We are back for Week 5 and our picks for Daily Fantasy Golf at DraftKings for the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in beautiful Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Let’s get down to business and make some money.

It’s a great week to check out DraftKings as they have some top notch contests for the final week. Come on over and take a look.

Tour Stop

The Tour ventures back to the Western Hemisphere this week so you won’t have to work the third shift to follow the action. Our tour stop this week is the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. And, no it doesn’t have anything to do with the Ontario Hockey League. The pros play on the El Camaleón Golf Course which runs 6,987 yards and is a par 71 track. The course was designed by Greg Norman and has hosted the OHL since 2007.

The weather looks like it will be hot and humid with a chance of thunderstorms most days. So, just about what we’d expect. Check back Wednesday to see how the weather evolves as there may be a tee time advantage to be had.

Scorecard breakdown: It’s a par-71 this week, so we replace a par 5 with a par 4 so it’s four (4) par threes, eleven (11) par fours and three (3) par fives.

Field

We are back to a full field event this week, though it will have the feeling of a Web.com tournament more so than a PGA event.

The full field can be found here.

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 OHL has been played here since 2007 so course history will play an important role this week. We’ll also take a look at the Puerto Rico Open and CIMB Classic which are played on similar greens.

Statistical Review

This is a short course. S-H-O-R-T short! And in looking at past results, ball strikers have seen the leaderboard more often than not. And we see scores that are well under par each year. So, this week, I’ll focus on:

Ball Striking – Yes, there is a stat called Ball Striking. It takes a golfers ranking in total driving (which is the combination of driving distance and driving accuracy) and Greens in Regulation (GIR) to determine each player’s standing.

Par Breakers – And since it’s a short course (there is a 116-yard par 3!), you can score and need to score. But, you can win by scoring on par 3s (as Harris English did in 2014 – he was nine under on them along with going eight under on par 4s), par 4s or par 5s. The trend seems to favor scorers on par 3s or par 4s, but we’ll look at all scorers.

I also always examine Strokes Gained: Putting (SG:P) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (SG:T2G) every week.

DraftKings Expert Picks

Matt Kuchar | $11,700 – Kuchar is the big name in the field and did put up a T3 in his last trip here in 2008. He played at the Fiji International last week on the Australasian Tour and won. It’s a bit of a hike from Fiji to Playa del Carmen, so we could see some hangover from the win and travel. He finished the 2015 season at 84th in ball striking and 26th in par breakers so he’s got the scoring part down pat.

Patton Kizzire | $10,700 – My affection for Kizzire’s game gets the ultimate test this week as he’s the second highest priced player. He has come out firing in his first year on Tour with a T2 and T4 in his first two Tour stops this year. He was T5 in the Web.com Championship and his profile from the Web.com tour (16th in ball striking and first in par breakers) works for this course. I’ll own more of him than you will.

Patrick Rodgers | $10,500 – Rodgers should succeed here, but he struggled in his first trip here last year finishing T37. His profile fits (44th in ball striking and 29th in par breakers) and he’s finished in the top 20 in all three of the new season’s tournaments. In digging further into his work this year, we see he’s had a round as low as 64 and as high as his final round 73 last week. That is some serious volatility.

Jason Bohn | $10,300 – Bohn is my pick to win this week (which isn’t a huge leap). He finished last season at 80th in ball striking, but 20th in par breakers. He has back to back top 10s at the Mayakoba (and a T19 a few years back). He started the season as hot as Kizzire with back to back top three finishes. He ended that run last week with a T39 at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Harris English | $10,200 – English won here two years ago and was T37 last year. He’s also had a bit of success at the CIMB (T43 this year and T7 last year). His profile is solid enough (69th in ball striking, 62nd in par breakers).

Charley Hoffman | $10,100 – Will Hoffman defend his title? If history is our guide, no. It’s never been done here previously in the tournament’s short history. His profile from last year is quite similar to Jason Bohn’s as he finished 71st in ball striking and 30th in par breakers. He missed the cut at the Shriners in his only start this year. Outside of the win, Hoffman’s record here hasn’t been great.

