Welcome back to Golf News Net's weekly fantasy golf picks. Each week of the PGA Tour season, we'll present our top picks for that week's tournament and make recommendations for DraftKings' one-week fantasy leagues.
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Who saw that coming? A Jon Curran-William McGirt playoff for the Memorial? Well, we had McGirt as one of the guys you should look out for based on our key stat, which was par-4 scoring. Then again, if you were a GNN Plus subscriber, you'd know that!
Alright, this week is kind of a dud. The FedEx St. Jude Classic is a good, well-run tournament, but it's hard to attract a top field after USGA sectional qualifying and the week before the U.S. Open. However, we have some solid names in the field.
For GNN Plus subscribers, you can access our NEW searchable database of PGA Tour results from 2011-present, our top-15 finish chart and season-long trends on DraftKings valuations. They'll be available at your disposal as part of a growing set of tools to help in your research.
Now, on to the picks!
1. Jason Day -- Best player on the planet right now. Doesn't need driver. Leads in strokes gained putting. Has finished out of the top nine once in the last five years at the U.S. Open.
2. Dustin Johnson -- I know, Johnson isn't exactly the poster child for closing out tournaments. But he's a top-10 machine, including top-four finishes in the last two Opens.
3. Rory McIlroy -- The Irish Open winner enjoyed a back-door top-five at Memorial. His ballstriking is on point, which will be key this week. But can he avoid 3-putts at Oakmont?
4. Jordan Spieth -- The defending champion won at Colonial in dramatic fashion, then put up his normal nonchalant Memorial performance. That throws off the scent. He's the best putter on the planet and should shine on these greens.
5. Matt Kuchar -- Kuchar is playing weekly top-five golf right now and has a solid history of finishing right around 12th place in the U.S. Open in the last five years. Worth a strong look.
6. Hideki Matsuyama -- Behind Day and McIlroy, Matsuyama is the best ballstriker in the field. It's good enough to carry him to top-20s in two of the last three years in the Open. The missed cut at Memorial is a concern, however.
7. Adam Scott -- Fairways and greens win U.S. Opens, so it's no wonder that Scott does so well in this championship. He's been in top 15 in three of the last four years. Has been mediocre since winning back-to-back in Florida in March.
8. Brooks Koepka -- Koepka has been in the top two in two of his last three starts, and he has top-20 finishes in consecutive Opens. He's found something.
9. Phil Mickelson -- Mickelson joked that his T-2 in Memphis last week is like his usual U.S. Open finish, where he's been second on six occasions. It wouldn't be an Open without Mickelson in form and contending.
10. Patrick Reed -- Reed isn't the longest hitter in the world, and he's really not that great of a putter. However, he's above average at every skill level. He's a great grinder. He learned from his final-group whoopin' on Saturday last year.
11. Brandt Snedeker -- Snedeker has been inconsistent of late, sprinkling in MCs and top-20 finishes. However, Snedeker is built for tough conditions and difficult greens. Top-20s in the Open in four of the last five years, including back-to-back top-10s.
12. Lee Westwood -- The Englishman is largely off the radar since committing to the European Tour this year, post-divorce. However, he's been in the top 15 in his last four worldwide starts, including a runner-up at the Masters. He's playing really good golf.
13. Sergio Garcia -- The Byron Nelson winner hasn't played since winning the Nelson in a playoff. And while he's rarely been particularly special, a ballstriker of his caliber should do well at Oakmont.
14. Danny Willett -- The Masters champion isn't going to be on the tip of a lot of folks' tongues, and it's kind of confounding. The guy can play. He was great at the Irish Open and BMW PGA, just got flustered at Wentworth under the weight of expectations. They don't really exist here.
15. Charl Schwartzel -- Schwartzel began the season like a man on fire, and he's cooled off since. However, he's been in the top 25 in his last two starts on tough courses during the Texas Swing Part Deux.
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My DraftKings team for this week:
HERE
If you want to win at DraftKings daily fantasy golf, you have to figure out a way to find six golfers that play all 72 holes and earn roughly 85 points each.
You likely have to identify a couple of players in the top five, at least the top seven, and you'd ideally not have a player finish outside the top 20.
Doing that takes research, looking at a variety of factors, including:
- Finish trends, both in recent weeks on the PGA Tour and at that week's event,
- Salary trends, deciphering which players are showing value based on their performance, and
- Statistical trends, identifying the common threads among winners in that week's event
That's what Golf News Net will deliver each week to GNN Plus members in this space, offering a complete research package which dives into these three areas to find the players that should be in your lineup for this week.
To access this research hidden below and MANY more fantasy golf tools, sign up for GNN Plus to gain access to the analysis!
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