DFS Golf: PGA 2018 Travelers Championship DRAFT Rankings (DRAFT.com)

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Welcome to the first edition of DRAFT DFS Golf rankings from FantasyCPR, covering the US Open. The DRAFT app can be downloaded to your mobile device through your app store, or you can access their desktop site here.  

I play quite a bit on DRAFT, and have always been a big fan of the snake draft format. On DRAFT, for PGA, you simply roster five golfers. They offer head-to-head, 3-man, 6-man and 8-man drafts that start upon filling. In the DRAFT lobby, you will find me in the six-man and eight-man contests, which payout to the top two spots.

My goal here will be to give you my targets in tiers, based upon their DRAFT projections. Followed by that, will be my top 40 overall rankings. The strategy of course here, is that 40 golfers will be drafted for 8-man contests, and these rankings will have you covered. After having completed my rankings for this week, and having completed a few 8-man drafts, let’s talk about the course for a second before we move on to the targets.

About the Event:

Starting Thursday, June 21st at 7:00 AM ET, the 2018 Travelers Championship will be underway. This event takes place every year at the TPC River Highlands just south of Hartford, in Cromwell, CT. Now sponsored by Travelers, this event was briefly sponsored by Buick in the mid-2000’s, and before that, was known as the Greater Hartford Open. The course plays at Par 70, and measures 6,844 yards, which is roughly 600 yards shorter than last weeks incredibly tough US Open at Shinnecock Hills.

The golfers will likely enjoy the more realistic golf-like conditions, and scoring is sure to be a bit better this week. Winners of this tournament have finished anywhere from -12 to -22 in the past ten years, with that incredible -22 coming from Kenny Perry back in 2009, when he beat Paul Goydos and David Toms by three strokes. With a surprising amount of the top players in the game in the field this week, we should expect an exciting tournament.

Event History:

Jordan Speith won this event last year, in an exciting and memorable playoff over Daniel Berger. Both are back in the field this week, and I look for both to have some similar success. Spieth has been really off, but what he must have felt at this event last year leads me to believe this is the weekend he breaks out. Along with Rory McIlroy, Spieth missed last weekend’s cut at the U.S. Open. This allowed them a head start on this week’s field, as the two were spotted at the driving range at TPC River Highlands on Monday.

This field is pretty loaded, not as great as last week but still good. Previous winners of this event in the field this week include Bubba Watson who won here in 2010 and 2015. Despite his past success, I want no part of the golfer Watson has been this year, and I will be fading at all costs. Other winners present this weekend are Russell Knox who won in 2016 and Marc Leishman who was victorious in 2012.

Let’s move on to some targets. After each target will be a number in parenthesis. That number represents the current DRAFT projection at the time of this article.

DFS Golf High Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 70-85)

Justin Thomas – (80.7)

No Dustin Johnson this week, so JT is your favorite. Thomas was one of many top echelon golfers who struggled with the madness that was Shinnecock Hills and the U.S. Open last weekend. Despite not shooting under par in any round, Thomas was able to finish tied for 25th, which was his worst finish this season. While I like his chances to rebound here and be back near the top of the leaderboard, he will have some stiff competition, in the way of our next featured golfer.

Jordan Spieth – (79.2)

I have successfully faded Spieth all season, and now I am seriously leaning on him breaking the slump this weekend. The epic battle here last year between Spieth and Berger was one to remember, and I think Spieth will be emotional, and able to channel some of that joy he displayed throughout this tournament last year. His putting has been atrocious, and being in an atmosphere like this where he has won should be the last test as to whether or not Spieth is simply “broken” or not. The fact that he was here Monday after he missed the cut at the U.S. Open speaks volumes to me. If that does sound like motivation I am not sure what would.

Brooks Koepka – (72.4)

There was some word that Koepka may sit this weekend out after his hard fought U.S. Open victory last weekend, but as of this moment, he does remain in the field. He opted out of Wednesday’s celebrity pro-am, but is expected to be ready to go Thursday morning. It is always tough for a guy to go back-to-back, but Koepka is as able as any. His win last weekend was his first this season, to go along with two second places. A threat to contend every week, Koepka is a top three pick easy this week.

DFS Golf Mid Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 60-70)

Daniel Berger – (65.8)

I am usually a guy who leans on a players recent performance, but just flashing back to how good he was here last year, this should be a hungry young man this weekend. Berger likely also would not have gotten much consideration from me either had he not gone out and gave it his all last weekend at the U.S. Open. A fantastic -4 third round had him near the top going into the final round, but a Sunday +3 left Berger in tie for 6th. Couple last weeks disappointing finish with what happened here in the playoff against Spieth last year and Berger should be fired up this weekend. He is projected to win by many PGA experts and is a must-have in all formats.

