RADIO
28-year-old Shane Lowry was able to hold off tour veterans Jim Furyk, Bubba Watson, and Justin Rose to win his first tournament on the PGA circuit. If you read my picks last week and put those players in your lineup, you definitely won some money. Lets try to make it three good weeks in a row, especially because this week is the last major.
To read Part Two of of my DraftKings advice for the PGA Championship, click here.
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PGA Championship Analysis
The 97th PGA Championship will be played at links like Whistling Straits, the Straits Course, located in Kohler, Wisconsin. Pete Dye designed Whistling Straits. He also designed TPC Sawgrass, famous for the Players Championship. The Straits Course hosted the 2004 and 2010 PGA Championship’s. The course is 7,501 yards with a par 72. The course was built along the beautiful Lake Michigan and is home to Scottish Blackface Sheep, over 1,000 bunkers, and steep elevation changes (to read more about this very interesting golf course, click here).
Golfers tee off at the relatively easy first hole, Outward Bound. A well-hit ball on 408-yard par 4 will set up the players with a short-iron approach. Golfers finish off the front nine with the difficult 9th hole, Down and Dirty. In 2010 this hole proved to be very difficult. Golfers struggled with the approach shot due to the large tree obstructing the view 100 yards from the green. To make the approach shot more difficult, players will have to deal with swirling winds surrounding the green.
The last two holes of Dye’s design will be immensely difficult for the game’s best. The 17th, Pinched Nerve, is the hardest par 3 on the course and per the website, “One of Pete Dye's most intimidating par 3s ... anywhere.” I cannot wait for players to miss left into the bunkers or even Lake Michigan, or see them miss right into a hillside bunker. Most players will aim directly over the bunker in hopes that the ball lands on the green.
The 18th hole is greatly remembered for Dustin Johnson infamously grounded his iron, costing him his chance at the tournament. Dyeabolical, a tribute to Dye, is a 520-yard par 4 which conceded a mere 14 birdies in the 2010 PGA Championship. Players must drive the ball over 300 yards but stop the ball short as to not roll into Seven Mile Creek. Per the site, “Even though the approach is downhill, swirling winds surrounding the green complex force players to play an extra club to clear Seven Mile Creek, which guards the front side of this huge green.” All in all, this looks to be a very thrilling last major tournament.
PGA Championship Advice
This course will be very windy and play like a links style course. Players who performed well at The Open, the Scottish Open, or the U.S. Open should be looked at. Players who perform well on Dye courses, such as the 2012 PGA at Kiawah Island the Ocean Course, should also be considered. A quirky fact is that the greens are bentgrass cultivars.
Stats To Look At
Strokes Gained Putting
Strokes Gained Tee- to- Green
Greens in Regulations
Scrambling
Sand Save
3- Putt- Avoidance
PGA DFS High-Priced DraftKings Picks ($9,600-$12,500)
I will begin my picks with the pick to avoid, Rory McIlroy ($11,700 Vegas 12-1). I cannot stress enough that you should not pick him under any circumstance. He is the second highest priced player, yet he hasn’t played since the U.S. Open due to his rupturing a ligament in his left ankle, also his pivot foot. McIlroy can say he is 100 percent healthy, but I will believe it when I see it. It’s also obvious that walking 18 holes will put more stress on his already aching ankle. It seems like McIlroy is trying to be a superhuman by playing. He will be somewhere around the cut line Friday and will be non-existent if he were to make the cut.
Jason Day ($10,800 Vegas 12-1)
Day will win a major, it’s just a matter of when. He has nine top 10 finishes in 20 majors including six top 5 finishes and three runner ups. In 2010 at Whistling Straits Day tied for 10th shooting seven under. Day was cut at the 2012 PGA, but don’t worry about that one. The U.S. Open and British Open saw Day finished tied for 9th and tied for 4th, respectively. I don’t even need to look at stats to have the confidence to pick Day.
Justin Rose ($10,000 Vegas 20-1)
Rose has been having a great year in majors: runner up at the Masters, tied for 27th at the U.S. Open and tying for 6th at The Open. Rose just had a very nice showing at the Bridgestone, tying for third, which included shooting a 63 on Saturday. Rose did very well in 2012 at Kiawah Island tying for 3rd. Rose ranks 13th in GIR, 14th in driving distance, 7th in SG tee to green, and 5thin sand save percentage. He also ranks 4th since 2013 on courses with bentgrass greens. Rose will bring his momentum from last week to the final major.
Henrik Stenson ($9,700 Vegas 25-1)
I put him in all of my lineups last week and he didn’t disappoint finishing tied for 6th at five under. His major performances this season have not been too good. At the Masters he tied for 19th, U.S. open tied for 27th, and British Open tied for 40th. He also tied for 17th at The Players. I am in love with his stats though which are perfect for this kind of tournament. He ranks 10th in drive accuracy percentage, 1st in GIR, 5th in SG: tee to green, and 13th in SG: putting. Stenson finished third in the past two PGA Championship’s. Here’s to another one and hopefully an even better finish.
DFS Quick Hitters for DraftKings
Jordan Spieth ($12,500 Vegas 6-1)
I never like picking the favorite and would rather save the salary, but you cannot go wrong with picking Spieth. He’s been dominant all season long.
Dustin Johnson ($11,200 Vegas 15-1)
He may very well be in the lead after the first two rounds, only for him to fall apart on the weekend yet again.
Bubba Watson ($9,900 Vegas 18-1)
He plays extremely well on Dye courses, but his erratic game always scares me off. Watson has so much talent, but he loves those crazy shots, and one miss hit can cost him everything. He ranks 1st in SG: tee to green, 26th in SG: putting, 1st in SG: Total, and 39th in GIR. His stats are enticing only making the choice to pick him or not ever more so difficult.
Rickie Fowler ($9,800 Vegas 25-1)
He won The Players and Scottish Open this year, but tied for 30th at The Open and was cut at the U.S. Open. His 86th and 125th rankings in drive accuracy percentage and GIR percentage really scare me off. Fowler is very hit or miss here.
DFS & Fantasy Golf Chat Room
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