DA). And don’t forget that he finished T4 at Baltusrol this year.

Phil Mickelson | $9,700 – Lefty is sixth in my model this week with his driving accuracy the only real concern (14th in SG:T2G, third in SG:P, 41st in P4E:450-500, eighth in P3E:200-225, 82nd in GIR, tenth in SG:AGG, and 158th in DA).  The narrative will be that he loves playing in New York and the results seem to back that up though he finished T38 at the 2012 Barclays (Bethpage). He’s made three cuts in a row since missing the cut at the U.S. Open with a solo second at the British Open and T33 at the PGA (at Baltusrol). I’m not going overboard based on the New York narrative.

Adam Scott | $9,500 – Scott sits third in my stats model this week and he’ll be a target of mine in this salary range. His profile is excellent (first in SG:T2G, 126th in SG:P, 46th in P4E:450-500, 27th in P3E:200-225, 21st in GIR, first in SG:AGG, and 166th in DA). He finished T15 at the 2014 Barclays (Ridgewood) and T18 at the PGA Championship this year (Baltusrol). Since his back to back wins at the Honda and Cadillac, Scott hasn’t missed a cut in 10 events and finished in the top 20 six times with a top finish of T10 in that run.

Rickie Fowler | $9,300 – Is this cheap enough for you? Perhaps. For me? Not so much. Since missing his third cut in a row on Tour at the U.S. Open, he’s finished T44, T10, T46, T33 (PGA Championship), T37, and T22. The American finished T24 at the 2012 edition of the Barclays and T9 at the 2014 edition at Ridgewood. He looks undervalued and clearly is if he’s found his game somewhere. A GPP option only for me.

Matt Kuchar | $9,200 – Kuchar is the third member of the Olympic podium in the field this week. He is ninth in my stats model this week (15th in SG:T2G, 18th in SG:P, 20th in P4E:450-500, 113th in P3E:200-225, 42nd in GIR, 36th in SG:AGG and 40th in DA). However, he did miss the cut at the PGA Championship this year and finished T38 in the 2012 Barclays held here.  So, how much do you value course history? It’s a tough call this week, but I’ll side a bit more with stats than history with Kuch.

Bubba Watson | $9,100 – I discount the 2009 U.S. Open results held at Bethpage to a large degree because of the weather (rain, rain and more rain) and there was a huge split in performance based on the draw. Bubba was on the bad side of that draw and still finished T18 so he gets extra credit from me. He also finished 10th at the Barclays in 2012. He’s not with the elite players in terms of stats this week rating just outside the top 20 (eighth in SG:T2G, 134th in SG:P, 34th in P4E:450-500, 150th in P3E:200-225, 20th in GIR, 47th in SG:AGG, and 171st in DA). Watson hasn’t missed a cut anywhere since the British Open in 2015. 

Louis Oosthuizen | $9,000 – Oosty has made four of his last five cuts with a top 25 in all four including a T22 at the PGA Championship. He rates just behind Rickie Fowler in our stats model for the week (7th in SG:T2G, 174th in SG:P, 25th in P4E:450-500, 47th in P3E:200-225, 23rd in GIR, 25th in SG:AGG, and 79th in DA). I imagine he’ll be relatively low owned because of the next man on the list.

Brandt Snedeker | $8,900 – This could be our highest owned player this week (though there are a couple of folks in the $7,000 who will challenge). He had his top finish of the year last week with his T3 at the Wyndham. Well, best finish since he won the Farmers Insurance Open in early 2016. He was solo second at the 2012 Barclays held here. The stats don’t particularly like him (39th in SG:T2G, 41st in SG:P, 43rd in P4E:450-500, 99th in P3E:200-225, 98th in GIR, 70th in SG:AGG, and 130th in DA), but the choice here is about “course” form.

