Golf Daily Fantasy Expert Advice
Daily Fantasy PGA Picks and Betting Guide for DraftKings & FanDuel – The CJ Cup @ Summit
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The Course
The Summit Club
Par 72 - 7,431 Yards
Greens - Bentgrass
**Click the image above to see a hole by hole breakdown from PGATour.com**
For the second year in a row, the CJ Cup will be hosted in Las Vegas, this time at the Summit Club. This is a new course on the PGA Tour rotation so course history is thrown out the window when putting together a model. For narrative purposes, Collin Morikawa and Maverick McNealy are members here at the Summit Club and that will likely help bump up their popularity in the fantasy community.
As it always is, the CJ Cup is a no-cut event with 78 players in a very strong field led by seven of the Top 10 and 36 of the Top 50 players in the World. With this being a new course I am keeping my stats model fairly simple. Looking at the hole by hole and some flyovers, it appears the fairways are generous which will lead to the second shot being huge in another potential birdie-fest. This has Strokes Gained: Approach and Birdie or Better % taking up a majority of model. I will then add in some Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass stats, Par 4 Scoring, and Par 5 Birdie or Better%.
In terms of lineup construction, these no-cut events really cater to a stars and scrubs build for multiple reasons. First of all, there are usually multiple players in the $6K range(DraftKings) who are normally much higher priced, and second, everyone gets four rounds to rack up birdies taking away the stress of making the cut on Friday afternoon. If you are playing heavy GPP and want to differentiate some, consider constructing some balanced lineups. You can accomplish this by using the filters on our DFS PGA Optimizer tool.
With all that said, let's get into some core plays.
Top Tier Targets
Justin Thomas
World Golf Ranking (#6)
Vegas Odds (12/1)
Draftkings ($11,100)
FanDuel ($11,900)
This top tier is absolutely loaded with decisions this week, especially if you have a smaller player pool like myself. Not going to lie, it feels a little weird not writing up either of Morikawa who is a member here and one of my favorite golfers, or Xander who has been a no-cut event goldmine.
My top golfer this week is JT who has better form than both of them(Top 5's in 2 of his last 3 events) and is also slightly higher-ranked when looking at my no-cut event model. In this loaded field, he ranks Top 10 in seven of my nine stats in my FNGC custom model and is my top overall play this week.
Louis Oosthuizen
World Golf Ranking (#8)
Vegas Odds (30/1)
Draftkings ($9,300)
FanDuel ($10,300)
With a no-cut event, I like building a roster around three golfers in the top 25 in pricing which can be done several ways but I personally love the value with Oosthuizen this week, especially in cash games. Going back to May on the PGA Tour, he has tallied five Top 10's and nine Top 20 finishes in his last 10 events and hasn't just gained strokes on approach in all of them but has gained 4+ strokes on approach in half of them. Louis also ranks 12th in my no-cut event model so all things considered, he is my top PTS/$ play this week.
Mid Tier Targets
Marc Leishman
World Golf Ranking (#37)
Vegas Odds (45/1)
Draftkings ($8,600)
FanDuel ($9,100)
Adding to that core build I talked about above is Marc Leishman in the mid $8K range on DraftKings and even more important is the price tag on FanDuel which puts him at the top of my FD$/Odds diff ranks this week. The price is just the beginning as Leishman comes in scorching hot with Top 5 finishes in two events to start the season with a combined 52 birdies. The only concern about a letdown here is the fairly unsustainable putting(7+ strokes gained in both events) but the good news is that the irons have also been hot so I see the momentum carrying over for one more week in Vegas.
Harold Varner III
World Golf Ranking (#76)
Vegas Odds (70/1)
Draftkings ($7,300)
FanDuel ($8,700)
Another player who checks off almost every single box this week making him another top PTS/$ value on both sites. He comes in hot with a T16 or better in four straight events including the first three this season. He always catches my eye in no-cut events for his iron game and birdie potential(9th on my sheet) and even more good news is that he is riding a red-hot putter gaining 4+ strokes on the greens in his last three events. Fire up HVIII in all formats.
Value Targets
Cameron Tringale
World Golf Ranking (#67)
Vegas Odds (66/1)
Draftkings ($7,000)
FanDuel ($8,800)
Tringale has been very consistent(for the price) through the summer and into the fall season and ranks very high in both my long-term and short-term models this week. Ultimately, he makes a ton of birdies(ranked 12th long term, 10th short term), is strong on both Par 4's and 5's, and is a tremendous putter. He is 5th in my stats model, Top 15 in my form model and one of my fav values this week on both sites.
Jhonattan Vegas
World Golf Ranking (#86)
Vegas Odds (140/1)
Draftkings ($6,300)
FanDuel ($7,800)
How do we not play Vegas in Vegas????
Jhonattan Vegas is ranked 15th on my sheet in ball striking and while a lot of that comes from his length of the tee, he is still a strong iron player. It has shown lately as he has gained strokes on approach in seven straight and nine of his last 10 events. He ranks 12th in my short-term model when looking at SG: Tee to Green and he can make birdies in bunches which is perfect for a no-cut event. At these prices, I will have exposure in all formats. I mean, his name is VEGAS!