The first PGA Major of the Year takes place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. SI Fantasy analyst Ben Heisler goes through his top fantasy plays, as well as a major fade for the PGA Championship.
Previous PGA Tour Event Winners & DraftKings Salary
- FedEx St. Jude: Justin Thomas ($10,700)
- 3M Open: Michael Thompson ($7,000)
- The Memorial Tournament: Jon Rahm ($9,300)
- Workday Charity Open: Collin Morikawa ($9,200)
- Rocket Mortgage Classic: Bryson DeChambeau ($11,700)
- Travelers Championship: Dustin Johnson ($9,400)
- RBC Heritage: Webb Simpson ($9,000)
- Charles Schwab Challenge: Daniel Berger ($7,700)
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PGA Championship Cash Plays
Daniel Berger ($8,800 DK, $9,700 FD)
I’ll go back to the well with Berger as he continues to live up to tremendous expectations without the massive price tag attached to his name. He’s like the Nordstrom Rack of pro golfers.
Berger ranks first in strokes gained: total, fifth in SG: putting, and eighth in SG: approach over his last 24 rounds en route to a second place finish last week FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Over his past four outings, he’s won an event (Charles Schwab), finished third at the RBC Heritage and just came in second over the weekend. And he’s only $8,800. He’ll be popular in cash, but it’s a steal of a deal.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Six top 10's in 13 starts with 1 win this year.
- Made the cut in each major since 2018
Collin Morikawa ($8,600 DK, $10,700 FD)
Windy conditions in thick rough at Harding Park, you say? Morikawa’s game is perfect for this course, especially with his approach and ball striking.
Over the last 50 rounds, Morikawa ranks first in SG: ball striking, third in SG: tee-to-green, and second in SG: approach. He already has a win in comeback fashion against the number one ranked player in the world in Justin Thomas, as well as a second place finish this year to Daniel Berger at the Colonial after the restart.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Has only played in one major championship.
- Begs the question with a T35 finish at the US Open if he has the experience and ability to win a major.
Matthew Fitzpatrick ($8,100 DK, $9,300 FD)
Fitzpatrick is my cash game lock at a very affordable price. He has a T3 and T6 in his last two outings to go along with a T27 at the Workday, as well as a T14 at the RBC Heritage.
He’s made 11 of 12 cuts this year, and the one he missed at the Travelers’ wasn’t because he played poorly (shot a -2 through two rounds). Over his last 24 rounds he ranks fourth in SG: total and number one in SG: putting. You need safe plays in cash and I genuinely mean it when I say he’s the safest play on the board in addition to his bargain price tag.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Finished top 25 in three majors in 2019.
- Safe Major Championship contender.
Harris English ($7,200 DK, $9,300 FD)
English will be a very popular cash play this week at a $7,200 tag and it’s easy to see why. He has three consecutive top 20 finishes, but also hasn’t played in the last few weeks. He’s still sixth in SG: total, and has been terrific in his around-the-green game as well as with his putter.
Over his last three tournaments, English has gained an average of just under seven SG: total.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- The last PGA Championship that he played in was 2016 where he finished 60th
Russell Henley ($6,600 DK ONLY)
Henley is your cheap play of the week that could help you load up on some bigger names like JT and Koepka if you’re interested. Personally, I’m more impressed with his number one ranking in SG: approach over his last 24 rounds.
Henley also has been terrific in getting to the green, finishing first over the last 24 rounds in greens-in-regulation gained.
His putter is a disaster, but with all his other metrics looking sharp, as well as two top 10 finishes in his last five events, as well as a T32 at the Travelers, I’m willing to roll the dice on Henley to save big.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Last PGA Championship was 2018 where he finished T50.
- TPC Harding Park comes in at 7169 yards.
- Long for Henley who is 167th in total distance averaging 288 yds.
PGA Championship Tournament Plays
Viktor Hovland ($8,500 DK, $9,800 FD)
Hovland started off the restart on fire with back-to-back top 12 finishes at the Travelers and Rocket Mortgage Classic, before a third place finish at the Workday. The last two events? He’s been more human with a T48 at the Memorial and a T59 at the FedEx St. Jude.
