Daily Fantasy PGA Picks for DraftKings, FantasyFeud & FantasyAces  - Zurich Classic

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Zurich Classic

TPC Louisiana - Avondale, LA

Par 72 - 7,245 Yards

He finally finished on Sunday! Charley Hoffman finished off his final round 69 with a terrific nine foot birdie putt to win the Valero Texas Open by just one shot over Patrick Reed. No one was more excited than Charley himself. Check out the reaction below:

Billy Horschel was also pretty excited for Charley as well. The other golfers knew just how much that win meant to Charley after he has come so close over the past month. He just hasn't been able to finish on Sunday's.

It was another excellent week for the picks as Charley Hoffman won, Patrick Reed got 2nd and my Canadian of the week Nick Taylor finished T21. While we didn't get top finishes from Summerhays, Kuchar, or McGirt they all made the cut and helped us push our cash game win streak to three straight and seven of the last 10. Lets keep the streak going into next week.

The PGA tour will makes it annual trip to TPC Louisiana for the 2016 Zurich Classic. If you like birdies and low scores, this tournament is for you. Get ready for a ton of birdie streaks, eagles, bogey free rounds and all four rounds under 70 bonus points. TPC Louisiana is ranked as one of the Top 10 easiest courses on tour and has seen an average winning score of -19 over the past five years. It is a bit of a different setup than most courses, especially when you look at the Par 4 holes. Of the 10 Par 4's, five are under 403 yards and five are over 475 yards. Nothing in between. This makes it a bit of a mess when trying to focus on a GIR or Proximity stat from a certain distance so I have listed three on the cheatsheet this week. All four of the Par 3's fall between 207 and 221 yards making the long approach distances important. It is tough to peg driving distance or driving accuracy as more important than the other. It all depends on the player. One stat I really like to look at is Good Drive %. It takes into account how accurate a player is off the tee and his greens/fringe in regulation % when he misses the fairway. It is explained very well in this blog post I found called JamieonSport. Check it out. As always I will weight Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and Putting with most of the emphasis on Tee to Green. The greens at TPC Louisiana are pretty straight forward making the worst of putters look average and average putters look good year to year. Below are some of the key stats I am weighing this wee on the cheatsheet.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
• Good Drive %
• Greens in Regulation
• Par 4 Scoring Average
• Par 5 Scoring Average
• Birdie or Better %
• Strokes Gained: Putting

I will again this week be interacting through the comments section below and ready to answer any questions about Fantasy Golf or anything you wanna talk about. Join the conversation. And as always, I am available on Twitter @Jager_bombs9.

Also, I have joined the Slurv team to bring you live daily fantasy golf chat throughout the week. Join myself and and a collection of some of the best DFS golf minds in the industry as we prepare for each PGA tournament. Click HERE to get signed up!

 

High End Targets ($9,000+)

Justin Rose
Vegas Odds - 8/1
Draftkings - $11,800
Fantasy Aces - $5,900

The defending champ is back and very comfortable here at TPC Louisiana. He sandwiched a T43 between two missed cuts back in 2009-2011 in his first three attempts at the Zurich Classic. Then he took off and finished T10, T15, T8, and picked up the big win last year shooting a -22 for a one stroke win over Cameron Tringale. Of the 15 stats I have listed on the cheatsheet, Rose falls in the Top 100 in all of them(only player in field) and falls inside the Top 20 in eight of them for a #1 ranking in my weighted stats model this week. The Zurich Classic was his last win on Tour and has been very close since with 10 Top 10 finishes since. He is a safe play in all formats this week.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 8
• Good Drive % - 8
• Greens in Regulation - 14
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 40
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 4
• Birdie or Better % -
• Strokes Gained: Putting

 

 

Ricke Fowler
Vegas Odds - 12/1
Draftkings - $11,100
Fantasy Aces - $5,850

Ok first of all if you weren't following Rickie Fowler on Snapchat last week you missed out. He, Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas went on a holiday to the Bahamas and pretty much Snapchatted the entire thing. It was hilarious and awesome to see such great competitors be human and have fun. Check out some of the videos and images through this link to Golf Monthly. It's back to golf for Fowler who will be teeing it up once again at the Zurich Classic. He has played here for five straight years but has only recorded one top 10 finish and has missed the cut the last two years. So why recommend him? Well, he is 2nd in my stats model highlighted by a 1st overall ranking in Par 4 and 5 scoring and he sits 6th in BoB% and 5th in GIR. He is an elite player and as I mentioned last week on my Slurv chat on Wednesday I don't factor Course History as much for the elite on Tour. After an unexpected missed cut at the Masters I fully expect Rickie to bounce back this week. He makes a great GPP play if you are looking to pivot off Day and Rose.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 6
• Good Drive % - 72
• Greens in Regulation - 5
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 1
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 1
• Birdie or Better % - 6
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 26

 

 

