Daily Fantasy PGA Picks for DraftKings & FantasyAces  - Quicken Loans National

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Quicken Loans National

Congressional Country Club - Bethesda, MD

Par 71 - 7,569 Yards

The seasons second major championship, the U.S. Open, wrapped up on Sunday afternoon with Dustin Johnson winning by a three stroke margin. It was a four stroke victory until DJ reached the scorers table where he faced the USGA officials who questioned his actions back on hole #5. Before addressing the ball DJ noticed the ball moved slightly so he called the official on site over to explain that he did not address or hit the ball in any way and was told to play it where it lies with no penalty. When DJ's group got to #12 tee box they were approached by an official again and were told that the video would be reviewed and it would get dealt with when DJ had completed his round. What? How on Earth do you tell players we will make a decision after the round but go play for that Major without knowing who is leading or by how many. No one even seemed to know what the penalty would be if there was going to be one. So they played on. It did not appear to affect DJ that much as he said in a post game interview he was simply playing the golf course. It did seem to affect the overnight leader Shane Lowry even though he claims it had no bearing on his collapse. At one point after learning of the non ruling he made three straight three putts. Outside of the USGA making a mess of the final holes, it was an incredible event with the best player coming out on top. Johnson's tee to green game was phenomenal as he bombed the ball with accuracy all week while leading the field in greens in regulation. He also only made five bogeys all week. Remove DJ from teh list of best players in the world without a major. It's now up to you Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk(Wrong! My mistake. Furyk won the 2003 US Open). On to next week.

This week the PGA Tour makes a stop in Bethesda, Maryland for the 2016 Quicken Loans National from Congressional Country Club. It first hosted this tournament back in 2007 and has played host six times(2007-2009 & 2012-2014). The course also hosted the 2011 U.S. Open. I have labeled these years on the cheatsheet as these will be the only years we draw course history from this week. Congressional is the second longest course on Tour behind Torrey Pines(South) and will definitely favor the bombers this week. Don't just target Driving Distance though as this course can play very tough, which makes sense as it has hosted U.S. Opens in the past. Dustin Johnson thrived last week due to his distance but the key was the accuracy as he only had maybe 5-10 shots all week from the rough. The profile for the player is quite similar to last week in that we want Total Driving players who can hit greens and avoid the big mistakes. With the added length of this course it will be an advantage to drive the ball 300+ yards so Driving Distance will be weighed heavily in my model. Let's dig in to some picks!

Below is a list of the key stats I am using in  my model on the cheatsheet this week:

 

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Driving Distance
• Good Drive %
• Par 5 Scoring Average
• Scrambling

 

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.

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High End Targets ($9,000+)

Rickie Fowler
Vegas Odds - 14/1
Draftkings - $12,000
Fantasy Aces - $6,100

It has been a rough stretch for Rickie having missed three straight cuts at some big events(US Open, Memorial, PLAYERS). For this reason I would only recommend him for GPP's this week. He is still ranked #6 in the world and is an elite player. Just look at his stats. He is ranked in the Top 10 in all Strokes Gained Stats except for Approach(28th), Top 10 in Ball Striking, GIR, Par 4 and 5 Scoring, Bogey Avoidance and 11th in Birdie or Better %. He is just too good to continue this run missed cuts. I have a feeling when he does break out it will be contending for a win and I just so happen to think it will be this week.

 

Brendan Steele
Vegas Odds - 33/1
Draftkings - $9,900
Fantasy Aces - $5,500

He has been on a nice run of golf lately with five straight cuts made with four Top 20 finishes including a T15 last week at the US open. He comes back to Congressional with some nice course history having finished 5th and 16th the last two time this tournament was played here. The third piece of the puzzle is the stats and he ranks 10th overall in my weighted stats model this week. He ranks 24th in SG:Off the Tee, 14th in Distance, Top 20 in both Total Driving and Ball Striking and ranks 10th in Par 5 Scoring Average. He checks off all the boxes and although his salary seems high it is a small field. He is safe in all formats.

 

 

Charlie Hoffman
Vegas Odds - 25/1
Draftkings - $10,500
Fantasy Aces - $5,500

With such a weak field this week the top tier is loaded with options. For tournaments it may be a great a week to double your lineups to get exposure to more than one or two of these guys as fitting two together could be a challenge. Hoffman is having a terrific year having missed just one cut since January and also picked up a win a the Valero Texas Open in April. He hits the ball around 300 yards off the tee and if he can even be average with the accuracy should give himself plenty of opportunities to climb the leaderboard and contend on Sunday. He also has some nice course history having made all seven cuts at this tournament including a 3rd place finish back in 2014 when it was last played here at Congressional.  I don't consider him safe for cash games at this high salary but a terrific GPP play.