Russell Knox | $10,000 – Knox won last week in China and the hangover (from the win and travel) gives me pause. He’s played here three times and he’s never made it into the top 30 finishes. It seems like he should be better here, but he hasn’t shown it.

Brendan Steele | $9,900 – Steele is the stats pick this week – 16th in ball striking and 14th in par breakers. He’s played here twice and finished T16 in his debut two years ago and T37 last year. But, he’s got two top 20 finishes in his first three starts of the year and is in off a T3 at the CIMB (and its similar greens). I like him quite a bit this week.

Graeme McDowell | $9,800 – McDowell’s only trip to Mayakoba was in 2007 when he finished T63. He’s here on a sponsor’s exemption. He’s strung together five straight weekends though he hasn’t finished inside the top 20 but once (in the Dunhill Links Championship which isn’t terribly applicable to this week’s course. He’s a big name and that’s about it.

Charles Howell III | $9,700 – Howell III has played here six times and until last year was a horse for course play. He missed the cut last year after finishing in the top 20 each of the prior four years. He finished T10 at the CIMB this year on similar greens to Mayakoba.

Will Wilcox | $9,400 – He says he won’t withdraw so I’ll believe him. Wilcox checks out statistically (second in ball striking and 17th in par breakers last year so he should be able to succeed. He was also T6 at the Puerto Rico Open this year. The withdrawal last week gives me a bit of pause to fully recommend him this week. However, your mileage may vary.

Chris Stroud | $9,300 – Stroud is a bit like Charlie Three Sticks. He’s finished top 10 three times eight trips to the OHL Classic. He had a run of three straight top five finishes snapped last year when he put up a T23. He’s had some success at the Puerto Rico Open (three straight cuts made with two top 20s). He’s made the cut in his first two tournaments this season including a T10 at the Frys.

Keegan Bradley | $9,100 – Bradley’s profile works (third in ball striking and 35th in par breakers). He finished T47 at the CIMB earlier this year to pair with a tenth place finish a few years ago.

Before, we head below $9,000, a thought on the next tier. Every guy from $8,000 to $8,900 could finish in the top 10 here and every single one could miss the cut. It’s a strange group of golfers who we rarely see this high in salary. I feel if you can pick the one or two golfers who can succeed out of this group, you’ll be home free.

Jhonattan Vegas | $8,800 – Would you believe Vegas is currently fourth in ball striking in the early going of the new season? Neither would I as it’s completely out of character as he was 114th last year. If you think this is some new Vegas, then by all means roster him. I don’t think he’s found the accuracy that his early-going implies, but he has started off well with two top 10s including a T4 last week.

Brendon de Jonge | $8,600 – As you will see with Alex Cejka below, I like de Jonge because he’s done well on similar greens to those at Mayakoba. He’s had back to back top 30s at the CIMB and four top 15 finishes at the Puerto Rico Open. Moreover, he succeed at Mayakoba when he used to play regularly (T9, T15 and T40 in his three trips here with none more recent than 2010). His profile works a bit (78th in ball striking and 58th in par breakers). His recent form isn’t great, but it’s good enough (last three events CUT, T13 and T27).

Brian Harman | $8,500 – Harman’s profile isn’t the best (66th in ball striking and 106th in par breakers). And he’s only made one of three cuts here (and that was a T26 in his debut in 2012). He has had some success at the CIMB with a T7 this year in his last time teeing it up. I should like him more in a field like this, but I’m a bit scared off.

Alex Cejka | $8,400 – When you see Alex Cejka at $8,400, you know it’s a crazy-thin field. However, I like Cejka a good deal at Mayakoba. His profile doesn’t work, but for some reason he’s succeeded here with a T16 here last year. He’s also done well on courses with similar greens – a T17 at the CIMB this year and a win at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year. He also opened this year with a T2 at the Shriners. His form is solid and he’s played on greens like these to excellent results.

David Hearn | $8,400 – Hearn is three for three in cuts made at Mayakoba with his best finish last year’s T16. The Canadian also finished T29 at the CIMB earlier this year.

Johnson Wagner | $8,400 – Wagner won here in 2011 and has made the cut three of four times he’s teed it up at Mayakoba including a T16 last year. He’s made four straight cuts and was T15 last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He’s always been a solid ball striker (66th last year), but a distant 130th in par breakers. He’s never shown well in Puerto Rico, but this tournament seems to work for him.

