3 days agoAlex Noren has not won a tournament in 2024 but he has been close a couple of times. The golfer, from Sweden, is 41. Despite the age, Noren has eight Top 25 results this season. That was highlighted by a third at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. His overall game ranks him fifth on tour in strokes gained (1.278). Furthermore, he gets on greens in regulation. That metric ranks sixth at 71.37%. With Valhalla featuring some potentially unsettled weather, Noren could be a factor come the weekend. At the very least, DFS potential is pretty high for his marked consistency.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
3 days agoAkshay Bhatia struggled a bit last week at the Wells Fargo Championship. The bookended rounds of 74 led to a result outside the Top 40 for the American golfer. Bhatia did win as recently as early April at the Valero Open. Since then, his form has been a little up and down. It is still better than the three consecutive events where he missed the cut. Anyway, Bhatia still has the seventh best strokes gained overall on the tour. With a high one putt percentage that ranks 24th and a 69.64 scoring average (27th), Bhatia remains a contender anywhere and that includes Valhalla.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
4 days agoTony Finau has struggled to build momentum in 2024, evidenced by his back-and-forth strokes-gained pattern in his last seven events. The 34-year-old has paired putting woes with crazy swings in his iron numbers, and the result has been a high-risk, high-reward approach that tends to fall short at tougher tracks. Finau has never played at Valhalla Golf Club, and while he is plenty long enough to compete on a good day, a lack of iron consistency could leave him in some tough spots off fairways and around the greens. The Utah native costs $8,300 on DraftKings, and fantasy managers will likely look elsewhere for a low-floor, high-ceiling play at the PGA Championship this week.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoMatt Fitzpatrick looked to turn a corner in his 2024 season when he placed T5 at THE PLAYERS two months ago, but since then he's slowly dropped further and further from contention in each of his last five events. The Englishman putted the lights out in March and April, but he uncharacteristically lost 1.1 strokes on the greens last week to go along with poor approach play and his typically below-average off-the-tee game. Fitz has never played Valhalla, and he's failed to find his red-hot iron ability that aided his two career victories. With his form fully in question, no course history to lean on, and a track that will penalize poor tee-to-green habits, many fantasy managers will pass by Fitzpatrick's $8,900 price tag on DraftKings.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoWyndham Clark has played in three PGA Championships in his late-blooming career, but he failed to make the weekend twice, and placed 75th in the other. Recent play suggests, however, that this might be the year for the 30-year-old to make some noise at a PGA Championship event. Clark has never played Valhalla, but many will recall his dominance at Los Angeles Country Club last year in the 2023 U.S. Open, as well as his win at Quail Hollow in the Wells Fargo Championship. Tee-to-green success in big events has been something golf fans have come to expect from Clark of late, and while he struggled mightily on and around the greens last week, there's enough evidence to suggest that the Colorado native can hang around the top of the leaderboard with a decent showing this week. At $9,500 on DraftKings, Clark provides an intriguing second tier pivot point for daily fantasy managers.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoDespite withdrawing from the Wells Fargo Championship last week, all signs point to Ludvig Aberg making his second ever major appearance at the PGA Championship in Louisville this week. The 24-year-old appears to have taken the week off for precautionary maintenance, and given his impressive recent form, it's easy to see why daily fantasy sites and sportsbooks have refused to offer a discount. Aberg has placed 14th or better in each of his last four events, including two elevated events and The Masters. With his irons being one of his best assets, and his around-the-green game being his only real weakness, it would surprise no one to see the Swede back in contention this week. If anything, the injury scare lowered Aberg's ownership percentage, so fantasy managers looking for high upside would do well to target an elevated price tag of $10,500 to differentiate DraftKings lineups.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoTalor Gooch will make his long-awaited return to major golf this week, as he heads to Louisville for his Valhalla Golf Club debut. The 32-year-old himself claims that he's ready to win in some of the world's biggest events, evidenced by his spicy comments over the past couple of seasons, but he has settled for just two top-5 finishes on the LIV Tour thus far, and is without a win since July of 2023. The Oklahoma native does have some strong iron play to lean back on, but his lack of daunting course history of late should make many fantasy managers balk at his $7,600 price tag. In a field this strong, it would take a near-perfect showing from Gooch to contend on Sunday at VGC.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoJason Day will make his second career start at Valhalla Golf Club in great putting form, but his strokes-gained approach numbers have been questionable, at best. The Australian gained 0.1 strokes at the Wells Fargo last week, but prior to that, he hadn't gained strokes with his irons since the Genesis in mid-February. A hot putter has been carrying Day, as he's gained 10.2 strokes putting over his last three events combined. The-now 36-year-old was just 26 the last time he played this track, and ironically enough it was his putting that held him back. Considering that long iron play should be pivotal for this year's PGA Champion, fantasy managers will likely look elsewhere rather than rostering a $7,900 Day on DraftKings.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
