The unofficial 5th major, the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass takes the spotlight where the par-72 7,189 yard layout is a true test of golf for all tournament players. Highly regarded by all tour professionals as a title to win, the TPC Sawgrass layout in Florida is a great looking course to watch but can be a “medium to average” difficulty course if the weather is calm. What makes the course well renowned is the iconic 17th hole that features an island green. With packed galleries surrounding the hole, any slight miscue off the tee means a wet ball and the jeers for a packed gallery. As part of the course defence, 88 bunkers, 17 holes with water in play and Bermuda rough at around 2-3 inches in height.

 

 

Defending champion Rory McIlroy is back to defend his title along the cream of the PGA Tour’s champions and top ranked players. 110 players in the field have at least one PGA Tour win and 47 off the top 50 players ranked in the world are at the PLAYERS. The only notable omission is Tiger Woods who is managing his back injury.

 

The worldwide leader in PGA Daily Fantasy DraftKings has posted the biggest contest in the 2019-20 season with the $2.25M Millionaire Maker available for a $20 entry. The DFS contests are massive and rightly so. IT IS A STACKED FIELD. 

 

DraftKings available contests include:

 

$250,000 Birdie - $3 Entry fee (20 Entry Max)

$80,000 Drive the Green - $5 Entry Fee (150 Entry Max)

$75,000 Albatross - $12 Entry Fee (Single Entry)

 

With such a stacked field, look for players with an emphasis on Strokes Gained on Approach along with Bogey Avoidance (well ‘Water’ avoidance) and golfers with great Birdie or Better %. 

 

$10,000 + Range

 

Rory McIlroy ($11,700). Still the number 1 golfer in the world and last year’s champion. McIlroy would of been all the rage last week if he didn’t slide away at Bay Hill on Sunday last week. But he is the favourite with the books regardless of the strength of the field. McIlroy is 3rd in the field for SG:Approach / 2nd for Bogey Avoidance and 5th in Birdies or Better. Super duper expensive but well worth the investment.

 

$9,000 + Range

 

Bryson DeChambeau ($9,100) Wow hasn’t Dechambeau turned his game around after some tweaks to his swing. In his last three starts he has gone T5 (The Genesis), 2nd (WGC Mexico) and 4th (Arnold Palmer) and is popping on the model this week. Whilst he is midfield for SG Approach (53rd), Dechambeau is 3rd in the field SG: Off the Tee, 9th SG: Tee to Green, 1st in Driving Distance, 7th in Bogey Avoidance and 12th for Birdies or Better. If you want to start teams in this price range, happy to start with Bryson.

 

$8,000 + Range

 

Hideki Matsuyama ($8,800) Of course Hideki still can’t putt (124th in the field), but his driving and iron play are exceptional and really suited to this layout. 10th in the field for SG: Approach and 9th in the field for Birdies or Better % has Matsuyama as a perfect GPP play. 8th in this tournament in 2019 and a 7th in 2016. Bay Hill did knock him around last week but has two top 10 finishes at WGC Mexico and the Genesis.   

 

$7,000 + Range

 

Collin Morikawa ($7,900) There is some exceptional value in the $7k range this week and I could make a case for at least 5 golfers. But let me start with the cut making rookie machine in Morikawa. The streak is currently at 21 and is leading the PGA Tour in cuts made. The reason why he is collecting big cheques is ability to gain strokes on approach. He was ranked number 1 in the field last week at Bay Hill and is number 2 in the field this week (Tyrrell Hatton is number 1 from a small sample size). Can the rookie's first go at Sawgrass be a good one? Will be a popular choice however.

 

Marc Leishman ($7,600) With DraftKings pricing being released before Bay Hill concluded, Leishman is very under priced after his outright 2nd last week. Clearly in a hot streak after winning the Farmers Insurance back in January and grinding out the windy conditions at Bay Hill. Leishman is currently ranked 6th in the field for SG: Approach. Only concern is that Leishman has missed the cut here last year and barely scraped through in the three years before then.  

 

Some Notable Value

Abraham Ancer ($7,200)

Chez Reavie ($7,100)

Adam Hadwin ($7,000) 

 

$6,000 + Range

 

Talor Gooch ($6,900) Hot on the heels of the cut-making machine that is Morikawa, Gooch is on a run himself and currently stands at 12 cuts made in a row. Scrapping in after making an 80 on the Friday, Gooch settled and ended up 13th at Bay Hill. For his price Gooch is a solid value play but just don’t expect Gooch to go on Birdie streaks as he rarely gives up shots (apart from that 80 aside). 

 

Some Notable Value

Harold Varner III ($6,900)

Joel Dahmen ($6,600)

Max Homa ($6,600)

 

Draftstars Suggestions

 

With such a stacked field, you are going to find some great value gems in the below $10,000 mark. So much so, there are "good" options at the bare minimum alone. Problem is there are over 44 golfers at the $8,000 mark. So here are a few that can be considered if you are stacking your lineups.

Bud Cauley

Denny McCarthy

Scott Piercy

Vaughn Taylor 

Brice Garnett

Adam Schenk

 

 

Good luck with your teams! 

 

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