Smylie Kaufman
Vegas Odds - 40
Draftkings - $9,500
Fantasy Aces - $5,300

It appeared Smylie and the rest of the Bahamas crew(Spieth, Thomas, Fowler) had an amazing holiday golfing in nothing but shorts and bare feet. It's now time to get back on track and focus on the task at hand. Winning golf tournaments. This will be Smylie's first crack at TPC Louisiana and he fits what we are looking for in a fantasy play this week. He is ranked 24th tee to green, 37th in GIR, 31st in Prox 125-150 and Top 15 in both Par 5 Scoring and BoB%. He is having an incredible rookie season making 13 of 15 cuts so far this season and also picked up his first win back in October at the Shriners Open. He is coming off a T29 at the Masters which could have been so much better if he hadn't blown up for a final round 81. Like Fowler, the holiday had to have been a great getaway for both body and mind. Expect a strong effort from Kaufman this week.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 24
• Good Drive % - 127
• Greens in Regulation - 37
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 40
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 15
• Birdie or Better % - 15
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 90

 

Also Consider - Daniel Berger(GPP)

 

Mid Tier Targets ($7,000 - $9,000)

Patton Kizzire
Vegas Odds - 66/1
Draftkings - $8,200
Fantasy Aces - $4,950

Another rookie on Tour having a terrific start to his career. Patton has made 11 of 14 cuts in 2016 including four Top 10 finishes. His accuracy off the tee is the only thing that scares me this week but he more than makes up for it in other areas. He has been solid on the Par 3's, 4's, and 5's and ranks 21st in BoB% and Top 10 in Strokes Gained Putting. If he can stay out of trouble off the tee he should have another solid effort and is ready to breakout with his first career win any time now. Could it be this week? Seven of the last 11 winners here at the Zurich Classic have been first time winners on the PGA Tour if you are into narratives.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 71
• Good Drive % - 187
• Greens in Regulation - 127
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 72
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 36
• Birdie or Better % - 21
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 8

 

 

David Hearn
Vegas Odds - 100
Draftkings - $7,500
Fantasy Aces - $4,700

My Canadian pick of the week went well at the Valero Texas Open as Nick Taylor played great and finished T21 and crushed his value at bargain pricing. This week it's David Hearn making the picks article. He comes at a terrific mid $7K price tag and has Top 10 course history among those in the field over the past five years. He played his first tourny here back in 2008 and finished T52 and then took five years off before returning in 2011. He has played here all five years since and has finished T46, T24, T21, T34 and an impressive T6 last year. He is very accurate off the tee, hits a ton of greens with excellent proximity from all ranges. He is a safe option in any format this week and one of my favorite cash game options.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 77
• Good Drive % - 32
• Greens in Regulation - 40
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 87
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 159
• Birdie or Better % - 97
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 119

 

 

Luke List
Vegas Odds - 100
Draftkings - $7,400
Fantasy Aces - $4,750

Another golfer in the mid $7K range that I absolutely love this week. He ranks Top 10 in my overall weighted rankings and checks every box. He has played here once back in 2013 and finished solo 31st shooting -10 over the four days. Looking at his stats he is Top 30 tee to green, bombs it off the tee, hits a ton of greens and crushes the Par 5 holes. Adding to my confidence in List is his current form . He comes into this week having made four straight cuts after a rough start to the season where he missed six of his first eight cuts. I feel comfortable using him in cash again this week and will also have a fair amount of exposure in GPP.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 27
• Good Drive % - 123
• Greens in Regulation - 54
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 72
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 31
• Birdie or Better % - 83
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 135

 

Also Consider - Sean O'Hair(GPP), Lucas Glover(Cash)

Low End Target (Min Price - $6,900)

Nick Taylor
Vegas Odds - 100/1
Draftkings - $6,900
Fantasy Aces - $4,700

I am doubling up on my Canadian content this week. Taylor turned out to be a great pick last week finishing T21 at the Valero Texas Open in what could have been much better as he opened with a 75 and closed Sunday with a 73. Either way he made value and has now made four straight cuts and is riding some nice momentum into this week. He played here for the first time last season and came away with a T48. I look for him to build off that finish last year and his current form and scrape together another Top 25 finish this week. Go Canada!

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 100
• Good Drive % - 151
• Greens in Regulation - 92
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 29
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 137
• Birdie or Better % - 110
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 109

 

Alex Cejka
Vegas Odds - 150
Draftkings - $6,300
Fantasy Aces - $4,450

If you are looking to go stars and scrubs in cash or GPP this week, Cejka is my favorite golfer this week in the sub $7K range. He is ranked Top 60 in SG:T2G, Driving Accuracy, GIR, Prox 125-150 and 175-200 and is ranked 1st in Par 3 scoring, 9th in Par 4 scoring and 27th in BoB%. He is 92nd in DraftKings salary this week but ranks 3rd in my weighted stats rankings. That is quite the gap and presents a ton of value. He made the cut here at TPC Louisiana last season with a T65 and also had a Top 20 finish back in 2012 which was his last appearance before last season. Hard to pass up on that value.

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green - 58
• Good Drive % - 77
• Greens in Regulation - 34
• Par 4 Scoring Average - 9
• Par 5 Scoring Average - 68
• Birdie or Better % - 27
• Strokes Gained: Putting - 112

 

 

Also Consider - George McNeil, Jason Bohn

 

Zurich Classic Update Thread

 

 

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the Zurich Classic ? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings, FantasyFeud & FantasyAces Cash Games & Tournaments. Fill out the form below or click here to purchase using PayPal. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA and of course PGA. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any PGA questions and how he copes with the winters up north.