RADIO
Welcome back RotoBallers! Justin Thomas (-15) captured the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, his first world golf championship win. This was the seventh straight tournament the winner has won by at least two strokes dating back to the Travelers Championship.
This week I will be providing you with my DraftKings lineup picks for the PGA Championship. My goal as always is to help put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups. If anyone has lineup questions before the start of the championship Thursday morning, feel free to contact me via Twitter @SethFinkTV.
Editor's Note: Our friends at Fantasy National have built some incredible DFS Golf lineup tools including a Lineup Optimizer, Stat Engine, Ownership Projections and Course Breakdowns. They are by far the best daily fantasy Golf tools in the industry. Seriously. You can read all about them here and see screenshots.
Also check out Joe Nicely's horse for the course column, and Spencer Aguilar's Vegas report.
PGA Championship
156 of the world's best head to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, MO for the the final major, the 100th PGA Championship. This will be the last PGA Championship being held in August (with the schedule change coming next year it becomes the second major of the year in May).
Bellerive last hosted the PGA Championship in 1992. It also hosted the 1965 U.S. Open, 2004 U.S. Senior Open, 2008 BMW Championship, and 2013 Senior PGA Championship.
The par-70 plays to around 7,300 yards. It has four par-3's, 12 par-4's, and two par-5's both measuring between 600 and 650 yards. The greens are bent grass and large.
Let's take a look at the stats.
| Stat | Bellerive CC | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 278 | 283 |
| Driving Accuracy | 66% | 61% |
| GIR Percentage | 69% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 61% | 57% |
| Three Putts/Round | 0.53 | 0.56 |
Past winners are Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jason Dufner, McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, and Martin Kaymer.
Through the past five PGA's, Day has the most strokes gained with 65.25. Henrik Stenson is second with 53.25. Then comes Rickie Fowler, 46.12, McIlroy, 43.88. Hideki Matsuyama rounds out the top five with 40.25.
In Vegas, as of Tuesday on sportsbook.ag, Johnson is the favorite at 8-1. McIlroy is 13-1. Thomas 15-1. Day and Fowler are 18-1
Stats I'm looking at
It's going to be hot and humid so the players who can drive it farther, will benefit.
With the results, I keyed on the following.
Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for DraftKings (PGA DFS)
High-Priced Players
There are four players this week priced above $10,000: Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy,Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler.
Johnson ($11,400) - DJ seemed out of it last week after shooting even-par through the first two rounds, but destroyed the golf course on the weekend going 10-under finishing T-3. You can never count him out.
We all know how high he ranks in stats and when he brings his A-game, it's really really hard to beat him. He's had a good history at the PGA including his last four: T-8, T-7, cut, and T-13 last year. He's a player that should have more than one major and this course is suited for his game.
McIlroy ($11,000) - The two-time PGA champion comes in in good form after a runner-up at the British Open and T-6 last week. He's a big hitter whose game should fare well at a course like this. However, my biggest concern is not with his physical game, but mental game. I can't choose him after his final round 73 at the WGC-Bridgestone. That's not the first time this year he's been in the final pairing at a big tournament and completely underwhelmed. He had no answer to Patrick Reed at the Masters and completely folded. He may very well be in the final pairing Sunday, but I don't think he will step up to the challenge.
Spieth ($10,700) - His near-impossible to predict season continued last week at the Bridgestone after shooting 5-over finishing T-60. I said this last week, and I'll repeat it, until he can string off two consecutive strong performances, he's not worth the price. He seems to step up on the biggest stages and a win at Bellerive would give him the career grand slam. But I don't think that happens.
Fowler ($10,200) - I don't know what to make Fowler anymore, especially after his back-and-forth Bridgestone that saw him shoot 63-74-65-73. He deserves to win his first major already, but he hasn't been able to string four good rounds together at once this season. At the Masters he shot 70-72-65-67. It was a runner-up finish, but a little too much too late. At the U.S. Open, he shot a 73-69-84-65. The British Open saw him make strong pushes early in the third and final round, but those promising starts were derailed soon after. We've seen players breakthrough at the PGA for their first major (think Jason Day). Fowler made seven of eight PGA cuts and was T-3 in '14 and T-5 last year. I'm going to have him in my lineup because I'm picking him until he wins that first major, but take caution. He can give you a roller coaster of emotions.
