2 months agoAfter a close-but-no-cigar kind of 2023, Brendon Todd has started his new year off strong, placing in the top-33 in all but one tournament thus far. The 38-year-old is riding his hot putter to the weekends, as he's gained a combined 13.3 strokes putting in his five 2024 events thus far. However, a recent dive in his approach numbers might be cause for concern, as Todd has lost 6.1 strokes with his irons over the last two events. The Pennsylvania native has only played this course once since 2016, and it was a putter-reliant T48 in 2022. Considering the lack of history and the dangerous tee-to-green trends of late, fantasy managers can safely skip over Todd's name at the Cognizant Classic this week.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 months agoBen Griffin is one of those players that enjoys Bermuda grass. The American golfer has a whopping 19.94 strokes gained over his past 50 rounds on the lush surface. No other golfer is within three strokes gained in this metric. Griffin tied for ninth at The American Express. He will be ready after a final-round 75 at the Genesis Invitational. The Champion Course at PGA National Resort suits his game well. With so many metrics in the red, Griffin needs to merely set up putts. The good news is the Par-70 is only 7,125 yards so Griffin does not have to hit 300+ yard drives, etc.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
2 months agoChris Kirk will be a popular pick for fantasy managers this week, and rightfully so. The 38-year-old PGA Tour veteran has been nothing short of remarkable in his last three starts here, with a T25 finish in 2021, a T7 finish in 2022, and a playoff victory over Eric Cole in last year's event. His stat profile for PGA National doesn't jump off the page, but this course history trend is tough to ignore. Kirk also comes in with solid form, making the cut in four of his five starts in the 2024 calendar year, including his sixth PGA Tour win at The Sentry in January. Being priced as the 11th-most expensive golfer on DraftKings is perplexing given this data, and fantasy managers will have a tough time finding a reason to fade Kirk as he looks to defend his title this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
2 months agoAlex Noren should be catching the attention of fantasy managers at the Cognizant Classic. The 41-year-old Swede and OWGR No. 67 has been quietly playing solid golf and looks to be an excellent course fit for PGA National. He enters the week on the heels of nine-straight made cuts, including a T3 at the Shriners Children's Open and a solo runner-up finish at the Bermuda Championship. Noren should be able to manage the tough test awaiting at PGA National, as he ranks seventh in par-3 scoring, 22nd around-the-green, 14th in putting on Bermuda, and third in bogey avoidance over the last 36 rounds. He also gained strokes from tee-to-green in all four of his rounds en route to a T5 finish in his last start here in 2022. In the year of the longshots and first-time Tour winners, fantasy managers would not be surprised to see Noren's name at the top of the leaderboard once again on Sunday.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
2 months agoStephan Jaeger is arguably enjoying the best stretch of golf in his six-year PGA Tour career. The 34-year-old German hasn't missed a cut since the RBC Heritage back in April of 2023, and he's been littering the leaderboards with top-25 finishes ever since, including two T3 finishes in his last three starts. He has proven he can close out tournaments with three victories to his name on the Korn Ferry Tour, and fantasy managers have to feel like he's closing in on his first PGA Tour win in the near future. PGA National could be the spot where he gets it done – Jaeger finished T14 here last year, has the eighth-best adjusted course fit, and ranks inside of the top-40 in a number of key statistical categories, including par-3 scoring, approach from 175-200 yards, around-the-green, birdie-or-better percentage, and bogey avoidance over the last 36 rounds. We've seen a number of first-time PGA Tour winners in recent months, and Jaeger could be next in line at the Cognizant Classic.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
2 months agoBased on early projections, it appears that Thorbjorn Olesen may go overlooked by fantasy managers this week. That could end up being a costly mistake, despite being surrounded by numerous high-upside golfers in DraftKings' $7,000-range. The 34-year-old Dane has been scorching hot on the DP World Tour, racking up six top-10 finishes in his last ten starts, including an outright victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship at the end of January. Olesen's string of recent success no doubt helped him earn his special invitation to the Masters, and he could very well carry these results over to PGA National. Olesen ranks sixth in the field in overall approach, fourth around-the-green, and fourth in bogey avoidance over the last 36 rounds, all of which could be a recipe for success if he can manage to avoid trouble off-the-tee. Olesen's claimed a victory in three-straight DP World Tour seasons and is no doubt motivated to make a splash with his first PGA Tour title.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
2 months agoRyan Fox has made a name for himself on the DP World Tour and currently sits at OWGR No. 41. But aside from a hot stretch of golf in September and early October last year, there isn't much to like about the 37-year-old New Zealander's game recently. His last three starts were all PGA Tour events in 2024, and he finished with two missed cuts and a T41. PGA National is typically not a get-right spot for golfers, and there are a lot of statistical red flags for Fox this week. Over the last 36 rounds, Fox ranks outside of the top 90 golfers in the field in approach from 150-200 yards, around-the-green, and bogey avoidance. He also ranks 127th in driving accuracy, and that could spell serious trouble with water hazards coming into play on 16 different holes. Fantasy managers should be wary of rostering Fox this week and look for higher-upside golfers elsewhere in the mid-$7,000 range on DraftKings.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
