5 days agoJason Day is returning to TPC Craig Ranch for the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he will defend his title. So far this year, Day's form has been impressive, with only one cut missed and three top-10 finishes. He finished T18 at last week's RBC Heritage and T30 two weeks ago at the Masters Tournament. Despite his win last year, Day faces a tough challenge this week. Over 35% of approach shots in last year's tournament came from over 200 yards. Over the past year, Day ranks in the 17th percentile in proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 200 yards in the fairway. Although his approach game could be better, Day's past success and overall recent form make him worth considering for DFS lineups.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
5 days agoAdam Scott is all set to tee it up in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch this week. His last appearance was two weeks ago at the Masters Tournament, where he finished at a respectable T22. Scott has had a great year in 2024, with only one missed cut, one top-10, and four top-25 finishes. TPC Craig Ranch is a course that should suit Scott's skills perfectly. He ranks 15th in Total Driving and has been fantastic on approach shots over the past 12 months. Scott ranks in the 76th percentile over the last year in proximity to the hole on approach shots from over 200 yards in the fairway. It's essential to note this because over 35% of approach shots at last year's tournament came from this distance. Given Scott's recent form and suitability for TPC Craig Ranch, he could be an excellent addition to DFS lineups this week.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
5 days agoIt may have looked like a week off for Sungjae Im when looking at his PGA Tour schedule, but the South Korean was busy keeping his game sharp by defending his title at the Woori Financial Group Championship on the KPGA circuit. There isn't much statistical data available from that event, and the fact of a much weaker field than what he normally faces is hard to deny. But being coupled with a T12 finish at the RBC Heritage is enough evidence to suggest Im is trending in a very nice direction. Long iron play is a strong attribute for TPC Craig Ranch, and the 37th-ranked player in the world has notoriously been one of the best players in that category for quite a while. Most notably ranked 8th on the season in approaches from 200-225 yards. There isn't anyone at the top of the DFS board this week that's worth falling head over heels for, but at $11,300 on FanDuel, he feels like one of the safer plays at the top of the board.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
5 days agoAlex Noren has been fantastic in his three Byron Nelson appearances, improving from 35th to 21st to 12th in his most recent showing in 2022. The putting has been most noticeable, as the Swede has gained at least 2.5 strokes on the green in each of his starts in this event. Noren has really started to find his irons of late, and he's placed 23rd or better in five events in a row since the start of March. Typically $9,500 is a steep price to pay for Noren's volatility, but all signs point to a strong showing from the 41-year-old as he takes on TPC Craig Ranch for a fourth time in his career. Fade at your own risk!
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
5 days agoMackenzie Hughes has gained a remarkable 14.2 strokes with his putter over his last three events combined. His 3rd-place finish at the Valspar was a glimpse at what can happen when his reliable putter goes nuclear, and the 33-year-old just keeps pace with his irons. The Canadian finally made the cut in his third try at the AT&T Byron Nelson last year. While the approach game still needed work, the 3.6 Strokes Gained: Putting were encouraging. At $8,600 on DraftKings, Hughes will look to gain a couple of from tee-to-green and make a handful of long putts to put him in contention on Sunday, just as he was in Florida a month ago.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
5 days agoSi Woo Kim has been turning some heads of late, and both the betting and DFS markets have taken notice. The 28-year-old has made every cut in 2024, while gaining strokes with his irons in 10 of his 11 appearances this year. Kim nearly put it all together when his putter finally heated up at THE PLAYERS just over a month ago, but since then the putter has been the only tool letting him down. The South Korean has some nice course history at TPC Craig Ranch, however, as he gained 3.5 strokes on the green in his runner-up finish last year. Kim is certainly priced as one of the most promising players in The CJ Cup Byron Nelson field, but for good reason. If his putter shows up, he could be collecting his fifth career win this weekend.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
5 days agoSami Valimaki has not played on the PGA Tour in more than a month. The golfer from Finland has played nine times on the tour in 2024. He has made cuts in five events including a runner-up at the Mexico Open in February. One concern with Valimaki is driving accuracy which is only 61.52% (101st overall). His birdie average ranks 110th at 3.79 per round and this week in Texas is a course where birdies are mandatory. Valimaki did fire a 267 on the Vidanta course in Mexico. The Finnish golfer will need to shoot four rounds in the 60's again to have any chance this weekend.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