Stewart Cink | $8,300 – I cannot find a single reason that Cink is priced here unless they are counting on his work at the CIMB (two top 20s in three starts including this year) translates.

Rory Sabbatini | $8,200 – Sabbatini has found glory in the past at the OHL Classic as he has two top five finishes in his four treks to Mexico. He was only 119th in ball striking last year, but 37th in par breakers so he could succeed again. He’s a high variability play this week likely good for GPPs only.

Jason Dufner | $8,200 – Dufner hasn’t played here since 2009 when he finished T28. He finished T35 at the CIMB Classic earlier this year (his second straight made cut along with a T26). His profile works here (34th in ball striking and 74th in par breakers).

Camilo Villegas | $8,100 – Much like Cink, I’m not sure what Villegas is doing up here. Villegas missed the cut here last year and was T36 the previous year. He has a profile that doesn’t seem to work (168th in total driving and 78th in par breakers). He missed the cut at the Frys, though he did finish T16 at the Shriners.

Roberto Castro | $8,100 – His profile doesn’t work and he missed the cut in his only trip there. He was T4 last week at the Sanderson and has two top 25 finishes at the Puerto Rico Open.

Kevin Streelman | $8,000 – Streelman hasn’t played here since 2009 when he finished T3. He missed the cut last week, but did finish T16 at the Shriners. He’s a ball striker (16th overall last year), but struggles to score (128th in par breakers).

Boo Weekley | $7,900 – Weekley has a profile that should work (39 th in ball striking and 63 rd in par breakers). And it has. Once. In 2007 when he finished sixth. But, he’s torn up the Puerto Rico Open finishing in the top 10 in his last three trips. So, perhaps that success will translate this week.

Jason Kokrak | $7,900 – Kokrak debuted at the OHL Classic last year and finished T16. His profile works (62nd in Ball Striking and 42nd in Par Breakers) and makes an excellent option especially in GPPs.

Smylie Kaufman | $7,900 – Kaufman seems to be taking to this PGA Tour card. He finished T10 in his first start and then won at the Shriners the next week. He stumbled a bit at the Sanderson last week (T54), but his third place finish in par breakers on the Web.com Tour last year gives him a shot every week.

Aaron Baddeley | $7,800 – Put Baddeley in at least one lineup this week as no one will be on him at all. However, he finished T4 last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship and credits work with a new coach. He’s worth a flier as I repeat no one will be on him.

Spencer Levin | $7,800 – Levin finished last year at 44th in ball striking, but 161st in par breakers. He did finish second at the OHL in 2011, but nothing better than T28 in his other five trips. He did finish T27 at the CIMB earlier this year so perhaps he’s got a feel for these greens.

Brett Stegmaier | $7,800 – Not the best profile from his work on the Web.com Tour last year, but he’s played well in the last two weeks with back to back top 15s.

Jim Herman | $7,700 – Herman is a master ball striker (ninth overall last year) who doesn’t score enough (105th in par breakers). Herman finished T23 here last year which was his best finish in three appearances. He finished T10 at the CIMB two weeks ago in his first trip to that tournament.

Jamie Lovemark | $7,600 – Lovemark is a scorer (second last year in par breakers) with some reasonable ball striking skills (57th last year on the Web.com Tour). He’s made two of three cuts on Tour to start the year and had a T13 at the Shriners (also a par 71 course).

Carlos Ortiz | $7,500 – Ortiz was born in Mexico, played his youth golf here and played at the college level in the U.S. in Texas so he knows the weather and the greens. He has a profile from last year that works (38th in ball striking, 46th in par breakers). He debuted with a T9 last year at Mayakoba and hopefully will build on that this week.

Chez Reavie | $7,400 – Reavie finished last year at 25th in ball striking and 101st in par breakers. So, on a ball strikers course, Reavie is an option.

Colt Knost | $7,400 – Knost finished 84th in ball striking and 79th in par breakers last year. He’s made the cut in all five trips to the OHL Classic with a top finish of T3 in 2012. He debuted at the CIMB this year and finished T37.

