PGA DFS Golf: 2018 PGA Championship FanDuel

Welcome to this edition of PGA DFS Golf Fanduel Targets from FantasyCPR.com. Here you will find players to target for this weekend’s action, geared for cash games and tournament plays on Fanduel.

In this article, I will present to you some players to consider from each price tier for your PGA DFS action. Some plays will be geared toward cash games, and some for GPP. Some of course will also technically qualify as both. As we break each play down, I will be sure to specify which type of contests I am targeting that player in. I will give two players to target from the $11K-$13K, two targets from the $9K-$11K range, and two from the $8-9K range. Also don’t forget about those Bonus GPP Flyers at the very end. I squeezed Anirban Lahiri as an extra play last week, and he excelled with a T-6 finish. Before we get to the targets, let’s talk about this event a bit.

About the Event:

2018 will mark the 100th PGA Championship, and the last time it will be the last major championship of the year. Starting in 2019, this event will move to May, and will be the second major of the season instead of the last. 156 golfers will be vying for the coveted Wannamaker Trophy and a chance at PGA greatness. A rotating event, the PGA Championship returns to Bellerive Golf Course in Town and Country, Missouri, where it was last played in 1992. Nick Price was the victor there by three strokes.

We are looking at a much different course now in 2018, as roughly 500 yards has been added over the years. This year we are looking at a par 70, 7329 yard course. A tough layout and small, fast greens will make scrambling an important stat to consider. Golfers who hit it straight and long will have an advantage, so the bombers off of the tee are another primary focus of mine. The course has a total of four par 3’s, with two on each nine, and two par 5’s, also with one on each nine. Before we move on to the targets, let’s briefly touch on the history of the PGA Championship.

Event History:

Since this is a rotating event, there isn’t much data to go off of. The last time any PGA event was played here was back in 2008 when the BMW Championship was held at Bellerive. Like I touched on above, it was a much shorter course even then at under 7000 yards, and that was ten years ago, so I am not putting much into those results.

We have had some household names hoist the Wannamaker Trophy in recent years. Justin Thomas won it last year at Quail Hollow, and is coming off of a dominant performance last weekend, where he won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He looked so confident in his game, that he is coming in as my top target this week. I usually make five teams on Fanduel, and JT will likely be on all five.

Rory McIlroy comes in to Bellerive as a two-time PGA Champion, winning this event in 2012 and 2014. He had a shaky Sunday at the WGC, but still finished T-6. Rory is grading out as another fantastic play this week, and will also be featured here as a target this week.

Other past champions include Jason Day’s memorable victory in 2015, and Jimmy Walker in 2016. Tiger Woods of course will be in the field this week. He won the PGA Championship back-to-back twice. Way back in 1999 and 2000, and then again in 2006 and 2007. Tiger looked to be regressing a little last week, and if the greens are fast and tough he could struggle. I feel nowhere near as confident in Woods this week as I did last week. OK are you ready for the targets? Let’s proceed.

PGA DFS Golf Top Tier Targets: ($11,000 – $13,000)

Rory McIlroy – $12,300 – (GPP)

First thing that stands out for me here is the price tag. Only two golfers over $12K and this is not the one most people will gravitate towards. I think most people will see DJ at $300 more, remember McIlroy’s Sunday, and move on. Also if you look down another few hundred, Brooks Koepka and Jason Day are getting a lot of early love, and we could get some serious low ownership on Rory this weekend.

Other than the US Open which was easily the toughest major of the year, McIlroy has been right in the thick of things until the end. He finished T-5 at The Masters, which was again highlighted by a rough Sunday. He was brilliant on his native side of the pond at The Open Championship, and narrowly missed a victory there, finishing in a tie for second.

All said, Rory is in as good of form as anyone else, he just needs to put it together on Sunday to win. He has five top 20’s since The Masters, and two top 10’s in his last two tournaments. He might be a tad bit overpriced, but it could be exactly what we need to take down a GPP this weekend.