5 days agoThe CJ Cup Byron Nelson could be a springboard for Chan Kim. Born in South Korea, the American golfer has had an interesting past golfing on various international tours. He won eight times on the Japanese tour but twice on the Korn Ferry tour. His win in Boise and second overall in points gave him his PGA Tour card. He impressed at the Valero Texas Open and at the Corales Puntacana Championship with final rounds of 69 and 65 respectively. Consecutive Top 15 results bode well for a golfer who has been positive in strokes gained to putting and landing on greens better than 70% the past few events.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
5 days agoAdam Schenk was set up well for the final round at the RBC Heritage. Unfortunately, the American golfer fired a 73 which knocked him down to a tie for 49th. In his previous five tournaments, Schenk has shot at 71 or worse in four of them. His only good fourth round came at the Valero where he buckled down with a 67. Not surprisingly, that was Schenk's only Top 5 result of 2024. This long course in Texas is set up for birdies. Winners in the last five years have been in the 261-263 range. The last time Schenk truly put four solid rounds together was at the Par-73 Sentry in January.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
5 days agoRico Hoey has struggled this year on the PGA Tour. In 11 events, the golfer from the Philippines has only made the cut five times. He does have one Top 25 result (a T-14 at the Valero Texas Open). Furthermore, he has made the cut in five of the previous six events that do not feature a pairing. One concern is those final rounds where he shot a 72 or worse in four of them. However, Hoey did fire a 68 at the Corales Puntacana Championship. The long 7.488-yard course is usually a birdie magnet. Hoey must putt better than his overall 181st on tour indicates (-0.9 strokes gained). That number has trended close to positive the past few events.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
5 days agoWill Zalatoris has announced his withdrawal from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch this week after experiencing a flare-up in his back. Zalatoris had been recovering from a back injury that included two herniated discs, which forced him to pull out of the 2022 FedEx Cup playoffs and eventually required surgery to repair. Zalatoris has had a strong year with three top-10 and two top-five finishes, currently ranking 16th in the FedEx Cup standings. Nick Watney will replace Zalatoris in the field.
--Ian Christenson - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
3 weeks agoAmongst the mostly disappointing starts for Adam Hadwin this season have been random spurts of good play. In those weeks, everything seems to be firing on all cylinders. However, those instances have not been anywhere close to one another and the events in between have seen breakdowns in both ball striking and the game on and around the green. Couple that with the fact his best finish at Harbour Town was a T22 in 2017, and the premise of working Hadwin into a lineup becomes hard to justify. He's lost strokes off the tee in his last three starts and lost them on approach in two. At $8,200 on FanDuel, there are more reliable options elsewhere.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
3 weeks agoExcept for a brief scare at the WM Phoenix Open, Kurt Kitayama has been a mainstay on the bottom half of leaderboards, almost weekly. If safely getting all six guys to the weekend is your strategy, he's your guy. Just know that in this case, a high floor comes with a low ceiling, especially at an event that has turned into a birdie fest occasionally. On paper, Harbour Town fits Kitayama's game like a glove, as he ranks 25th in strokes gained off the tee (0.425), 34th in strokes gained on approach (0.435), and is one of the best long iron players on tour for proximity between 150-200 yards that make up almost 47% of the approaches. At $8,200 on FanDuel, he's a fine addition to a lineup, however, the evidence is there to temper expectations for what DFS players will get in return.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
3 weeks agoTom Kim has shown some spurts of strong play in 2024, like his six-under round on Sunday at The Masters, but he hasn't been able to put it all together like some expected he might thus far in his age-21 season. A T17 finish at the Waste Management was Kim's best finish of 2024 thus far, which might have some questioning the South Korean's upside, but we know from his late-summer to fall stretch in 2023 that the sparks can fly in a hurry if his irons and putter work together. Kim missed the cut in his debut at Harbour Town Golf Links last season, but this should be a track that fits his ball-striking prowess well. Fantasy managers could find themselves with quite the reward on their hands if they take a chance on Kim at just $7,400 on DraftKings this week.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
3 weeks agoIt was a messy two days at The Masters for Emiliano Grillo to say the least. An uncharacteristically putrid performance losing an average of nearly three shots off the tee made everything else impossible for the Argentinian. It was so bad, that it feels almost impossible to have anything close to the same outcome this week given that he has notoriously been one of the straightest hitters on tour for quite a while now (currently ranked 27th in driving accuracy). The cold putter at ANGC (-1.67 strokes lost putting) could have been the aftermath of the poor play getting to the green, and he has historically performed better with the putter at Harbour Town than at Augusta National. There is certainly risk to take on with Grillo at $8,100 on FanDuel, but those willing to do it should expect a much better performance than what we saw a few days ago.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
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