Peter Malnati | $7,400 – Malnati won for the first time on the PGA, so there will be an inevitable hangover. But, he finished 15th here two years ago in his debut so perhaps his form carries over for another week. He did finish sixth in par breakers on the Web.com Tour last year.

Hudson Swafford | $7,300 – As with every week, Swafford’s profile fits as he finished 2015 at tenth in ball striking and 23rd in par breakers. He’s started off the season with two top 25s in his first three tourneys (though he missed the cut at the Par 71 Shriners).

Adam Hadwin | $7,200 – Hadwin missed the cut last year in his debut at the OHL. His profile works at least partially as he was 49th in ball striking, but only 111th in par breakers. He’s started the year off by making two of three cuts with his best finish coming last week with a T28.

K.J. Choi | $7,100 – Choi’s only trip here was a T20 in 2010. And….well, that’s about it.

Jerry Kelly | $7,000 – All he does is make cuts. Generally. He’s had two top 10 finishes here (including last year’s fifth place finish). He hasn’t started off very well in the new season (T41 and T68 at the CIMB). But, his profile works and he’s had some success at the CIMB and Puerto Rico Open in the past. He’s a nice option down here.

Shawn Stefani | $7,000 – Sure, he’s had success here. Sure the statistical profile fits. But the form is so atrocious I just can’t recommend him.

Fredrik Jacobson | $6,900 – Glad to see Freddie back on Tour after his son’s health scare, but I’d like to see some consistency of results before rostering him.

Ricky Barnes | $6,800 – Barnes finished T16 here last year and had a T9 at the Puerto Rico Open two years ago. I got nothing else.

Brice Garnett | $6,800 – Garnett finished sixth here last year. Hmm….and he comes in off a ninth place finish last week.

John Huh | $6,800 – Huh? Odd to see Huh this far down given his work at Mayakoba. He won back in 2012 and has finished T23 and T29 in the last two years at the OHL. He started the new season slowly missing the first two cuts of the year, but put up a T39 last week at the Sanderson. His profile doesn’t look like it should work, but his history here says ignore it.

Andrew Loupe | $6,800 – Loupe is certainly a GPP option this week as he has two top 10 finishes in the first three tournaments of the year. And he had a T12 at the Puerto Rico Open two years ago so he’s been able to work on these types of greens previously.

Pat Perez | $6,600 – Perez finished 2015 at 81st in ball striking, but 18th in par breakers. And he finished T16 here two years ago (and T13 way back in 2007). The issue is his recent form where he’s really struggled lately.

Jon Rahm | $6,600 – Amateur. Was T5 at the Waste Management Open last year (which is sort of his back yard). A wild card this week as he has all of the talent in the world to succeed.

Oscar Fraustro | $6,500 – The Mexican-born Frastro ended up in a tie with fellow countryman Carlos Ortiz last year at ninth. It was his best finish in three appearances at Mayakoba. If you roster him this week you are counting on home cooking working again.

Henrik Norlander | $6,500 – Web.com grad who finished last season 20th in both ball striking and par breakers #EvenSteven.

Justin Leonard | $6,400 – Finished T6 here two years ago. Missed the cut last year. Dunno.

Derek Ernst | $6,400 – Ernst finished 12th in ball striking, but finished T69 in his only trip here.

Will MacKenzie | $6,300 – He has back to back top 15 finishes here and finished T6 at the Puerto Rico earlier this year.

Tim Wilkinson | $6,300 – Wilkinson has finished in the top 30 the last two years at Mayakoba. Not much else to go on.

Steve Marino | $6,300 – Marino owned this course in its first three years. He finished eighth, second and T20. And then disappeared. He came back in 2014 and missed the cut. His work on the Web.com Tour profiles here (27th in ball striking and 13th in par breakers). Perhaps he can rekindle the romance with this course.

Jason Gore | $6,200 – Gore’s profile fits like a glove as he finished last year 20th in ball striking and 50th in par breakers. He’s never finished better than a T48 in his five trips to Mayakoba, but did put up a T4 at the Puerto Rico Open two years ago and finished T37 in his debut a couple of weeks ago at the CIMB.

