Daily Fantasy Golf 2015: Primer and Strategy for DraftKings PGA DFS
Daily fantasy golf returns to the forefront of the DraftKings world for the week, with the year's second major about to unfold. The 2015 U.S. Open gets ready to tee off Thursday morning at the Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Washington.
The world's best golfers are arriving to the west coast, preparing to face a different challenge as the controversial Chambers Bay course faces its first professional-circuit tournament since opening in 2007. Along with battling the top names in the sport, golfers will also be up against a tricky links course.
Those who dabbled in DFS golf during the Masters or one of the other PGA Tour events throughout 2015 have the experience, but other DFS aficionados aren't as well-versed in the golf universe and could use some pointers. Look no further, as we take a comprehensive look at how to take on the world of DFS golf before an in-depth look at this year's U.S. Open.
DraftKings Golf: Quick How-to Guide
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Just like in any DK contest, DFS golf isn't about picking the winner—it's about picking a bunch of winners.
Of course, there will only be one golfer who hoists the trophy and adds a major championship to his name come Sunday at Chambers Bay. But picking him alone won't steer you toward winnings.
That's because DK golf requires six golfers to be selected prior to the tournament, with $50,000 in salary to work with. For those not near a calculator, that's an average of $8,333 per slot.
So, while names above the $11,000 cut line like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson may be worth breaking the bank on, they'll need to be canceled out by value picks later on. Being able to balance your lineup with a few of each is the difference between winning and losing.
DFS Golf Tips and Strategy
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Who's on a Roll?
When Jordan Spieth shocked the world by posting a near-record performance at the 2015 Masters, it didn't surprise those who had done their homework. He entered the tournament having posted three straight top-two finishes, unarguably the hottest golfer heading to Augusta National.
So, who's got the hot hand entering the U.S. Open? It certainly isn't as obvious, but golfers can be found with considerable momentum.
One of those is Billy Horschel, who has bounced back following a missed cut at the Masters. He has four straight top-20 finishes, including a tied-for-eighth finish at last weekend's St. Jude Classic.
Whether or not that's enough to plunge on an $8,000 price tag, you'll want to stock your lineup with golfers who are trending upward instead of downward entering such a huge tournament.
Track Record for Success
It's not quite the same as the Masters, where the same course is played every year. But even in an ever-changing setting like the U.S. Open, those who have proven able to do it before are a better bet than anyone else.
U.S. Open winners fill the field for this weekend's tournament. While Martin Kaymer looks to defend his crown, he'll also have to look out for Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell—all of whom have won the event in the last five years.
In that spirit, there's no denying Phil Mickelson, either. He's famously never won a U.S. Open, but he has finished second or tied for second in six of them—including as recently as 2013.
2015 U.S. Open: The Conundrum of Chambers Bay
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To say this year's U.S. Open will be a new frontier for even the most experienced golfers on the circuit would be an understatement.
Alas, the tournament is being held at Chambers Bay this year, much to the chagrin of some of the household names on the tour. Golfers like Ian Poulter went as far as to call the course "a complete farce," while Ryan Palmer called it a "joke" that "will get a lot of bad press from the players," as per New York Post's Mark Cannizzaro.
While some golfers aren't big fans of the change, USGA executive director Mark Davis—who is in charge of the course setup—lauded the challenges as just that, challenges:
"I would contend that there is no way — no way — a player would have success here at Chambers Bay unless he really studies the golf course and learns it. The idea of coming in and playing two practice rounds and having your caddie just walk it and using your yardage book, that person’s done [and] will not win the U.S. Open.
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There may be more familiar courses to choose from than this one, but that will only make the picks you make for this year's U.S. Open that much more important.
You won't want to nab a golfer who doesn't take the extra time to familiarize himself with the course beforehand, which brings us to the next slide.
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DFS Tips for U.S. Open
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There are certainly trends worth paying attention to when it comes to any major tournament; some of those were analyzed previously. But it takes a different sort of skill set to tackle Chambers Bay, so look for these traits in the golfers you select.
Big Hitters
This isn't the tournament that you'll want to target that reliable fairway hitter who doesn't like to hit the long ball.
Instead, try to pick out golfers who have the ability to knock the cover off the ball. On a Chambers Bay course that could reach as long as 7,900 yards if played from the back tees, long par-four holes and gargantuan par-five holes will be all over the place.
The PGA Tour keeps track of driving-distance statistics, which will come in handy when selecting lineups for this event. A guy like Dustin Johnson could be easy money given how hard he hits the ball, while other big hitters like Justin Rose and Bubba Watson are also worth a look.
Preparation
Picking that surging golfer who just tore up the St. Jude Classic may not be a wise decision when considering what it might take to succeed at Chambers Bay.
In fact, those golfers who opted to skip last weekend's tournament in order to get a few extra rounds of work at Chambers Bay will be the ones benefiting. Take it from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson—who have been putting in early work on the course—that this is no joke, Chambers Bay architect Robert Trent Jones told Cannizzaro:
"I saw Tiger [Woods] on the course for two days. Phil Mickelson has been out here. Where are the guys who are complaining? They should be out here. I believe that the players should just hunker down and play … put on their big-boy britches and play.’
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When those putting together the tournament talk up the difficulty, it's easy to look the other way. But when a three-time champion in Woods and an experienced veteran like Mickelson are heeding the advice, folks should start to take notice.
Favorites to Consider
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Slotting more than $10,000 on any golfer in your lineup calls for ensuring that player will live up to the billing and produce low rounds to make it a wise choice. Don't think twice on these names, who are sure to do just that.
Dustin Johnson ($11,300)
When it comes to a long-ball hitter who exudes the consistency and confidence to tackle a project like Chambers Bay, Johnson might just top the list.
The PGA Tour's longest driver leads that statistic by a whopping margin, as his 317.6 yards-per-drive average is more than 10 yards longer than second place. He posted four top-six finishes entering the Masters, where he followed it up by tying for sixth.
He played well at the St. Jude Classic last weekend before withdrawing due to illness, but that can be considered as pre-emptive more than anything with a major coming up. If anything, that has given Johnson more time to focus on what he needs to do at Chambers Bay.
Phil Mickelson ($10,200)
When it comes to the bright spotlight of the U.S. Open, it seems to bring more out of Mickelson than practically any other golfer.
Of course, dozens have won the event—which Mickelson hasn't—since Lefty first took to the course, but no golfer has shown the amount of consistent results at the U.S. Open. Many of his six second-place finishes have come in heartbreaking fashion, but they are just that—second-place finishes at the major level.
And with how he's approaching Chambers Bay, he seems to have the preparation aspect under control, per Golf Digest's John Strege:
"It's a special course in that there's a lot of different ways to play shots to a lot of different ins. If you play the highest percentage shot it's not a hard golf course. But if you don't know what that shot is and you play the wrong one, there's a lot of penalty there.
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There won't be a lot of penalty either for Mickelson, who will have the twists and turns of Chambers Bay in his mind when he takes to the first tee Thursday.
Justin Rose ($11,500)
There's easy money on the DFS golf circuit, and then there's picking Justin Rose.
In the last four DraftKings golf events, Rose has brought home some insanely good results for those who slotted him into the lineup. He narrowly lost the Memorial Tournament on a playoff, and he preceded his missed cut at The Players with a win at the Zurich Classic and a tied-for-second Masters finish.
Oh, and one more thing—Rose loves the U.S. Open stage. He won his first major in Merion in 2013, and his sixth-ranked driving distance plays well to the Chambers Bay demands.
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