2 months agoThomas Detry wants to desperately forget the Mexico Open. The Belgian golfer watched shots go all over the place en route to an opening 78 at Vidanta. His second round was much better but a 69 was not enough to make the cut. That marked the second time Detry missed the cut in 2024. His best result was at the weather-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where he ended tied for fourth. Detry missed a few putts at the WM Phoenix Open but still finished inside the Top 30. The key for him may be approaches to the green where he ranks 139th on tour losing 0.356 strokes. A few better shots may lead to a better start.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
2 months agoAkshay Bhatia may be consistently inconsistent. The American golfer has alternated being close to contention and missing cuts the last four tournaments. He missed the cut at the WM Phoenix Open after an opening round 75. While Bhatia played well in Hawaii, several lost opportunities on the greens kept him from Top 10 results (T-14 and T-13). He is 20th in getting on the green at 73.81% and 27th in putting at 0.681 strokes gained. One week he is up and the next he is down. PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens may be more suited for his putting game this week.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
2 months agoBilly Horschel taking a few weeks off was not a bad thing. The American golfer has missed two cuts so far in four 2024 appearances. Coupled with a top 20 at The Sony Open, it has not been the best of starts. His numbers have been solid and ranks fifth in strokes gained for putting at 1.115. However, that is over a small sample size of nine rounds. The Champion Course at PGA National in Palm Beach is a Par-70 at 7,125 yards. That may suit Horschel if his putter is rolling well. Again, if he can stay around 75% in GIR (Greens In Regulation), a better week is possible.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
2 months agoJustin Rose has yet to miss a cut in 2024, and a T11 at Pebble Beach might have some thinking his game is in a good place, but a deeper look reveals that the putter is the only thing working in the 43-year-old's arsenal at the moment. Rose has gained a strong 8.9 strokes combined with his putter over his four events this season, but he's countered that benefit with struggles off-the-tee and on approach. Consider his tee-to-green issues with the fact that it's been 10 years since he last showed well at PGA National, and the writing is on the wall for a fade of the England native, despite his three top-5 finishes in the early 2010s.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 months agoSepp Straka came out looking strong in his 2024 debut, placing T12 while gaining 5.8 strokes combined in approach and putting. However, the results have been troubling since then, both on the surface and upon a deeper dive. The 30-year-old has lost a combined 2.9 strokes on approach in his last three events and a combined 6.0 strokes putting in that same span. Straka is not one to gain strokes off-the-tee or around the greens, so he needs his irons and flat stick to be dialed in if he's going to be worth a roster on DFS ($8,600 on DraftKings). The Austrian feels like a sit-and-wait candidate due to this extremely poor form, despite the fact that his course history is some of the strongest you'll see over the past four seasons.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 months agoSince securing his tour card last season via the Korn Ferry Tour points list, Chris Gotterup has been hard-pressed to find any momentum yet in 2024. The longest man on tour (with an average drive of 317.8 yards) is a sight to behold with a driver in his hand. He's ranked a modest 46th in strokes gained off the tee (0.300), but is ranked outside the top 100 in every other strokes-gained statistic. The former Sooner has certainly displayed his ability to compete at a high level, but the bright lights of the PGA Tour take some time to get used to. At $9,300 on FanDuel, he's a little too pricey to take the risk on this week.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
2 months agoWhen it comes to course history at PGA National, it's tough to find someone who's been as consistent as Daniel Berger. However, the 30-year-old brings a load of questions with him in 2024, as he sat out the last 18 months due to injuries. Berger has looked healthy enough in his three return events thus far, missing the Farmers cut between gaining 7.4 total strokes combined at The American Express and the Phoenix Open. Even still, it's tough to trust the Florida native when his immaculate history is baked into his betting (40/1 on DK) and DFS prices ($9,200 on DK). This feels like a good week to sit and wait on Berger, even though we very well could be missing his first top-10 finish since his hiatus.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 months agoThis time last year, Eric Cole started his run to PGA Tour Rookie of the Year at this event. With a playoff loss to Chris Kirk, Cole picked up the first top-10 finish of a special season. This year, Cole is among one of the top picks to win with a game that has only improved since last year. Cole gained most of his strokes on the greens, but his driving accuracy has improved as well. Another high finish is expected after a solid start to the season.
--Rob Rose - RotoBallerSource: PGATOUR.com
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