Steve Wheatcroft | $6,200 – He finished 26th in par breakers last year. Has made all four cuts in his four trips to the OHL though never finished higher than T37.

John Merrick | $6,200 – Merrick finished 44th in ball striking, but 108th in par breakers. He’s made seven of seven cuts here so he makes a safe play in a stars and scrubs lineup. Except, he withdrew with a wrist injury last week so there is a good deal of concern. He has one top 10 (in 2008) and had his worst finish at the OHL last year at T51.

Dawie Van Der Walt | $6,200 – Van Der Walt’s profile from the Web.com tour works (eighth in ball striking and seventh in par breakers).

Sam Saunders | $6,200 – Saunders finished 26th in ball striking, but 123rd in par breakers. He missed the cut here last year, but did finish T2 at the Puerto Rico Open earlier this year so maybe that form will carry over.

Andres Gonzales | $6,200 – Gonzales and his flowing locks finished T3 here last year. He also has two top 20s at the Puerto Rico Open. However, his current form is pretty ugly, so you’re hoping his course work is worthwhile.

Michael Kim | $6,200 – Kim’s Web.com profile makes him an interesting option this week. He finished last year at fifth in ball striking and fourth in par breakers. He makes his debut at the OHL this week. He enters the tourney having made the first three cuts on the year. And his only top 20 finish this year was also on a par-71 course at the Shriners where he finished T16.

Mark Wilson | $6,100 – Won in 2009. Missed the cut the last two years. Hmm….

Jeff Overton | $6,100 – Back to back top 30s for Overton in his first two trips here. And he’s had three top 15 finishes and made the cut in five of six trips to the Puerto Rico Open. Intriguing.

Blayne Barber | $6,100 – Barber finished T9 at the OHL last year in his debut. And a profile of 75th in ball striking and 49th in par breakers makes me think it’s not a fluke.

Tom Hoge | $6,100 – Hoge finished 34th in par breakers on the PGA Tour last year so if he gets hot he could offer some value and build off his T44 last year in his debut.

Si Woo Kim | $6,100 – Kim ended the Web.com season last year at 42nd in ball striking and 15th in par breakers, so the profile could work in his debut in Mexico.

Zac Blair | $6,100 – Debuted here last year with a solid T23 with all four rounds under par. Has had middling success in his one shot each at the CIMB (T43) and Puerto Rico open (T38).

Tyler Aldridge | $6,000 – Aldridge is certainly on the upswing as he’s finished T55, T43 and T12 in his first three tournaments this year. The Web.com grad finished 60th in ball striking and 66th in par breakers last year on the Web.com Tour. He missed the cut in his only trip here back in 2009.

Rhein Gibson | $6,000 – Another Web.com guy who finished 23 rd in par breakers last year. Makes his debut here and is yet to make a cut in the new year.

Ryan Blaum | $5,800 – Had a T15 at the Puerto Rico Open in 2008 and finished last year at 41st in par breakers on the Web.com Tour.

Wes Roach | $5,800 – Roach finished T23 here two years ago which is enough in the salary basement to make him an option in stars and scrubs lineups. He was also 49th in ball striking and 11th in par breakers last year on the Web.com Tour.

Bronson Burgoon | $5,700 – Burgoon’s Web.com profile last year works at this course as he finished 14th in ball striking and 25th in par breakers. He finally got off the schneid last week and made a cut finishing T20 after missing the cut in the first two tourneys of the year.

Fred Funk | $5,600 – Won here in 2009. Finished T9 last year. Coached golf at my alma mater. You could do worse than the ageless one.

Robert Allenby | $5,600 – He’s had success here in the past (second and T16 in his first two trips), but that seems like a lifetime ago. Allenby is a mess on the golf course currently.

Nacho Elvira | $5,600 – What a name! Sure, Nacho is a nickname, but still. Finished T3 in his last tournament on the Challenge Tour.

Domenico Geminiani | $5,600 – Man, these names are fantastic. Currently sits 1,707th in the OWGR.

Charlie Beljan | $5,500 – Finished last year at sixth in ball striking. Best finish here is T71 in two trips. Withdrew his last time out. No thanks.

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.