We start with this weeks Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona. This tournament is home to some of the rowdiest fans on the tour, including the “stadium hole” at the par 3 16th. Brooks Koepka won the 2021 edition, and returns this year to defend his crown.

 

Draftstars has beefed up this weeks prize pool slightly with $10,000 on offer, including $970 to first place. There is also a $2 Mini and a Single Entry tournament. The aim in DFS golf is always first and foremost to get as many players as possible through the cut, with the winner usually needing all 6 golfers to still be playing on the weekend. After that it is of course very helpful to pick the winner for the week, as well as some other high finishers.

 

 

Love It- Patrick Cantlay $21,210

World #1 Jon Rahm is a short favourite at the top of the market, but we have to pay top dollar to play him this week (of course). While that is fine if he wins, Cantlay is not far behind in terms of his chances of winning, and has a little more recent golf under his belt. A 4th place at Pebble Beach last week as well as two other top 10s in January shows that his game remains in a good place, and being priced below several other top players adds a little extra appeal. The one downside is that he has not played here before, but I fully expect a player of his ability to adjust quickly and be in the hunt at the end of the week.

 

Love It- Scottie Scheffler $19,010

Another player near the top of the board who looks a tad underpriced is Scheffler, the young Texan now in his 3rd full season on tour. While he’s yet to win, he’s consistently put himself into strong positions and is now ranked #15 in the world. His two starts in January were both top 25 finishes, suggesting his game is in a good place but not quite at it’s sharpest. A week off to work on things and come back to an event where he finished 7th last year looks like a good recipe for another strong result. I’ll have my fingers crossed for the maiden win, but another top 10 would be adequate.

 

Love It- Corey Conners $17,160

Conners is coming off a strong 2021 season in which he improved his putting statistics in a big way and leveraged the improved short game into 17 top 20 finishes in 31 starts. That kind of consistency is helpful when looking to get 6 golfers through the cut, although he missed the cut in two of his three starts in January. I’m willing to write those off as a blip, primarily because his ball-striking stats were still impressive and he’s had a week off to get the short game tidied up again. A top 20 here last year built on a made cut in his first attempt in 2020, and I think the play around this course can continue to trend in the right direction with a top 10 or top 5 very much a possibility.

 

Love It- Keith Mitchell $16,080

At first glance Mitchell looks a little expensive for a middling player with not much success at this course, but a closer look reveals 3 top 12 finishes in his last 4 starts, with all parts of his game in good shape. Mitchell has always been good with his driver, but the other parts of his game have slowly improved over his 5 seasons on the PGA Tour. After winning the Honda Classic in 2019 he has perhaps stagnated a little, but seems to be hitting top form once again and capable of making a charge in Phoenix. Much will rely on whether he can have another hot week with his streaky putter, as we know he’ll put himself in good positions off the tee and the rest of his tee-to-green game has been in great shape.

 

Hate It- Brooks Koepka $19,240

One key to success in un unpredictable sport like golf is to figure out which popular guys at the top of the board to stay away from each week. For me that is going to be the defending champion this week. Although he’s an undoubted star and has had some other good results on this course, it’s hard to say he’s in the same type of form that most of the others priced above and around him are. After getting over his persistent knee injuries, he’s missed the cut in his last 3 full field events and struggled from tee to green in all of them. His ball striking quality is beyond proven at this point, but I still need to see some signs of form returning before I’m willing to invest in him. Hopefully the household name + winning last year is enough to see some high ownership.

 

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