Daily Fantasy Golf FanDuel Picks (PGA DFS): Tour Championship

Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate, providing information of not only who will come into the week under-owned but also who should be avoided for your lineups.

Hello RotoBaller PGA family! It is great to be back with you for the finale of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. This week we head to East Lake Country Club in Atlanta for the Tour Championship!

Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson put on one heckuva show at the BMW Championship, with Rahm prevailing in a playoff on a tough Olympia Fields layout. This week's event presents us with some unique challenges, as we're dealing with a field of just 30 players in a no-cut format, in addition to a staggered scoring start that will be in effect for the second-straight year in Atlanta. In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Tour Championship. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges.

Like always, the purpose of this piece is to help you put together your optimal daily fantasy golf lineups for FanDuel, whether that be from a GPP perspective or a cash-game mentality. Be sure to also read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS and betting articles to help you win big!

2020 Tour Championship - PGA DFS Overview

East Lake Country Club

7,346 Yards - Par 70 - Greens: Bermuda

There is tons of history at East Lake. The Donald Ross design is where Bobby Jones perfected his game and has been the permanent host of the TOUR Championship since 2004. East Lake isn't really tricky, but it does play fairly tough for these guys. Players will need to be strong both off the tee and on approach to have a chance this week.

Something to consider this week when constructing your DFS lineups is that this isn't a course where players are (usually) going to go crazy low, with the winning score typically coming in at 10 to 12 under par prior to last year's scoring format change.

Let's Look At The Stats

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
• Strokes Gained: Approach
• Driving Accuracy
• Birdies Or Better Gained
• Par 4 Scoring (450-500 Yards)
• Bogey Avoidance

Tour Championship Starting Leaderboard Positions

• Dustin Johnson -10
• Jon Rahm -8
• Justin Thomas -7
• Webb Simpson -6
• Collin Morikawa -5
• Daniel Berger -4
• Harris English -4
• Bryson DeChambeau -4
• Sungjae Im -4
• Hideki Matsuyama -4
• Brendon Todd -3
• Rory McIlroy -3
• Patrick Reed -3
• Xander Schauffele -3
• Sebastian Munoz -3
• Lanto Griffin -2
• Scottie Scheffler -2
• Joaquin Niemann -2
• Tyrell Hatton -2
• Tony Finau -2
• Kevin Kisner -1
• Abraham Ancer -1
• Ryan Palmer -1
• Kevin Na -1
• Marc Leishman -1
• Cameron Smith E
• Viktor Hovland E
• Mackenzie Hughes E
• Cameron Champ E
• Billy Horschel E

Fantasy Golf Lineup Picks for FanDuel (PGA DFS)

We have tons of great weekly PGA articles, DFS analysis, tools and DFS advice. Be sure to read our other fantastic articles regarding this week's event including DFS lineup picks for DraftKings/FanDuel, betting advice and DFS prop picks.

High-Priced FanDuel DFS Players 

Dustin Johnson ($14,400)

DJ is the elephant in the room this week and the decision you make on him will be the most important one that you'll make for the Tour Championship. Johnson is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world and has played like it as of late, logging two wins and two runner-up finishes since the restart.

As if his game isn't enough on its own, DJ will start this week at 10-under par thanks to his position atop the FedEx Cup points list. As a result of this advantage, FanDuel has bumped his price up to a MASSIVE $14.4k for the Tour Championship.

Rostering DJ will severely limit what you can do throughout the rest of your lineup this week, so by clicking his name you are basically betting on him to win the tournament, as that's what you'll need him to do in order to return value on this expensive price tag. Can he do it? Certainly. He's playing better than anyone in the world and leads this week's field in multiple statistical categories over recent measurements. His history at East Lake is strong - three top-six finishes since 2015 - however we saw last year that starting out with the lead doesn't guarantee victory, as Justin Thomas slid from the top spot to third place.

The bottom line on DJ...only roster him if you believe that he's going to win this tournament.

Jon Rahm ($12,500)

Jon Rahm just continues to impress. His victory last week at the BMW Championship was his second since the restart - with both coming on tough courses against elite fields. Sound familiar? That's exactly the situation that the Spaniard will face again this week at East Lake.

Rahm has performed admirably in three prior starts in the Tour Championship, going T12-T11-T7. He'll need to improve on those marks this year, but does start the week at a cushy total of eight-under par...just two strokes behind DJ.

The young star's game is a beautiful blend of explosiveness and scrambling, and he heads to Atlanta ranked seventh in this field in Birdies Gained while standing fourth in Bogey Avoidance. This will be the type of play that's needed on a tougher-than-you-think East Lake layout this week. While Rahm signature his is power, he's quickly proving that he can handle tougher layouts that require patience and precision.

Justin Thomas ($12,000)

JT has been rather quiet since winning the WGC in Memphis, but he heads to East Lake in wonderful position and will be starting the week at seven-under par, just three back of Johnson. Thomas' recent "funk" can be attributed to a cold putter...he's lost strokes putting in three of his last four, despite gaining strokes T2G in each.

His record at East Lake is sterling, as he's basically done everything except win on this Ross layout. JT himself was in the catbird's seat in this tournament last year before ultimately settling for a T3 result, so he's well aware that both DJ and Rahm aren't invulnerable due to their starting advantage. He's one of the most explosive players on the PGA Tour and is a nice pivot from the two players priced above him.