Justin Thomas – $11,400 – (Cash)

Well Thomas certainly bounced back with authority last week, and now since salaries for majors come out a little earlier than most, JT is vastly underpriced considering his victory. We are now looking at chalk Thomas, and I will be eating that chalk in cash games this weekend. Prior to his victory, it was looking like Thomas was falling into Jordan Spieth-like struggling territory, but his all-around game was back in top form at the WGC-Bridgestone.

Thomas missed the cut at the Open Championship, and a rough rounds three and four at The Travelers led him to a T-56 finish. However, he has now moved into being the second ranked player in the world with his victory last week. JT now has three victories this season, and I expect him to contend for back-to-back PGA Championships this weekend.

Also consider: Brooks Koepka $11,600 (GPP) – Tommy Fleetwood $11,400 (Cash/GPP)

PGA DFS Golf: Mid Tier Targets: ($9,000 – $11,000)

Tony Finau – $10,600 – (Cash)

Finau has been a machine lately, and actually is someone I do not normally target, but I feel like this price tag is just a tad too low. He does have a rough tourney or two here and there, but he has notched 10 top 25’s going back to late January and the Farmers Insurance Open, where he T-6. He tied for 10th at last week, and was just fantastic around the greens once again. His consistency is exactly what you should look for when you create your cash lineups.

Finau checks all of the boxes as far as stats go this week, and his game really comes to life at major championships and tougher golf courses. He has top 10 finishes in all three majors this year. He tied for 10th at the Masters, had a solo fifth place finish at the US Open, and tied for ninth at the Open Championship. Finau will likely also be chalky in cash games, but I will be firing him up. If he putts well, he could easily win here.

Joaquin Niemann – $9,200 – (GPP)

Well my favorite rookie is back this week. If you have been reading my DRAFT articles every week, you know how much I dig this kids game. After his two top 20’s at the Greenbrier and the Quicken Loans National, Niemann regressed to the field slightly, tying for 23rd at the John Deere Classic, and tying for 37th at the RBC Canadian Open. It was shortly after the Masters where he missed the cut, when Niemann burst onto the scene. He tied for sixth at the Valero Open, and later in May, notched two top 10’s at The Memorial and the Fort Worth Invitational.

This 19-year-old has all of the tools, and will likely be microscopically owned this weekend I am guessing. The fact that his last two tourneys have been sub par, and there are other household names to choose from in this price range leads me to this reasoning. I however, will be going back to the Chilean product this week in my GPP’s, and I am hoping he can regain that May form.

Also Consider: Zach Johnson $9,800 (Cash) – Patrick Cantlay $9,700 (GPP)

PGA DFS Golf Low Tier Targets: ($8,000 – $9,000)

Thorbjorn Olesen – $8,600 – (Cash/GPP)

If you read my articles last weekend, you knew I was all in on the Danish product. He even exceeded my expectations, firing a final round 64, and moving him all the way up into a tie for third place with Dustin Johnson. He is once again a great source of salary relief this weekend, and I think he is safe in all formats. Since his victory at the Italian Open, he now has three top 15 finishes, and is playing as good as anybody.

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I think at over $9K I would be hesitant, as he did get a $500 salary bump from last week, but at this price, I am pretty much all in again. Last month I rode the wave of rookie phenom Niemann mentioned earlier, and with Olesen somewhat still under the radar, (hopefully) I will do the same with him.

Eddie Pepperell – $8,000 – (GPP)

Pepperell is a 27-year-old UK native that plays mostly on the European Tour. He made some headlines during the Open Championship, where he admitted he was a little hung over for the final round at Carnoustie, when he shot a -4 and ended up in a tie for sixth. I guess I can see why I like this guy…

All jokes aside, Pepperell does have some game. He was victorious at the Qatar Masters in February, and right before his top 10 at the Open, he was beaten by Brandon Stone by four strokes to finish alone in 2nd at the Scottish Open. With consecutive top tens under his belt and likely 2-3% ownership in large field GPP’s, I am going to give him a shot.

***Bonus GPP Flyers – Beau Hossler $8,500, Anirban Lahiri $7,700, Aaron Wise $7,200

That is all for this weeks PGA DFS Golf Fanduel Targets for the 2018 PGA Championship. 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. Thank you for reading, and may your golf tilt be minimal this weekend!