 

 

Also Consider - Patrick Reed

 

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

Jamie Lovemark
Vegas Odds - 33/1
Draftkings - $8,200
Fantasy Aces - $4,950

Lovemark is a player I am surprised has not won on the PGA Tour yet. His approach game is what is holding him back from making more birdies and contending but he has been solid in almost all other facets of his game. He is ranked 12th in SG:Off the Tee and 21st in SG:Around the Green combined with a Top 10 rank in Driving Distance and Top 30 in Par 4 and Par 5 Scoring, Bogey Avoidance and BoB%. He has made 14 of 19 cuts this year highlighted by five Top 10 finishes including a playoff loss at the shortened Zurich Classic. This is his first trip to Congressional and the Quicken Loans National but I feel he has the game to occupy a spot on the leaderboard come Sunday. At a low $8K price tag I trust him in all formats.

 

Robert Garrigus
Vegas Odds - 50/1
Draftkings - $8,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,850

We haven't heard much from Garrigus this season as he has only recorded one Top 25 finish which came recently at the AT&T Byron Nelson. Don't be fooled by his missed cut at last years Quicken Loans National as it was played at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Look a little deeper into the course history and you will find that Garrigus seems to have a love for Congressional. He finished 11th in 2014, a poor 64th in 2013, 4th in 2012 and 3rd here at the 2011 US Open. There are a few things that stand out from a stats perspective that explain the success. He is long off the tee combine with a Top 5 ranking in SG: Approach. He is also Top 20 in Proximity. He is close to being trustworthy for cash games and an excellent GPP play with Top 10 upside this week.

 

Hudson Swafford
Vegas Odds - 66/1
Draftkings - $7,000
Fantasy Aces - $4,750

Right at the very bottom of the middle tier comes Swafford at a terrific value this week. He is another player who is long off the tee and also ranks 2nd in Total Driving and 8th in Ball Striking. He also ranks Top 40 in GIR and Proximity and Top 5 in Par 4 and 5 Scoring. Iwill take that all day for a player in the low $7K range of a weak field tournament. That's not all though! He finished 21st last year when the tournament was played at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and 11th in 2014 the last time it was played here at Congressional. He has also made five straight cuts coming into this week dating back to the PLAYERS. All signs point to a good week for Swafford.

 

Also Consider - Jason Kokrak

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

Smylie Kaufman
Vegas Odds - 80/1
Draftkings - $6,700
Fantasy Aces - $4,700

I know the form has been horrible since the Masters but this feels like a steal with Smylie this week. In a weak field at the Zurich Classic he was $9,500 so I will take the value all day. He bombs the ball(28th in DD)and crushes the Par 5's(18th in Par 5 Scoring) and makes a ton of birdies(ranked 21st in BoB%). The issue with Smylie, if you have been watching any PGA Tour Live coverage on Thurs/Fri, is between his ears. A couple bad shots have compounded in to multi hole mistakes. If he can control his emotions and get back to having fun on the golf course he could very well hoist a second a trophy in his rookie season.

 

Jordan Niebrugge
Vegas Odds - 150/1
Draftkings - $6,500
Fantasy Aces - $4,600

He is making his pro debut this week after signing a deal with TaylorMade Golf. He is a two time Walker Cup team member and was the Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year. Oh ya and you will probably him if you watched last year's Open Championship where he finished T6. We only have a small sample size of stats from that Open Championship but he was outstanding driving the ball around 295 yards. We will ignore the drivign accuracy as there is a ton of room at St. Andrews and don't take too much away from his 81% GIR that week either. He fits well into a stars and scrubs lineup for GPP's this week.

 

 

Also Consider - Bronson Burgoon

 

Quicken Loans National Update Thread

 

Join us in welcoming amateur phenom, Jordan Niebrugge, to the professional ranks. Welcome to #TeamTaylorMade.https://t.co/FyFEilkIrY

— TaylorMade Golf (@TaylorMadeGolf) June 21, 2016

 

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the Quicken Loans National? Chris is selling lineups only $5. He covers DraftKings & 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.