Patrick Reed | $8,800 – Reed is playing the best golf of the year at the right time as he has made six cuts in a row worldwide and has five top 15s in his last six events including a T13 at the PGA Championship this year. Reed didn’t play in The Barclays in 2012, but was T9 in 2014 at Ridgewood. The stats don’t necessarily fit (33rd in SG:T2G, 65th in SG:P, 134th in P4E:450-500, 40th in P3E:200-225, 114th in GIR, 91st in SG:AGG, and 154th in DA), but his current form is hard to ignore

Branden Grace | $8,700 – The South African ranks just outside the top 25 in my stats model as he’s ninth in SG:T2G, 108th in SG:P, 97th in P4E:450-500, 74th in P3E:200-225, 62nd in GIR, fourth in SG:AGG, and 176th in DA. The narrative on Grace is that he shows up in stronger fields and this week’s field qualifies. It’s his debut in the FedEx Cup playoffs and he qualified in part based on this T4 at the PGA Championship.

Jim Furyk | $8,600 – Like Spieth, the length of the course could be an issue for Furyk. However, he’s still worth the risk in some deeper formats. Furyk is 21st in my stats only look at things this week with a very balanced profile (65th in SG:T2G, 62nd in SG:P, 52nd in P4E:450-500, 14th in P3E:200-225, 47th in GIR, 35th in SG:AGG, and 20th in DA). He missed the cut at the 2012 Barclays held here so that may be an issue to consider this week.

Charl Schwartzel | $8,500 – Another South African who may be low-owned and thus offers value in GPPs especially. Schwartzel finished T24 at the 2012 edition of the Barclays, T30 in 2014 at Ridgewood and T42 at the PGA Championship. However, the stats are what put me fully on board with Charl as he’s seventh overall in the field (seventh in SG:T2G, 86th in SG:P, 68th in P4E:450-500, third in P3E:200-225, 29th in GIR, seventh in SG:AGG, and 144th in DA).

Si Woo Kim | $8,400 – Kim has made five of his last six cuts on Tour coming in including last week’s win and a second at the Barbasol. Unfortunately, that one missed cut was the PGA Championship. His statistical profile puts him outside of the top 50 in the field. I generally fade winner’s in their next event because they are priced up based on the win and there is a lot to recover from after a win.

Emiliano Grillo | $8,300 – The stats for Grillo won’t jump out at you this week, but he’s got a lot to recommend him still. He was T13 at the PGA Championship this year at Baltusrol and has made seven stroke play cuts in a row. He has six top 15s in his last nine events overall. Form. Form. Form.

Jimmy Walker | $8,200 – Did Walker hurt your teams last week? Yea, mine too. But, there may have been a reason behind his struggles – he was dealing with the flu (or something like it) and should be healthy. The Texan finished T38 here in 2012 and has back to back top 10s at the Farmers. He also won the PGA earlier this year at Baltusrol. He ranks just behind Brandt Snedeker this week in my model (28th in SG:T2G, 56th in SG:P, 37th in P4E:450-500, 187th in P3E:200-225, 127th in GIR, 14th in SG:AGG, and 196th in DA).

Zach Johnson | $8,100 – Zach’s “course history” isn’t great, but he’s made the cut in each of the most recent “Tillinghast” courses – T38 at the 2012 Barclays, T33 at the PGA Championship this year and T22 at the 2014 Barclays. He’s 33rd in my stats model (67th in SG:T2G, 30th in SG:P, 23rd in P4E:450-500, 68th in P3E:200-225, 103rd in GIR, 55th in SG:AGG, 38th in DA). He’s not missed a cut since the Masters and finished T33 at the PGA Championship in that run of 11 weekends.

Justin Thomas | $8,000 – JT missed his last cut on Tour at the Wyndham after making six cuts in a row. He was T66 at the PGA Championship this year and finished T10 at the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open. The stats don’t particularly scream use me (55th in SG:T2G, 158th in SG:P, 178th in P4E:450-500, 20th in P3E:200-225, 95th in GIR, 18th in SG:AGG, and 177th in DA.

Paul Casey | $7,800 – Casey is 17th in my stats model this week (21st in SG:T2G, 82nd in SG:P, 78th in P4E:450-500, 75th in P3E:200-225, 13th in GIR, 23rd in SG:AGG, and 44th in DA). He also finished T10 at the PGA Championship this year and was T22 at the 2014 Barclays at Ridgewood. However, his results have been a bit lumpy this year. He has back to back top 20s and three in his last four events. However, he’s also missed three cuts in his last six Tour starts.

