DraftKings Fantasy Golf: BMW Championship

Sep 5, 2016; Norton, MA, USA; Rory McIlroy stands on the 7th green during the final round of the 2016 Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament at TPC of Boston. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

DraftKings Fantasy Golf: BMW Championship

This week’s tournament will take us to Crooked Stick Golf Club, in Carmel Indiana. Crooked stick will play at a hair over 7,500 yards and a par 72. The BMW Championship is a rotating tournament so we wont have much course history to work with. The last time this tournament was held here, was back in 2012, in which it ranked as one of the easiest courses of the year. If you’ve been jonesing to play some bombers, now’s your chance. Length will be a critical factor to success as Par 4’s and Par 5’s are on the longer side. Rain could also give bombers an edge this week.

Among some of the other notables, this course is a Pete Dye designed course. The fairways will be a bit wider, therefore discounting accuracy and favoring driving distance. In addition, the greens are on the smaller end of the square footage scale, again favoring driving distance and also scrambling.

Lineup construction will be slightly different this week as this tournament has no cut. Golfers who excel at making the cut should be weighted down in comparison to golfers with more upside.

Key Metrics

Driving Distance – Course and field adjusted driving distance over the course of the year

Strokes Gained Tee to Green – A measurement of the golfers efficiency, exuding putting, in comparison with the field

Scrambling – This is the percentage of holes is which a golfer avoids scoring bogey or worse after failing to hit the green in regulation.

Par 4 and Par 5 Scoring – How well a golfer performs on par 4’s and par 5’s.

Greens in Regulation (GIR) – This represents the percentage of holes in which a golfer reaches the green in at least two strokes less than par.

Next: Top Tier Picks

Sep 5, 2016; Norton, MA, USA; Rory McIlroy holds the trophy after winning the 2016 Deutsche Bank Championship golf tournament at TPC of Boston. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

Top Tier

Rory Mcilroy ($11,900), Jason Day ($11,600), Dustin Johnson ($11,300), Jordan Spieth ($10,500)

So Rory is the nuts right? Ok, cool, we can move on now. If you weren’t able to follow the tournament last week, Rory was able to battle back to win the Deutsche Bank Championship, at -15, after shooting even par on the first day. If it couldn’t get any better, Rory won this same tournament the last time it was held here in 2012. Is Rory’s putting fixed? God no, but Rory is most certainly in play and should be very chalky.

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Day and Johnson fit this course perfectly. I think Day is a better option than Johnson, but it’s tough to make an argument against him. Day and Rory are comparable for me in terms of play and course fit, but Rory’s ownership will be inflated, pointing me more towards Day. It should be noted Day has no course history, where DJ finished 6th here in 2012.

Jordan Spieth will be a fade for me again. He hasn’t played in a way to force us to have exposure and given this course fit, it’s an easy fade for me.

Adam Scott ($10,200)

One of these tournaments, Adam Scott is going to put it together with the putter and blow the field away. His ball striking has been elite, as he’s hit 75.9% of GIR and has a course and field adjusted driving distance of 308.2 over the last six weeks. Scott isn’t known for his scrambling but of late, he’s sitting at 67.2%.

Other Players to I’ll Have Exposure to: Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler,

Next: Mid and Bottom Tier Picks

Aug 25, 2016; Farmingdale, NY, USA; Bubba Watson hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during the first round of The Barclays golf tournament at Bethpage State Park – Black Course. Mandatory Credit: Eric Sucar-USA TODAY Sports /

Mid Tier

Bubba Watson ($8600)

Here we go again. It’s almost like a classic love novel at this point, except flipped. My heart screams no, but my head screams yes. Bubba missed the cut last week and I have very little confidence in him, but the stats and course history are swaying me to roster him. Bubba is obviously a top option in terms of course fit, given his length. This was shown effective, as he finished in 12th back in 2012. For what it’s worth, (and I’m not sure how predictive course designer can be, more on that later) he also ranks very high in scoring on Pete Dye courses.

Brooks Koepka ($8,000)

Brooks is one of my favorite options that should be quite low owned. It’s safe to assume that his recent play will drive down his ownership, and rightfully so. His last two outings have not been good, but he fits this course perfectly and given his price and ownership, he makes an intriguing option.

Gary Woodland ($8400)

Woodland may be a popular play this week, but he’s worth a look, as he should fit this course nicely, and has solid recent performances. Of his last two, Woodland has a 4th place finish at The Barclays, and a 15th place finish at Deutsche Bank. The price is a tap steep for a player of his caliber, but his length and scrambling will be assets this week.

Hudson Swafford ($7100)

No surprises here, Swafford finds himself among my top rankings, yet again. As long as he continues to exceed value, he’s worth considering. While I’d like him much more in a field with a cut, he matches up well with this course. He’s hit 68.4% of GIR while also scoring 304.4 in driving distance.

Other Players I’ll Have Exposure to: Jason Kokrak, Tony Finau, J.B. Holmes, Jhonattan Vegas, Emiliano Grillo, Charl Schwartzel

Bottom Tier

May 13, 2016; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; Ryan Palmer hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the 2016 Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Ryan Palmer ($6,800)

Gotta love Ryan Palmer this week. Palmer is generally a boom or bust type player, and in a tournament without a cut, you’ll find plenty of Ryan Palmer in my lineups. Palmer checks all the boxes for me. He fits the bomber mold, but as of late he’s also ranked among the top in adjusted stokes per round, GIR, and scrambling.

Kevin Na ($6,800)

With the birth of his child last week, Kevin Na missed the Deutsche Bank Championship, but will be playing this weekend. Na may be the one guy that doesn’t fit this course at all, but I think has potential for a top 10 or top 25 finish. His price is way too low and even though he’s known more as a cash game cut maker, I think he’s one of the safer bets for a decent finish, therefore returning value.

Next: Fantasy Football Week 1 QB Rankings

Other Players I’ll Have Exposure to: Harris English, Jamie Lovemark, Charles Howell III, Smylie Kaufman, Sean O’Hair, Charley Hoffman