Patrick Reed – (66.0)

Reed isn’t my favorite golfer. In fact, I don’t enjoy rostering him, drafting him, or even watching him play. I can’t let that get in the way of the fact that he is pretty hot right now since his Masters victory. He followed that win in April up with an 8th place finish at the Wells Fargo Championship. Rewind now just back to last week, and he was right in the thick of things at another major. A fantastic final round -2 at Shinnecock Hills was only enough for a fourth place finish, but I think Reed is the type to turn that disappointment into motivation. I look for Reed to contend this weekend, and he is being slotted in the late stages of the first round of 8-man tournaments.

Brendan Steele – (67.4)

My course horse this weekend is Steele. He has an amazing record at this venue, and he is shaping up to be my sneaky pick to win this thing this weekend. If he gets hot with the putter, Steele can be a force. He boasts four top twenties here at TPC River Highlands in the last five years, but comes in struggling a bit after a tough go at the U.S. Open, where a final round of +10 left him in 63rd. His recent form has me worried a bit, but this degree of success at a particular golf course usually isn’t a fluke, and I am drafting Steele with confidence.

DFS Golf Low Projected Targets: (Players with DRAFT Projections of 25-60)

Ryan Moore – (58.9)

The 35-year-old Moore is far from a sexy pick, but he fits the mold for this tournament for a couple of reasons. He has been playing well albeit a bit limited on the PGA tour as of late. His last event was a T-13 at the Memorial, and before that, he worked his way to a T-30 at THE PLAYERS Championship. His last trip to the Travelers was in 2014, where he finished T-5th. He is getting attraction around the industry as a solid value pick this weekend, and I have been drafting him in the third or fourth round.

Bryson DeChambeau – (57.1)

DeChambeau was featured here last week, and will continue to be as long as his projection stays below 60. He is not a secret anymore for DFS savants after his win at the Memorial, and despite the low projection, he is still being drafted early 2nd round. He finished a respectable tied for 25th last weekend at the U.S. Open, and also has a 3rd and 4th place finish in his last six events to boot. Look for DeChambeau to stay hot this week.

Dylan Meyer – (31.3)

If you aren’t familiar with Meyer yet it is time to take notice. The 22-year-old rookie made his professional debut over the weekend at the U.S. Open, and was not only able to make his first cut on a tough course with a tough field, he ended up finishing tied for 20th. I am the only person I have seen draft him, and he could be the difference maker for me this weekend, I am confident drafting him in the last round, considering the risk left with all of the other options that usually remain. It’s always fun to draft guys you want to cheer for as well, so give me a few shares of the rookie.

DFS Golf DRAFT Rankings: Top 40

My rankings are pretty easy to follow. I have ranked the top 40 overall. Following each golfer is their DRAFT fantasy point projection in parenthesis.

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1. Justin Thomas – (80.7)

2. Jordan Spieth – (79.2)

3. Brooks Koepka – (72.4)

4. Paul Casey – (75.7)

5. Rory McIlroy – (67.7)

6. Patrick Reed – (66.0)

7. Daniel Berger – (65.8)

8. Jason Day – (70.4)

9. Webb Simpson – (67.4)

10. Marc Leishman – (72.3)

11. Brendan Steele – (67.4)

12. Bryson DeChambeau – (57.1)

13. Ryan Moore – (58.9)

14. Patrick Cantlay – (74.1)

15. Charley Hoffman – (64.2)

16. Zach Johnson – (61.9)

17. Emiliano Grillo – (62.9)

18. Xander Schauffele – (62.1)

19. Russell Knox – (54.2)

20. Brandt Snedeker – (63.8)

21. Keegan Bradley – (63.6)

22. Bubba Watson – (57.7)

23. Luke List – (61.8)

24. Kevin Streelman – (58.1)

25. Kyle Stanley – (63.6)

26. Brian Harman – (64.4)

27. Russell Henley – (64.0)

28. Adam Hadwin – (61.3)

29. Pat Perez – (66.5)

30. Bill Haas – (56.5)

31. Jamie Lovemark – (61.3)

32. Chez Reavie – (62.8)

33. Dylan Meyer – (31.3)

34. Ollie Schniederjans – (57.8)

35. Corey Conners – (35.3)

36. Kevin Tway – (57.6)

37. JB Holmes – (59.5)

38. Beau Hossler – (37.4)

39. Anirban Lahiri – (56.6)

40. Stewart Cink – (60.4)

Next: DraftKings Travelers Championship DFS PGA Plays

That is all for this weeks PGA DRAFT rankings for the Travelers Championship. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as i did writing. I more so hope I guided us all to some success on DRAFT! If you have any questions, give me a follow on Twitter at @JuanBondDFS. You can also leave a question right here in the comments, and I will do my best to respond before lock Thursday morning. Good luck this weekend, enjoy your golf, and happy drafting on DRAFT!