Ryan Moore | $7,700 – Moore finished T24 at the 2012 edition of the Barclays and is just below some of the favored players like Snedeker, Walker, Henley and Horschel with his profile (55th in SG:T2G, 31st in SG:P, 61st in P4E:450-500, 189th in P3E:200-225, 75th in GIR, 48th in SG:AGG, and 14th in DA). He’s made seven straight cuts on Tour including his win at the John Deere Classic. He was T70 at the PGA Championship this year.

Keegan Bradley | $7,600 – Did you know that Keegan Bradley had the chance to play Bethpage Black every Monday when he was in college? Well, now you know. He finished T16 at the 2014 Barclays (Ridgewood) and T42 at this year’s PGA as has made six cuts in a row on Tour. He is just behind Justin Rose in terms of stats (20th in SG:T2G, 197th in SG:P, 102nd in P4E:450-500, 96th in P3E:200-225, 14th in GIR, 33rd in SG:AGG, and 41st DA).

Gary Woodland | $7,500 – Woodland ranks 28th in my stats model this week (16th in SG:T2G, 129th in SG:P, 78th in P4E:450-500, 96th in P3E:200-225, 28th in GIR, 31st in SG:AGG, and 160th in DA). He’s also had some success here with a T18 at the 2012 edition of the Barclays and T13 at the 2014 edition at Ridgewood. He’s missed two of his last three cuts on Tour.

Luke Donald | $7,500 – Course history starts our journey with Donald as he finished T10 at the 2012 edition of The Barclays. He’s also coming off his best finish of the season with a solo second place at the Wyndham. He also feels great about his game currently.  If his putting is coming around then he’s got a chance to be a monster this week. On the downside, he did miss the cut at the PGA Championship this year and has missed two of his last three cuts overall.

Jhonattan Vegas | $7,400 – Vegas sits between Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson in my statistical model which is a nice spot for someone priced down here. He’s 50th in SG:T2G, 75th in SG:P, 10th in P4E:450-500, 55th in P3E:200-225, sixth in GIR, 83rd in SG:AGG, and 139th in DA. It’s a profile that should be valued more highly. He’s made six cuts in a row with a win at the RBC Canadian Open and a T22 at the PGA Championship (Baltusrol). He’s also finished in the top 20 at the last two Farmers Insurance Opens.

Kevin Na | $7,300 – Na could be the most heavily owned player in the field as he just jumped off the board to me at first glance. Na comes in off back to back top 10 finishes and hasn’t missed a cut since THE PLAYERS. He finished T9 at the 2014 Barclays (Ridgewood) and T22 at the PGA (Baltusrol) this year. He’s 14th from a statistical perspective for the week (35th in SG:T2G, 59th in SG:P, 24th in P4E:450-500, 77th in P3E:200-225, 69th in GIR, third in SG:AGG, and 37th in DA). There is one caveat as Na is scheduled to miss next week’s event to be with his wife as she gives birth. You can’t plan child birth so there is some withdrawal risk this week.

Russell Knox | $7,300 – If you’d rather pay $7,300 for a player whose wife is not due to give birth soon, then Knox is your man. He’s hot with five straight cuts made including two top 10s. He won his last time out at the Travelers and finished T22 at the PGA this year. Knox’s profile has some risk, but that’s priced in down here (46th in SG:T2G, 123rd in SG:P, 162nd in P4E:450-500, 83rd in P3E:200-225, second in GIR, 51st in SG:AGG, and 11th in DA).

Russell Henley | $7,200 – Henley finished T22 at the PGA Championship this year and has made three cuts in a row with two top 25s coming into the playoffs. My stats model has him near Brandt Snedeker and Jimmy Walker so that implies a bargain for these stats – 79th in SG:T2G, 39th in SG:P, 41st in P4E:450-500, 50th in P3E:200-225, 27th in GIR, 112th in SG:AGG, and 55th in DA.

Bill Haas | $7,100 – Haas sits at 24th in my stats model (19th in SG:T2G, 143rd in SG:P, 107th in P4E:450-500, 11th in P3E:200-225, 46th in GIR, 34th in SG:AGG, and 69th in DA). He finished T15 at the 2014 Barclays. He’s made six cuts in a row with two top 10s in that span.

Alex Cejka | $7,000 Cejka is 13th in my stats for the week (48th in SG:T2G, 102nd in SG:P, 16th in P4E:450-500, 20th in P3E:200-225, 41st in GIR, 13th in SG:AGG, and 27th in DA). He’s also seen the top 25 in his last three events. Withdrew.

