7 days agoDenny McCarthy has a calling card and that is his putting. The American golfer ranks ninth on the PGA Tour at 0.702 strokes gained. Unfortunately, McCarthy off the tee rolls in at a mere 150th losing 0.347 strokes compared to the field average. Last week, the golfer started off well enough but a 79 on Saturday ended his chances at The Masters. That included two triple bogeys, a double bogey, and bogey on the back nine. McCarthy's bounce back 70 offers hope heading into the RBC Heritage. A few made putts early could bode well for the golfer this week.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
7 days agoCameron Young has been far more consistent in 2024. The American golfer comes off consecutive Top 10 results including a runner-up result at the Valspar Championship. Even putting has been better for Young the past two tournaments as he has been on the plus side. Furthermore, off the tee and approaching the green have been Young's two biggest strengths. Those Top 20 numbers pave the way for Young to stay around for weekends and even contend at the RBC Heritage. Add in that 69.37% accuracy for Greens In Regulation and Young remains a golfer to watch in South Carolina.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
7 days agoMatt Fitzpatrick knows that a lot of golfers will be after him this week. The English golfer won the RBC Heritage last year in a dramatic win over Jordan Spieth. Spieth was looking to repeat when Fitzpatrick survived a 16th hole bogey to hold off the American. Fitzpatrick has three consecutive Top 25 results and showed the ability to gain several strokes at a whim on the Hilton Head golf course (see last year's third round 64). Fitzpatrick drives balls just over 300 yards, hits the greens with regularity at 67.34%, and is inside the Top 30 in putting and driver accuracy. That puts Fitzpatrick on the radar again.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
7 days agoCollin Morikawa has to wonder what might have been on Sunday. The American golfer was on the precipice of challenging Scottie Scheffler when disaster struck. Morikawa double-bogeyed holes 9 and 11 which ended any chance of him winning The Masters. On the bright side, he still finished tied for third. Morikawa's shot-making hurt but several missed putts on Sunday doomed his afternoon. That putting metric remains bad at 161st on the tour with -0.531 strokes gained. Greens in regulation rank 106th at 65.02% too which is a concern heading to the RBC Heritage.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: PGATour.com
2 weeks agoAs usual, Jason Day's performance has been buoyed by strong play around the green as well as with the flat stick. In three March events, however, the 36-year-old has lost a combined 9.9 strokes with his irons. February showed us the kind of upside that Day presents, though, and just a couple of strokes gained on approach would put the Australian right back in the mix. That being said, Day has struggled at Augusta in his past three appearances. Since his T5 finish in 2019, he has missed the cut twice and placed T39 last year. Even at just $7,700 on DraftKings, it's tough to see any reason for fantasy managers to gravitate towards Day this week.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoPerhaps the most turbulent of players in this week's field is Sepp Straka. When it seems like he is gearing up for a run of good play, a missed cut slaps DFS players in the face. It's frustrating to rank inside the top 10 in strokes gained tee to green one week, and at the bottom 10 the next week, but that has been the story of Straka's season. The man can't put two tournaments together, and for fantasy purposes, it makes him a complete dart throw every week. The only solace to find here is a 46th ranking in strokes gained off the tee (0.302) and an 8th place ranking in approaches between 150-175 yards (23' 7") that he should see quite a few times this week. However, at $8,700 there are much more proven commodities around him.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoBryson DeChambeau has been heating up on the LIV Tour of late, finishing T9 or better in each of his last four events. The numbers suggest he's playing some of his most consistent golf in years, but is that enough to overcome his recent Augusta woes? The 30-year-old has missed the cut at The Masters in each of his last two appearances, but analytically speaking, DeChambeau should be one of the best players in the world when it comes to making adjustments year-to-year while revisiting the same course. At $8,200 on DraftKings, and coming in with good form, there is plenty of upside to be had with the California native. But the risk of a missed cut cannot be overlooked either.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoMuch like his LIV colleague Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson feels like the kind of player that only turns his game up when it truly matters. The 2020 Masters winner has won once on the LIV Tour this season, but recent finishes outside the top-20 make fantasy golf managers have to question which DJ will show up this week. At $8,800 on DraftKings, there is clear value if the pin-seeking, putt-making California native shows up this week, but good luck figuring that out ahead of time. For now, consider Johnson one of the biggest high-risk, high-reward options on the PGA DFS board for The Masters.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoPatrick Cantlay heads to Augusta with a bit of a problem on his hands. He's struggling mightily in the strokes-gained approach category thus far in 2024. The California native is usually reliable with his irons and putting, but that just hasn't been the case since the turn of the calendar. However, when his approach game did show up, Cantlay logged a cool T4 finish at The Genesis in mid-February. With things trending poorly for last year's T14 finisher at The Masters, it's probably best to avoid Cantlay at a still-pricey $9,400 despite his massive upside.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoRory McIlroy's recent history at The Masters tells us all we need to know about his high risk, high reward nature. The Northern Irishman has missed the cut in two of his last three showings, but he's placed second and fifth in the other two appearances since 2020. McIlroy's approach game has been on point in his last two events, and his putting has followed along. It would be no surprise to see the 24-time winner on the PGA Tour compete on Sunday for his first green jacket once again.
