DFSR is proud to bring you Chris Durell. He'll be bringing weekly PGA picks, analysis and breakdowns to help you cash on DraftKings and FantasyAces.
El Camaleon Golf Club - Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Par 71 - 6,987 Yards
This week the PGA Tour heads to Mexico for the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. The course, El Camaleon GC, is a Greg Norman design is very unique as players pass through three different landscapes(jungle, forest, beach). For a hole by hole view of the course click HERE. You can also see a flyover of each hole by clicking the link below each hole. It becomes clear right away that Driving Accuracy is going to be important with many different obstacles off the tee including trees, sand, water, and native areas. Not to mention the multiple dog legs which will require pinpoint accuracy to give yourself a shot at hitting the green and making birdie. Along with accuracy I will be weighting Good Drive % very high this week as it correlated very high the last two years in which I ran data, which included two different weather conditions entirely. As always I will be weighting Birdie or Better % and Bogey Avoidance high. Looking at some of the lower end value it I think there are many ways to construct a cash game lineup this week and have a few players that can help get to the promise land in GPP's.
If you have any questions leading up to lineup lock Thursday morning you can reach me in a variety of ways. Leave a Q below in the comment section and I will get you an answer. You can hit me up in the new chatroom here at DFSR(It's crazy busy with NFL talk so try and private message me for specific PGA Q's). I am also always available on Twitter(@jager_bombs9). Good luck this week!
High End Targets ($9,000+)
Emiliano Grillo
World Golf Ranking (26)
Vegas Odds (21/1)
Draftkings ($11,200)
FantasyAces ($)
With Knox nearly touching the $12K barrier and my projection that many people will be on the Rahm train, I will settle right in the middle with Grillo. I rode him a lot last year and he quickly became one of my favorite golfers(the list includes any golfer who has helped me win DFS and Tiger Woods). He finished last season with a win(FRYS.com Open), three top 10's and made 22 of 25 cuts which is flipping amazing for a rookie on tour. He picked up a T8 in golf's return to the Olympics and finished the year strong with a Top 10 at the Tour Championship. Starting this season he is trending nicely towards another win with a T26 at the Safeway open, T17 at the CIMB Classic and a 11th place finish at the HSBC Champions. Statistically he is exactly what I am looking for in my model this week as he isn't long off the tee but very accurate and scores very well on the Par 4's. He is safe in all formats.
Keegan Bradley
World Golf Ranking (97)
Vegas Odds (29)
Draftkings ($10,000)
FantasyAces ($5,500)
Until we get some some stronger field events I am going to continue to ride Keegan Bradley. I have played with my overall model for hours now and no matter what I do Keegan comes out on top. After missing 11 of his first 19 cuts last year he has been on a roll. He has made seven straight cuts at the end of last season and has started this season off very strong with a T22, 6th and a T7 in three tournaments. He is one of the best ball strikers on tour and has been making a ton of birdies on the Par 4's and 5's which is very promising for his fantasy upside this week in a tournament that should see a final score of -15 to -20. He has played here at El Camaleon just once and during his awful start to last season finished 8th here which also helps build the confidence in picking him this week.
Anirban Lahiri
World Golf Ranking (74)
Vegas Odds (41/1)
Draftkings ($9,000)
FantasyAces ($5,350)
With my last top tier pick I feel I am going off the board a little bit as Lahiri seems a bit over priced for his lack of success on the PGA Tour. In 38 events spanning five season he has only recorded three Top 10 finishes but has made 74% of cuts. What is also promising is that when you dog a little deeper you notice he has played his best golf in the fall season. This will be his 6th event in the fall season in his career and he has made the cut in every single one. He is also trending in the right direction as if it were not for a disappointing 72 on Sunday at the CIMB Classic, he very well could have his first tour win. He still impressed with a 19 under par and T3 finish which should give him a ton of confidence coming into this week. I think the upper tier price this week will keep people away making him an excellent GP play.
Also Consider - Jim Furyk
Derek Fathauer
World Golf Ranking (171)
Vegas Odds (51/1)
Draftkings ($8,300)
FantasyAces ($5,200)
I don't think I am jumping on the train too late as there is a ton to like Fathauer this week. He is playing some of the best golf of his life and recently picked up a career best 3rd at the CIMB Classic. His best before that? A 4th place finish here at the OHL Classic last season. You can probably see my train of though by this point. It is of course a small sample size but statistically speaking Fathauer is off to a great start ranking 7th in Par 4 Scoring, 3rd in Bogey Avoidance, 2nd in Scrambling and one stat that correlates closely with last season is that he is a terrific putter. I think playing at his current level he makes a nice cash game play. The rising salary could also start to force people off which will also make him a nice GPP play as well.
Jason Bohn
World Golf Ranking (176)
Vegas Odds (81/1)
Draftkings ($7,600)
FantasyAces ($4,750)
When looking for mid to low tier cash game plays I like to weight course history a little higher. Look no further than Jason Bohn in that category. He has played here four times, making the cut in each tournament and has three straight Top 10's including a runner up last season. His price has come up and there is definitely some risk but he is trending in the right direction. After missing the cut at the Safeway Open, he finished 70th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T48 at the Shriners Open. He now comes back to a course to has done everything but win at. Look for a season best finish this week in Mexico!
Harold Varner III
World Golf Ranking (188)
Vegas Odds (81/1)
Draftkings ($7,100)
FantasyAces ($4,650)
His price continues to sit in the low $7K range and while I he has made all three cuts so far this year I am not sold he is safe in cash games quite yet. For tournaments though, I think he has a ton of upside with his combination of Total Driving, GIR, and Par 5 Scoring. His games correlates to DraftKings scoring and what makes him boom or bust is his weak Par 4 Scoring and Putting. It is very promising that in his first trip to El Camaleon GC last season he picked up a Top 5. He ranks 7th overall in my model this week. Value, value, value.
Also Consider - Jerry Kelly
Ryan Blaum
World Golf Ranking (357)
Vegas Odds (101/1)
Draftkings ($6,900)
FantasyAces ($4,700)
Probably my favorite play of the week. The 33 year old rookie sits third in the rookie rankings on PGAtour.com and is having a great start to his career. He has made all three cuts and hasn't finished worse than T31 in any of them. He scares me a bit ranked 107th in Driving Accuracy early in the season but it is reassuring that he ranks high(34th) in Good Drive %. The OHL Classic was the only tournament he played on the PGA Tour last season and he finished eight under par with a T29. A familiar course combined with his excellent form have him ranked very high on my overall model this week and he comes in under $7K. He is one of the value plays I think can be used if you are constructing a bit of a stars and scrubs cash game lineup.
Also Consider - Billy Hurley III
Weather updated - Tuesday, November 8th
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.
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