Tony Finau | $7,000 – Finau is always a consideration when the greens are bentgrass as shown by his T18 here in 2012. He was also T24 at the PGA Championship this year. My stats don’t like him this week as he’s outside the top 100 overall.

Daniel Berger | $6,900 – Berger’s profile is great except for his accuracy off the tee and par 3 scoring (36th in SG:T2G, 34th in SG:P, 51st in P4E:450-500, 163rd P3E:200-225, 54th in GIR, 23rd in SG:AGG, and 163rd in DA). He was T5 in his last event at the Travelers, but T73 at the PGA the week prior.

Graham DeLaet | $6,800 – I’m recommending him again this week. I always get him wrong so feel free to fade him to victory. DeLaet has a couple of things going for him statistically this week –namely his GIR% and his second shot acumen (SG:AGG). The rest of the profile isn’t good (69th in SG:T2G, 140th in SG:P, 88th in P4E:450-500, 137th in P3E:200-225, 30th in GIR, 15th in SG:AGG, and 106th in DA).

Billy Horschel | $6,700 – BillyHo is one of my favorite golfers in the field this week irrespective of price. He finished T5 last week at the Wyndham and he is a golfer who can go on runs very quickly. He rates just below Russell Henley in the stats for the week (27th in SG:T2G, 85th in SG:P, 113th in P4E:450-500, 143rd in P3E:200-225, 60th in GIR, 26th in SG:AGG, and 105th in DA). I’m rostering him extensively in part based on my belief that he’ll build on last week’s success.

Jason Dufner | $6,600 – Dufner just keeps making cuts having made nine in a row since missing the cut at the Masters. He has five top 25s in that run including last week’s T22 at the Wyndham. He’s 37th in the statistical model this week (23rd in SG:T2G, 175th in SG:P, 117th in P4E:450-500, 123rd in P3E:200-225, seventh in GIR, 20th in SG:AGG, and 20th in DA). He missed the 2012 and 2014 editions of the Barclays.

Lucas Glover | $6,600 – Glover won the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, but that event was plagued by rain all week and I don’t expect the same conditions this week. That said, Glover has the profile of a golfer who should succeed (30th in SG:T2G, 140th in SG:P, 36th in P4E:450-500, 72nd in P3E:200-225, first in GIR, 53rd in SG:AGG, and 52nd in DA). The American comes with two made cuts in a row and three out of his last four. He will likely be popular this week.

Charles Howell | $6,500 – Missed the last month and a half after surgery which was non-golf related. He’ll likely be very low owned and makes an excellent GPP option this week. The profile isn’t elite, but it could work (41st in SG:T2G, 80th in SG:P, 172nd in P4E:450-500, 82nd in P3E:200-225, 33rd in GIR, 92nd in SG:AGG, and 187th in DA. He’s been in the top 20 in the last two Farmers and finished T22 at the 2014 Barclays.

Kevin Kisner | $6,400 – Is last year’s Kevin Kisner back? Perhaps as he’smade five straight cuts in stroke play events and has back to back top 20s including a T18 at the PGA.  The stats don’t like him, but if he’s back in form they likely don’t matter for this week.

J.B. Holmes | $6,400 – Holmes has back to back top 10s at the Famers Insurance Open and also finished T19 at the 2012 version of The Barclays. However, he’s in poor form having missed three cuts in a row including the PGA Championship. The stats don’t like him, but he’s succeeded at this and similar courses in the past.

Danny Lee | $6,100 – Lee is 32nd in the stats model for the week (44th in SG:T2G, 161st in SG:P, eighth in P4E:450-500, 98th in P3E:200-225, 132nd in GIR, 41st in SG:AGG, and 47th in DA). He finished T38 in the 2014 Barclays and missed the cut last week after making three in a row.

William McGirt | $6,100 – McGirt finished T5 at the 2014 Barclays (Ridgewood), T10 at the 2012 Barclays (here at Bethpage Black), and T10 at the PGA Championship this year (Baltusrol). That’s good “course history” for this week. And like Jimmy Walker, he probably disappointed a lot of people last week with his missed cut. McGirt is 17th in my stats model this week (40th in SG:T2G, 22nd in SG:P, 40th in P4E:450-500, eighth in P3E:200-225, 53rd in GIR, 65th in SG:AGG, and 29th in DA).

