PGA Championship 2022: Daily Fantasy Picks and Tips for Friday

Rory McIlroy and most of the leaders at the 2022 PGA Championship benefited from their morning tee times on Thursday. 

McIlroy, Will Zalatoris, Tom Hoge and others were handed the favorable rotation of tee times because of the weather at Southern Hills Country Club.

The wind picked up for the Thursday afternoon threesomes, and it is expected to remain in place throughout Friday morning in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The Friday afternoon wave featuring McIlroy and most of the leaders should produce the lower scores in the second round. 

The daily fantasy strategy for the second round is clear. Most of your trust should be put into golfers with afternoon tee times to avoid the risk of high scores from the morning wave. 

Throw Trust Behind Rory McIlroy

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McIlroy broke out from the field during Thursday morning's run through Southern Hills with a five-under 65. 

McIlroy is poised to increase his lead on Friday afternoon when the conditions begin to get better in Oklahoma. 

According to Weather.com, the winds are expected to blow over 15 miles per hour for most of the morning in Tulsa before more favorable conditions take over in the afternoon. 

McIlroy's superstar threesome of himself, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods will tee off at 2:36 p.m. ET. That should give the conditions plenty of time to change to benefit the first-round leader and others. 

McIlroy rolled in seven birdies in his first 18 holes. He surged in front with four straight birdies on the back nine, which is where he started on Thursday. 

The first-round leader could pad his advantage on Friday on the back nine if he plays that side of the course as well as he did on Thursday.

That could mean McIlroy breaks away from the pack late in the round, similar to what Scottie Scheffler did at The Masters last month.

McIlroy had a steady hand for most of his first round, and he if cleans up the two bogeys on par threes from the front nine, he could finish Friday with a multi-shot advantage. 

Run with Golfers That Have Afternoon Tee Times

Emil Lippe/Associated Press

The weather played a significant role in determining which players sat near the top of the leaderboard on Thursday. 

Zalatoris and Hoge got within one shot of McIlroy, while Matt Kuchar and Abraham Ancer finished two shots back of the leader. 

Those four players are among the golfers to consider for second round DFS lineups because of how well they handled the course in the easier window of tee times. 

Zalatoris may be the best complement to McIlroy in a DFS lineup since he rolled in six birdies during his first trip around Southern Hills. 

Zalatoris has the best set of recent major results of the four players trailing McIlroy who share the same tee-time window. Justin Thomas is the only player teeing off on Friday morning with a score of three-under or better. 

Xander Schauffele and Cameron Smith should be considered for DFS roster spots as well. The pair of players sit three shots back of McIlroy. 

Smith was undone by a double bogey on the 12th hole and two bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, but he did reel off five birdies on the front nine. 

Smith could be the most dangerous threat to McIlroy's lead after 36 holes if he cleans up his play on the back nine. 

Be Cautious with Stars with Early Tee Times

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Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa are among the golfers who are hoping to just make the cut on Friday. 

The quartet mentioned above and a handful of other stars are stuck on the bottom half of the leaderboard after dealing with treacherous conditions on Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately, all of them have to go back out in similar weather to preserve their weekend spots at Southern Hills. 

Two extremes could be in play for the morning wave of players. They could have adjusted to the way the course plays in tough wind, and that may result in lower scores, or they could still have difficulties managing the conditions. 

You do not want the majority of your DFS lineup to be stuck with the latter situation, especially with better conditions projected for the afternoon. 

Caution should be applied to the morning wave of players, and it may be worth playing just one or two golfers to avoid a ton of risk.

Thomas carded the best score from the Thursday afternoon wave, and Scheffler is only one-over. 

Those two players may be the best ones to trust as most of the big names try to figure out how to get above the projected cut line.