Collin Morikawa ($10,800) 

There are several reasons that DFS players might overlook Collin Morikawa this week - he hasn't looked great in his two post-PGA Championship starts, he's never played East Lake, and he'll start this week with a five-shot deficit - but I'm still very interested in the rising star despite those strikes against him.

Morikawa has never played East Lake, but the Ross layout is tailor made for his game on paper, as he's very accurate off the tee and one of the best iron players in the world. The 21-year-old was out of things early at the BMW last week, but quietly posted back-to-back 68's over the weekend at Olympia Fields, and perhaps heads into this event with more positive momentum than people realize. I'll keep an eye on ownership as the week progresses, but in a spot where we desperately need to differentiate our lineups, Morikawa is shaping up to be my favorite contrarian play at the top of the board.

Rory McIlroy ($10,200)

There are lots of risks that come with rostering Rory this week, with his seven-shot deficit and pregnant wife Erica due with a child at anytime being the most obvious. This will be the couple's first child and we know that Rory is the type of person that focuses on more than just golf, so I believe the W/D risk is a very legitimate concern with him this week. As for his starting position of three-under, if feels as though it's right on the borderline of being too far back to win, though we saw McIlroy overcome a five-shot deficit to win by four (!) in this event last year.

His record at East Lake is impeccable and he's won this tournament twice in three starts since 2016. He's not been sharp since the restart, but flashed some form last week at the BMW Championship. He's an intriguing, "if you're feelin' frisky" GPP play this week.

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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Harris English ($9,800)

It's been a long time between Tour Championship starts for Harris English, as the UGA Bulldog will make his first trip to East Lake since 2015. English has been unbelievably consistent not only throughout this season, but especially since the restart, as a T40 in Chicago last week snapped a string of six consecutive top-25 finishes. His game isn't flashy, but should be a nice fit for this week's layout. He ranks 11th in the field in Good Drives Gained, while coming in fifth in GIRs Gained. English is a Georgia native that is very familiar with this layout and he is one of the best Bermuda-grass putters in the field.

Xander Schauffele ($9,500)

Xander's course history at East Lake is second to none, as he's went 2nd-T7-Win in his three career starts in the Tour Championship. Schauffele heads to Atlanta in rock-solid, if unspectacular, form...having posted seven-straight top-25's while compiling an average of +5.7 SG: T2G over his last five tournaments. The X-Man will start the week at three-under par, which puts him within shouting distance of a victory with a very good performance, though at this price we're simply searching for strong DFS-point production, which Schauffele has a great chance to provide for us. His 67.75 career scoring average at East Lake is the best in the field and it feels as though a breakout performance has been on the horizon for weeks.

Tony Finau ($9,000)

Finau is another player that might not be able to actually win this tournament, but despite starting the week at three-under par, still has the firepower needed to get himself into contention by the time the weekend rolls around. We've repeatedly seen his ability to make up ground against the field on tough golf courses, with the latest example coming last Sunday at Olympia Fields when a final-round 65 vaulted him into a fifth-place finish. Finau EATS on long Par-4s and has a nice blend of length and accuracy off the tee that's allowed him to post two seventh-place finishes over his last three trips to East Lake.

Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players

Brendon Todd ($8,900)

The best Cinderella Story of the season has fought his way all the way to the Tour Championship. It wasn't that long ago that Brendon Todd had completely lost his game, but the veteran rebuilt his swing well enough to take down back-to-back events earlier this season. He's also played well down the stretch, posting five top-25 finishes since the restart. Todd rolls into the ATL on the heels of a sharp T8 showing last week in Chicago and his precision off the tee (first in this field in Fairways Gained) will be a huge advantage this week. His lack of length is a concern on this long layout, but Todd has proven himself adept at navigating even the longest of venues with accuracy off the tee, sharp iron play, and great putting.

Kevin Kisner ($7,100)

As we work our way to the bottom of the salary scale, we're simply looking for guys that can post DFS points and improve upon their starting position. Despite starting the week at just one-under par, I'm honestly a little surprised to find Kevin Kisner this cheap. Kiz has been on a nice little tear as of late, sandwiching two top-fives between three top-25s over his last five outings. He has some nice experience at East Lake, and after a couple of rocky outings in his first few Tour Championship starts, Kisner has settled in nicely by posting a T9 and a T3 in his last two starts at East Lake. He ranks third in this week's field in Fairways Gained and first in Good Drives Gained, while also hitting his irons at a clip that comes in seventh in GIRs Gained. A win is out of touch for Kisner this week, but there's lots of upside at this price.

Billy Horschel ($7,000)

Rounding out the week with a player that I expect to be very popular, but it's with good reason, as Billy Horschel has proven himself to be a beast in previous trips to East Lake. Horschel captured the Tour Championship title in 2014 and posted finishes of 7th & 2nd in his other two Tour Championship starts. His East Lake scoring average of 67.83 trails only Xander Schauffele and Horschel recent form has been good enough to indicate he's capable of making some noise this week. As I mentioned, the combination of his course history and dirt-cheap price tag will most likely make him a popular option this week (especially for those rostering DJ), so if you do pull the trigger on Billy Ho try to differentiate your lineups in other spots where possible.

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Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team:

If you read my articles @RotoBaller or listen to @TheTurnGolfPod I’ve been telling y’all it was #WinningSeason when golf came back! Shoutout to the entire @RotoBallerPGA squad and all you guys that support my work for all the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/07a4ynvbSU

— Joe Nicely (@JoeNicely) June 28, 2020

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