DraftKings PGA: 2018 Tour Championship Picks, Analysis

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 24: The FedExCup trophy is displayed prior to the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 24, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 24: The FedExCup trophy is displayed prior to the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 24, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 24: The FedExCup trophy is displayed prior to the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 24, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 24: The FedExCup trophy is displayed prior to the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 24, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

DraftKings PGA: 2018 Tour Championship

The FedEx Cup moves from Philly to Atlanta for the Tour Championship and some more DraftKings PGA action. The FedEx Cup playoffs will be decided, and a champion will be crowned! Bryson DeChambeau enters the tournament with the top seed after winning The Northern Trust and the Dell Technologies! Keegan Bradley surprised everyone on a rain-soaked Monday to win the BMW and earn a spot in the Tour Championship. We are down to the final 30 in the FedEx Cup, and realistically only 5 golfers can win the $10Million grand prize. Here are your updated FedEx Cup standings courtesy of pgatour.com:

RANKNAMEPOINTS
1Bryson DeChambeau5,789
2Justin Rose4,391
3Tony Finau3,479
4Dustin Johnson3,425
5Justin Thomas3,327
6Keegan Bradley2,979
7Brooks Koepka2,723
8Bubba Watson2,481
9Billy Horschel2,260
10Cameron Smith2,247
11Webb Simpson2,228
12Jason Day2,071
13Francesco Molinari1,992
14Phil Mickelson1,990
15Patrick Reed1,933
16Patrick Cantlay1,861
17Rory McIlroy1,813
18Xander Schauffele1,759
19Tommy Fleetwood1,734
20Tiger Woods1,722
21Aaron Wise1,702
22Kevin Na1,629
23Rickie Fowler1,612
24Jon Rahm1,610
25Kyle Stanley1,564
26Paul Casey1,499
27Hideki Matsuyama1,491
28Gary Woodland1,448
29Marc Leishman1,444
30Patton Kizzire1,432

East Lake Golf Club has hosted the Tour Championship for a long time, so there is a lot of historical data that you can research if you are into that sort of thing. Xander Schauffele shot a 13-under to win this tournament in 2017, fending off a charging Justin Thomas. Other golfers in this field who have won at East Lake before include: Rory McIlroy (2016), Billy Horschel (2014), Phil Mickelson (2009) and Tiger Woods (2007). The 7,307 yard par-70 is long, narrow, and undulating. The Donald Ross designed course plays extremely difficult if you are missing the narrow fairways, as trees line the course and the Bermuda rough is extremely thick. Accuracy off-the-tee and on approach are the two stats that I will be targeting this week.

Key Stats

The keys stats that I am focusing on this week for the Tour Championship DraftKings PGA GPP contests:

Approach Gained

Fairways Gained

Tee-To-Green Gained

Scoring Gained

As always, you should be building your own models. FantasyNational.com and FutureOfFantasy.com are great tools to use.

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 25: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the FedExCup and TOUR Championship trophies and NBC talent Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller after his victory over Ryan Moore with a birdie on the fourth extra hole during the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 25, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 25: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the FedExCup and TOUR Championship trophies and NBC talent Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller after his victory over Ryan Moore with a birdie on the fourth extra hole during the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 25, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

2018 Tour Championship – Picks

$10,700 Rory McIlroy – 17th in FedEx Cup

Rory is my favorite play! He mashes off the tee, the approaches are trending, and he is playing the best golf he has played since he was the number 1 golfer in the world. Since his missed cut at the US Open, Rory has finished T12 or better in 6/7 events. He won this tournament in 2016, so the course suits his eye. My only concern is that a win does not clinch him the $10 million, but does Rory really need the cash?

$9,500 Tiger Woods – 20th in FedEx Cup

Tiger scares me off the tee, but that is why he has a week to prepare for this thing! He is so close to a victory. His irons are vintage 90’s Tiger, but the driver and putter are lagging behind. Tiger uses the bye week better than anyone else, so lets hope all the kinks are worked out. He has had a lot of success on this course, so it must fit his eye (although that was when the driver was a lethal weapon).

$8,600 Tony Finau – 3rd in FedEx Cup

Finau finished 7th in his first trip to East Lake last year. He has not won yet, but that does not bother me. He is playing incredible, he has Rider Cup (America!) swag, and this course was tailor-made for Finau. He crushes the ball off the tee, his approaches are solid, and he is serviceable on the greens when he has no shot at  winning the tournament. Finau has shined at all four majors this year, and I see another bright showing at the Tour Championship.

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 14: Billy Horschel of the United States poses on the 18th green after winning both the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup Playoffs at the East Lake Golf Club on September 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 14: Billy Horschel of the United States poses on the 18th green after winning both the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and the FedExCup Playoffs at the East Lake Golf Club on September 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

2018 Tour Championship – Values

$7,300 Billy Horschel – 9th in FedEx Cup

As far as values, there are much better values on this slate. However, Horschel deserves a play due to his superb form. The guy is doing everything right, and is a near-perfect course fit. He drives the ball straight, his approaches are trending, and he is putting with so much confidence. His 64 on Monday put him one shot from a playoff at the BMW, so his September started about as hot as his August went. Horschel has played at East Lake twice before for the Tour Championship and finished T7 and 1st. Not too shabby.

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$6,500 Bubba Watson – 8th in FedEx Cup

Bubba is about as up and down as the average golfer, however his ups are victories and his downs are the same missed cut as everyone else. Luckily for us, this is a no-cut event. Bubba played really solid at the Dell Technologies and BMW Championship, carding 6/8 rounds in the 60’s on his way to a T7 and T16, respectively. His course history is decent, boasting a 4 top-10’s in his last 5 attempts

$6,100 Kyle Stanley – 25th in FedEx Cup

Stanley is a riskier play than another golfer at this price-tag that I am targeting, but I love his upside and course fit. Stanley hits every fairway, his approaches are good, and he can even putt. He does everything decent, but does not excel at any one thing. So when he is on he shows why he has 2 career victories and two 2nds this year. Stanley finished 20th in his first trip to East Lake. This kid is headed for big things in 2018-19 no matter what happens at the Tour Championship.

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Check out more articles by the author and make sure to follow @Mystery_Main for up-to-date injuries, withdrawals, and ownership projections up until the tournament. Also, follow @FantasyCPR for your daily fantasy fix.