--Tommy BellSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoThe 2024 season hasn't quite been the same level of play for Keegan Bradley, as he has missed three of his last four cuts thanks to losing an average of almost a stroke and a half with his putter during that time. His woes on the greens have been the most talked-about part of his game since the anchoring ban. However, an intriguing part of Bradley's game this season is a 48th ranking of strokes gained on approach (0.30) and most notably being ranked sixth in approaches from 150-175 (24 feet, five inches), which has accounted for 21.4% of shots at Augusta National since 2015. At $8,000 on FanDuel, he is far from a must-start, but it may not hurt to throw him in a few spots and see if his flat stick can find a spark.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoIt's been a rough go on the greens for Nicolai Hojgaard over his last four events, as he's lost an average of minus-1.075 strokes putting over that time, which isn't something DFS managers want to hear coming into one of the most difficult putting tests we'll see all year. It's a problem that his top-level ball-striking (currently 21st on the season in strokes gained off the tee and 66th in strokes gained on approach) hasn't been able to overcome. A missed cut seems like the most probable outcome here, and even at the low price of $7,800 on FanDuel, a recommendation to take the plunge on the 23-year-old Dane would be foolish.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
2 weeks agoYes, Tiger Woods is returning to golf after withdrawing from the Genesis Open in February due to an illness that sent the golf world into a frenzy. The clubhouse at Riviera was bombarded with emergency crews to attend to him and for a while, not many people knew what was happening with the 15-time major winner. The most pertinent information regarding Tiger's health, as it pertains to betting and fantasy, is that his "one tournament a month" idea hasn't come to fruition, and the window of opportunity seems to be closing rapidly if it hasn't already. Millions of people would love to see Tiger give us one more show, but the excitement of putting him in DFS lineups just isn't there and hasn't been for quite some time.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoSince his win at the WM Phoenix Open, Nick Taylor has been doing just enough to get by. He boasts a solid 13th ranking in strokes gained on approach (0.629) and 19th in strokes gained putting ((0.575), but everything else hasn't been very good. He's making cuts, but other than a T12 at the API, he hasn't exactly done anything to suggest he's on the verge of a great week at the year's first major. A T29 finish in his first go at an unusual 2020 event adds more validity to what we already know. The floor should be good enough to get all four rounds in, but the ceiling isn't enough to help take down a big DFS tournament. And for that reason, he is a tough recommendation at $8,600 on FanDuel.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: PGA Tour
2 weeks agoIt will be the first attempt at the best event in professional golf for Akshay Bhatia after the 22-year-old overcame a thunderous push from Denny McCarthy to win the Valero Texas Open. He led the field in strokes gained on approach (2.06) and 9th in strokes gained off the tee (1.07). There is something to be said for the hangover that comes with a big-time victory, and coupled with the fact it will be his first start at Augusta National, expectations naturally diminish. First-timers finding success here has run rampant over the last few years, so it isn't out of the question. However, the range of outcomes that could come makes Bhatia a riskier play than it appears on paper.
--Todd McGill - RotoBallerSource: Data Golf
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