4 days agoAnother week, another disappointing Sunday for Xander Schauffele. The 30-year-old PGA Tour superstar entered the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship with a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, but he eventually succumbed to the pressure yet again en route to a runner-up finish. While his recent results have been disappointing for outright bettors in the community, fantasy managers capitalized once again on Schauffele's top-10 upside and overall DraftKings value. Last week's result marked Schauffele's eighth top-10 finish in his last 12 starts, and he ranks inside of the top-20 in a number of key statistical categories this week, including weighted strokes gained on approach and around-the-green, par 5 scoring, bogey avoidance, and strokes gained on long and difficult courses. Perhaps most impressive, he's made the cut and finished inside of the top-20 in eight consecutive Major appearances. Schauffele is unlikely to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy this year, but he's once again one of the safer bets to land inside of the top-10 when all is said and done on Sunday.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
4 days agoThanks to his third-place finish at this year's Masters, Max Homa has seemingly shed the narrative that he doesn't have the ability to contend in Majors. With that pressure gone, the 33-year-old Tour superstar will have his sights set on the Wanamaker Trophy at Valhalla. Fantasy managers should be salivating at the thought of rostering Homa at his $9,700 salary this week, as he enters the week on the heels of a T8 result at last week's Wells Fargo Championship, marking his fifth top-10 finish of the 2023-2024 season. While off-the-tee play is not typically a strength of his, he has gained strokes in that category in three-straight Major appearances, and his ability to spike on approach and putting is second to none in this field. Homa should garner plenty of ownership and attention this week, and fantasy managers should roster him with confidence this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
4 days agoWill Zalatoris' resume still lacks a Major Championship victory, but it certainly hasn't been for lack of effort. The 27-year-old Wake Forest alum has been a staple on Major leaderboards over the years, having posted seven top-10 finish in his 12 career Major appearances, including most recently with a T9 finish at this year's Masters. Those seven results include three solo-runner up finishes, including one that came in the 2022 version of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. While Zalatoris' return from back surgery a little over a year ago has produced some inconsistent results, he has certainly shown flashes of his pre-injury form with three top-10 finishes in just 11 starts in the 2024 calendar year. Fantasy managers will have a tough time facing Zalatoris given his pedigree and Major track record, although limited exposure may be the sensible route to take given his recent form.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
4 days agoSam Burns looked solid in his first action back following the birth of his first child, gaining close to three strokes from tee-to-green and over two strokes putting en route to a T13 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship last week. Fantasy managers may no longer have to worry about him withdrawing mid-tournament to attend his baby's birth, but they have plenty of reasons to worry about his recent form and Major Championship track record. Prior to last week's T13 result, the five-time PGA Tour winner posted a T44 at the RBC Heritage and consecutive missed cuts at the Masters and the Valspar Championship. Burns has also failed to finish inside of the top-20 in his 15 career Major appearances, and he's missed the cut in three of his last four Major appearances. Statistically, he ranks outside of the top-40 golfers in the field in driving distance, driving accuracy, overall approach, around-the-green, putting on Bentgrass, and par 5 scoring. Fantasy managers may want to look elsewhere for upside in the mid-$8,000 salary range on DraftKings this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
4 days agoDustin Johnson is likely to be a polarizing option for fantasy managers this week. The 24-time PGA Tour winner and two-time Major champion undoubtedly has the pedigree and skill set to contend at any event anywhere in the world, just as he's proven on the LIV Tour in
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4 days agoMin Woo Lee is likely to be a popular option for fantasy managers at the PGA Championship this week, and perhaps rightfully so. The up-and-coming 25-year-old Tour star has posted nine top-25 finishes in his seven starts in the 2024 calendar year, including back-to-back top-25 finishes at the Masters and The CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He's also impressively gained strokes off-the-tee in all nine of those starts, a metric that will be crucial to success at Valhalla. Lee profiles well for this golf course, as he ranks 39th in driving distance, eighth in approach from 175-200 yards, 16th in approach from 200+ yards, 28th in Bentgrass putting, and 12th in par 5 scoring. He's shown the ability to contend in Majors, with five finishes inside of the top-25 in just 10 Major appearances, including his personal best T5 finish at the 2023 U.S. Open. Lee offers plenty of upside for fantasy managers at a mere $7,700 DraftKings salary and should be given plenty of roster consideration this week.
--Ryan HickeySource: PGA Tour
4 days agoThe 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla produced one of the most memorable Major finishes in recent golf history, with Rory McIlroy making a late charge in the near darkness to capture his fourth Major title. Sometimes forgotten in that story is PGA Tour veteran Rickie Fowler, who held
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