Aaron Baddeley | $6,100 – Baddeley finished T49 at the 2016 PGA Championship and was also T8 at the Farmers Insurance this year. Badds has made five cuts in a row on Tour including his win at the Barbasol Championship. Outside of putting (sixth in SG:P) and par 4 efficiency (52nd in P4E:450-500) the rest of his profile is awful.

Chris Kirk | $6,100 – Kirk finished T46 in the 2012 Barclays so he’s got that going for him…which is nice.  He sneaks just inside the top 50 in stats and has alternated made and missed cuts over his last four events.

Webb Simpson | $6,000 – So, Simpson didn’t exactly earn his salary last week, but he’s got a lot of room to cover his costs this week as he dropped over $4,000 in price in one week. he’s fourth in my stats model this week behind only DJ, Jason Day and Adam Scott (12th in SG:T2G, 178th in SG:P, second in P4E:450-500, 64th in P3E:200-225, 58th in GIR, eighth in SG:AGG, and 72nd in DA). He finished T13 at the PGA Championship this year. He’s made five cuts in a row on Tour.

Brian Harman | $6,000 – Harman finished T5 at the 2012 Barclays here so he needs to more fully examined. He’s missed three cuts in a row on Tour after making five in a row. His profile sits near the bottom of the barrel. To roster the lefty, you have to believe that he can rekindle his game on a favorable track.

Chez Reavie | $6,000 – Reavie rounds out my top 25 in stats this week (26th in SG:T2G, 170th in SG:P, 59th in P4E:450-500, 154th in P3E:200-225, 37th in GIR, ninth in SG:AGG, and 16th in DA). Reavie missed the cut in his last start after making four in a row. This is his first trip to the Barclays on a Tillinghast or similar course.

Ryan Palmer | $5,900 – Palmer is my Graeme McDowell of this week. He just seems way too cheap. He finished T24 at the 2012 Barclays and has a profile that shouldn’t be priced this low (43rd in SG:T2G, 109th in SG:P, 85th in P4E:450-500, 79th in P3E:200-225, 58th in GIR, 82nd in SG:AGG, and 156th in DA). He’s made three straight cuts including a T42 at the PGA Championship. Again, just seems too cheap.

Brendan Steele | $5,900 – Steele has made five of six cuts at the Farmers Insurance Open with a top finish of T17 in his 2011 debut. He finished T5 at the Barracuda and then missed back to back cuts at majors. He bounced back in his last event with a T17 at the Travelers.  Interestingly, he’s 29th in my stats-only model this week (34th in SG:T2G, 144 thin SG:P, 27th in P4E:450-500, 152nd in P3E:200-225, 24th in GIR, 43rd in SG:AGG, and 93rd in DA).

Johnson Wagner | $5,800 – Wagner grew up in upstate New York and as a result played the course more than a few times. In fact, he won the Met Open as an amateur in 2001 which was held at Bethpage Black. He missed the cut at the 2012 Barclays but comes in solid form having put up back to back top 5 finishes. The profile isn’t great (99th in SG:T2G, 45th in SG:P, 67th in P4E:450-500, 101st in P3E:200-225, eighth in GIR, 76th in SG:AGG, and 85th in DA).

Sung Kang | $5,800 – Kang makes his debut here this week entering on a little mini run of three straight cuts made including a T14 at the John Deere Classic.

K.J. Choi | $5,800 – Usually makes cuts. Has two top two finishes in the last three Farmers. Finished T22 in this year’s PGA Championship. Finished outside the top 70 in both the 2012 and 2014 editions of The Barclays.

Ricky Barnes | $5,800 – Barnes was the runner-up at Bethpage in the 2009 U.S. Open. He has two T5s in his last three events. He’s also not a bad fit statistically (121st in SG:T2G, 36th in SG:P, 16th in P4E:450-500, 12th in P3E:200-225, 63rd in GIR, 54th in SG:AGG, and 178th in DA).