Middle-Priced Players
Justin Thomas ($9,700) - I jumped at JT being priced at $8,800 last week and he didn't disappoint wining by four strokes. This year is turning out very similar to last for the reigning PGA Champion. He missed the cut at the British Open last year and this year, had a strong Bridgestone and then won the PGA. The fact that he isn't priced in the $10,000 range and Tiger Woods costs $200 more than him is absurd.
Brooks Koepka ($9,600) - It's tough not to include him when the most important factor is driving distance. He's off a fifth-place finish last week and has finished in the top-15 at the past three PGA's including two top-5's.
Jon Rahm ($9,100) - The 23-year-old Spaniard is one of the most talented players in the world, but can't stay out of his head after he messes up. It's like watching a toddler not get what he wants. But forgetting his antics, Rahm has competed in 52 tournaments and finished in the top-5 in 21 of those (40%). To further my pick here, he can absolutely crush the ball.
Jason Day ($9,000) - The Aussie has quietly put together a solid second half to the season with top-20's at the Travelers, British Open, and WGC-Bridgestone. It's this stat that caught my attention though,
He won this major in 2015, finished solo runner-up the year after, and was T-9 last year. He can drive it a mile and is one of the best putters in the world.
Tony Finau ($8,100) - He fits the type of player I'm going with this week; the man can drive it really really far. If you look at the past PGA winners you'll see its players who were the stars or playing getting their breakthrough. Finau is ready for his. He actually made himself known to the golf world two years ago at the PGA Championship when he was near the top of the leaderboard on the weekend, but tailed off at the end finishing T-10. He hasn't missed a cut since the St. Jude Classic in early June. He finished T-9 at the British Open and T-10 last week. Finau is also the only player who’s finished in the top-10 in all three majors this season. He's a guy to target with a great chance to win.
Paul Casey ($8,000) - The 41-year-old Englishman is a popular pick at majors, but has a propensity to disappoint. He popped up number one in my custom rankings so that's a major reason for this pick. He's been having a solid season, but nothing too special. He's placed in the top-15 at the past two PGA's.
Byrson DeChambeau ($7,900) - I don't think he's ready to win his first major, but he's been showing good signs throughout the season. I think he finishes top-15.
Joaquinn Niemann ($7,600) - The 19-year-old Chilean has burst onto the scene and held his own in one of the most competitive non-majors, the Memorial, placing T-6. He's made six of his past seven cuts, but faces his stiffest test. This will be his third major ever — missed the cut at last year's U.S. Open and this year's Master — and I'm concerned he flops in this spot. But I like his stats and recent form more. He won't win, but he has a strong chance to finish in the top-20.
Low-priced Players
Billy Horschel ($6,900) - He's made his last four cuts at the PGA and was recently T-2 at the Barbasol Championship. He's a terrific, so at least I know birdies will come.
Russell Henley ($6,700) - Another terrific putter whose made his last three cuts at the PGA. He was recently cut at the British Open, but before that was 10th at the Greenbrier.
Chez Reavie ($6,500) - Another good putter, who can split the fairway at ease and put the ball close to the hole. He has been cut at his past five tournaments, which means his ownership will be extremely low. He was T-22 at last year's PGA.
Best of luck RotoBallers and be sure to look out for another article coming next week for the Wyndham Championship!
Golf DFS News and Player Outlooks
Custom Stat Model - DFS Golf Advanced Tools
Here are the players I wrote about and their correlating stats with my custom stat model:
Premium DFS Golf Tools and Lineup Optimizer
Our friends at Fantasy National have created some game-changing DFS Golf tools, and you can read all about them here. They are hands-down the best daily fantasy Golf tools in the industry.
