RADIO
Joe Nicely breaks down the FanDuel slate for the Sentry Tournament of Champions 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 crew! It's great to be back with you guys and I appreciate you joining us here at RotoBaller for the first PGA Tour event of 2022. We open the calendar year at the beautiful Plantation Course at Kapalua with the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
In this article, we'll discuss some of the standout PGA DFS plays available on FanDuel for the Sentry Tournament of Champions. While it's impossible to hit on every player, we'll touch on some different plays across all price ranges, breaking the groups down into "High", "Mid", and "Low" price options that are worth considering.
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!
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Sentry Tournament of Champions - PGA DFS Overview
Plantation Course at Kapalua
7,596 Yards - Par 73 - Greens: Bermuda - Designer: Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw
The Plantation Course sits at the foot of the West Maui Mountains and incorporates drastic elevation changes into the layout. We will see some of the longest drives of the season this week, as players will have several downhill tee shots and wide, forgiving fairways that allow them to freely swing away off the tee. We are dealing with a rare Par 73 course that features four Par-5s. Weather conditions, specifically the wind, can sometimes be a factor at Kapalua, but the conditions are usually mild to moderate enough to allow for very low scoring. For an extensive, in-depth look at Kapalua, check out RotoBaller's Premium Course Breakdown, an article by Josh Bennett that uses Google Earth images to dissect every hole of this week's layout.
For an in-depth breakdown of this week's course, check out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett!
Let's Look At The Stats
| Stat | Plantation Course | Tour Average |
| Driving Distance | 289 | 282 |
| Driving Accuracy | 74% | 62% |
| GIR Percentage | 78% | 65% |
| Scrambling Percentage | 56% | 57% |
| Average Three-Putts Per Round | 0.77 | 0.55 |
Key Stats
- Driving Distance
- SG: Approach
- Birdies or Better Gained
- SG: Putting (Bermuda)
- History In Windy Conditions
- Course History
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 Plays
Justin Thomas ($11,900)
With an elite, limited field of just 39 golfers, it's tough to pick a bad player this week. That's especially true at the top of the FanDuel salary scale, as players such as Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, and Bryson DeChambeau can win on any given course, on any given week...and there's a legitimate game-theory tactic we could deploy of simply going overweight on the lowest-owned player of the bunch in GPPs. While keeping the fact that we're splitting hairs this week in mind, my preference lies with Justin Thomas. JT is a two-time Sentry TOC champion that's finished T3 or better in four of his last five trips to the Plantation Course. It tells me that Thomas knows how to have his game ready to roll - he has remained active throughout December in the Hero & PNC "hit and giggles" - while there are question marks surrounding other players that are coming off the winter break.
Xander Schauffele ($11,500)
Another tried-and-true Sentry veteran, Xander Schauffele will be teeing it up this week thanks to a special exemption for his gold-medal victory in the Tokyo Olympics. It might not take him long to qualify for the 2023 edition, as he's historically been a beast in this event. Schauffele won the TOC in 2018 by firing a course-record-tying 62 in the final round, fell just short in a 2019 playoff thanks to a sloppy three-putt don't the 72nd hole, and logged a rock-solid T5 last year on the strength of a pair of 66's. Thanks to his small physical stature, many fans don't realize just how exceptionally long the X-Man is off the tee (he averaged just over 307 yards in driving distance last season) and that length gives him a sneaky advantage on this bomber-friendly Kapalua layout.
Sam Burns ($11,100)
I overwhelmingly prefer players with Kapalua experience this week, but my favorite Sentry first-timer is Sam Burns. The 25-year-old is set to make his Tournament of Champions debut on the strength of not one, but two wins in 2021. We're making an educated guess as to how Burns will acclimate on this long Plantation Course, but on paper, his skillset profiles as a perfect fit. He bombs it off the tee and finished the 2020-21 season ranked 33rd on the PGA Tour in driving distance, while true to his "Bermuda Burns" nickname, he grades out fourth in this week's Sentry field in SG: Putting on Bermuda greens over his last 50 rounds.
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Mid-Priced FanDuel DFS Plays
Jordan Spieth ($10,900)
With just 39 golfers teeing it up this week, our traditional "high, mid, and low" price ranges are a bit skewed on this slate. So...we'll kick off the "mid-range" with 2021's comeback kid, Jordan Spieth. The Texan is set to return to the Sentry TOC for the first time since 2018 thanks to his win at the Valero Texas Open last April. We have to imagine that he's pumped to once again see Kapalua, as the Maui course has been an absolute print fest for him in previous visits. He went 2nd-Win-T3 here over a three-year stretch from 2015 to 2017 and also notched a top-10 in his last trip to Maui in 2018. Spieth's 68.25 career scoring average in this event is the lowest of any player in this year's field with at least two Sentry starts.
Patrick Reed ($9,900)
Those of us that know the PGA DFS ropes know that we can never completely ignore Patrick Reed, a player that rarely rates high in statistical models, but - as evidenced by what will be his eighth-career Sentry start - possesses the rare ability to win anytime he tees it up on the PGA Tour. That knack for high finishes has followed Reed to previous editions of the Sentry, as he's logged a win, as well as a pair of runner-up finishes on the Plantation Course. With its mega-wide fairways and huge greens, Kapalua forgives a lot of Reed's tee-to-green weaknesses, yet rewards his putting ability and creativity from 100-yards and in.
Low-Priced FanDuel DFS Players
Marc Leishman ($9,600)
A first-timer hasn't won at Kapalua in over a decade, so I'm definitely giving those with course experience a bump this week. Marc Leishman is set to make his fifth career Sentry start this week and the Aussie sticks out as one of my favorite sub-$10k plays on FanDuel as a result. Leishman was one of the players most negatively impacted by the COVID layoff and he struggled mightily with his game for months after golf's restart. However, the veteran seemed to find his form down the stretch last year, posting top-five results in two of his four Swing Season starts, as well as a third-place finish in last month's QBE Shootout. Leishman has now gained an average of two strokes T2G over his last five and heads to Maui - and into 2022 - with his game seemingly trending in the right direction.
Jason Kokrak ($9,300)
After going winless for roughly the first decade of his PGA Tour career, Jason Kokrak has exploded for three victories in the last 14 months, with his most recent official victory coming at the Houston Open in November (Kokrak also won the QBE Shootout with Kevin Na last month). It's a testament to both his mental toughness and physical talents. The veteran made his debut at Kapalua last year with a less-than-stellar T35 result, but I'm willing to view that experience as a positive due to just how tough this layout can be to figure out for first-timers. He'll give it another go this week and I expect much better results for the player that all of a sudden has legit win equity.
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