Robert Garrigus | $5,700 – Too cheap. Just too cheap. He’s tenth in my stats model model (24th in SG:T2G, 139th in SG:P, seventh in P4E:450-500, 65th in P3E:200-225, tenth in GIR, fifth in SG:AGG, and 179th in DA). He’s made ten cuts in his last 11 starts including four top 15s and three straight top 25s.

Roberto Castro | $5,700 – Another too, too cheap guy down here as he’s 15th in my stats model this week. He also finished T24 at the 2012 Barclays held at Bethpage Black and has made 10 straight cuts on Tour coming in this week with four top 20s including last week’s T20.

Brett Stegmaier | $5,700 – Do want someone else who played the Met Open at Bethpage Black who isn’t named Johnson Wagner? Look no further than Stegmaier. He finished T12 in the 2010 Met Open. His profile is mediocre (102nd in SG:T2G, 119th in SG:P, 44th in P4E:450-500, 116th in P3E:200-225, 69th in GIR, 97th in SG:AGG, and 84th in DA). However, the New England native has made three of his last four cuts on Tour and finished T5 at the Wyndham last week.

John Senden | $5,600 – The veteran Aussie finished T19 at the 2012 Barclays at Bethpage and finished T18 at this year’s PGA Championship. He missed the cut in his last start at the John Deere after making three cuts in a row. He even has a profile that is far better than his price implies (87th in SG:T2G, 33rd in SG:P, 72nd in P4E:450-500, 22nd in P3E:200-225, 26th in GIR, 80th in SG:AGG, and 104th in DA).

Blayne Barber | $5,600 – Barber just keeps making cuts as he’s now made seven in a row including his best finish of that run last week at the Wyndham (T14). It’s his debut in the playoffs this week and he has a profile that doesn’t look like it will work. However, he’s been able to play the weekend frequently as of late. And he’s cheap!

David Hearn | $5,600– The Canadian finished T10 here in 2012 and was T30 at the 2014 edition at Ridgewood. He also sits 34th in my stats model this week. Unfortunately, Hearn missed the cut at the Wyndham last week and has missed the cut in his last two stroke play events after a streak of six in a row. I like him even if his current form doesn’t look great.  

Shawn Stefani | $5,500 – He’s made three cuts in a row on Tour with two top 15s. Nice.

Good luck this week! Head over to DraftKings to choose your squad for this week.

DraftKings Scoring

Roster size: 6 Golfers

POINT SCORING

Golfers on each team will accumulate points as follows:

  • Per Hole Scoring
    • Double Eagle (DBL EAG): +20 PTs
    • Eagle (EAG): +8 PTs
    • Birdie (BIR): +3 PTs
    • Par (PAR): +0.5 PTs
    • Bogey (BOG): -0.5 PTs
    • Double Bogey (DBL BOG): -1 PT
    • Worse than Double Bogey (WORSE DBL BOG): -1 PT
  • Tournament Finish Scoring
    • 1st: 30 PTs
    • 2nd: 20 PTs
    • 3rd: 18 PTs
    • 4th: 16 PTs
    • 5th: 14 PTs
    • 6th: 12 PTs
    • 7th: 10 PTs
    • 8th: 9 PTs
    • 9th: 8 PTs
    • 10th: 7 PTs
    • 11th–15th: 6 PTs
    • 16th–20th: 5 PTs
    • 21st–25th: 4 PTs
    • 26th–30th: 3 PTs
    • 31st–40th: 2 PTs
    • 41st-50th: 1 PTs
  • Streaks and Bonuses
    • Streak of 3 Birdies of Better (MAX 1 Per Round) (3+ BIR STRK): +3 PTs
    • Bogey Free Round (BOG FREE RD): +3 PTs
    • All 4 Rounds Under 70 Strokes (ALL 4 RDS UND 70): +5 PTs
    • Hole in One (HOLE IN ONE): +10 PTs

Scoring Notes: Ties for a finishing position will not reduce or average down points. For example, if 2 golfers tie for 3rd place, each will receive the 18 fantasy points for the 3rd place finish result. Playoff Holes will not count towards final scoring, with the exception of the “finishing position” scoring. For example, the golfer who wins the tournament will receive the sole award of 1st place points, but will not accrue points for their scoring result in the individual playoff holes.

Player Lock Notes: All golfers lock at the time the first golfer tees off on day 1 of an event.

Full rules are located here for DraftKings Daily Fantasy golf.

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