I’m not much of a Star Wars fan, but I assume one can make an analogy for Hovland learning how to use the force when it comes to controlling his short game. For as terrific as he is tee-to-green (2nd) and ball striking (1st) since the restart, his putter has let him down time and time again. If just for a weekend, Hovland can become “Putting Yoda,” then "walk away with a Major Championship, he will!"
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Has only 2 finishes since the restart of golf that are outside the top 25.
- Has not missed a cut since the restart of golf either.
Gary Woodland ($7,900 DK, $9,800 FD)
I messed around with the models over at Fantasy National to try and mimic conditions we may see at Harding Park in San Francisco. After turning the rough length to “long” set the course length to 7200-7400 yards, and putting wind conditions to, “Windy AF,” Gary Woodland popped right to the top of the list in a wide variety of categories.
If weather is a condition, and it always is in play in San Francisco, Woodland has shown he can hang with the best of them and perform at an elite level.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- 14 starts with 2 missed cuts and 6 top 10's shows Woodland is in mid season form.
- Already has major experience with one under his belt.
- 28th in driving distance which will help him.
- 11th in birdies made
Adam Scott ($7,800 DK, $10,000 FD)
Playing Scott after not watching him play at all since the restart will build up some stomach acid, but it would be foolish to not consider it based on his recent form as well as his price.
Scott is top 20 in strokes gained: total and around-the green, and didn’t miss a cut until the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March.
Plus, the dude got some early practice time ahead of the rest of the competition at Harding Park last weekend.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Has not played on PGA Tour since Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
- Finished no worse than T42 in 2020 before missing the cut
Abraham Ancer ($7,700 DK, $9,400 FD)
My guess is Ancer will likely end up more in the cash game lineups as the week goes by, but if he wants to play the “disrespect card” with his pricing he has every right.
Ancer finished T58 at the Memorial a few weeks back, but he’s finished no worse than top 15 in four of his last five outings.
After Cantlay, Hatton and Rory, Ancer has made the most consecutive cuts in a row with 14.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Has not missed a cut since the restart
- Ranks second in scrambling gained and fourth in fairways gained
Sergio Garcia ($7,600 DK, $9,500 FD)
The last three weeks, Sergio’s been hovering around that top 30 mark and is so close to breaking through if not for some terrible putting.
After being cut at the Charles Schwab to begin the restart, Garcia finished T5 at the RBC before three straight weeks of T32, T32 and T35.
He’s second on the tour in SG: off-the-tee and eighth in SG: around-the-green. If he can improve upon his 138th ranking in SG: putting, Garcia will move right back up the leaderboard.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- Made the cut in the last four tournaments he has played
- Recorded 1 missed cut back in June and nothing outside the top 40 since.
PGA Championship Fade
Tiger Woods ($9,200 DK, $11,200 FD)
Can’t do it. Won’t do it. WILL. NOT. DO. IT.
Call me Captain Buzzkill or Debbie Downer. I can take it. I’m not going to spend $9,200 on Tiger when I can save to go get Daniel Berger at $400 less, or spend $200 more to get Patrick Cantlay who seems like he’ll never miss a cut ever again.
Heck, even Collin Morikawa is $600 less and this is a reunion course after playing college at UC-Berkeley.
Woods shouldn’t have even made the cut at the Memorial, but the Bryson DeChambeau gift of a 10-burger on Friday helped knock him in. If he were appropriately priced, heck, even in the low $8000’s, I’d be all over it. But it feels like a fool’s errand to spend up for Tiger when there simply are better options, both in DFS and in betting on the board.
He’s the GOAT. Just not this week.
Intern Liam’s Notepad
- We know he can do it all. Question is, is he ready?
- He only recorded one start since the restart of golf at Jack's Place (Muirfield Village), finishing 40th.
- Tiger has never lost in stroke or match play at TPC Harding Park